Editing Marlene Dietrich (section)

=== Stage and cabaret ===
[[File:Marlene Dietrich Caricature by Hans Georg Pfannmüller (1954).jpg|thumb|left|100px|Dietrich often performed parts of her show in [[White Tie|top hat and tails]]. Caricature by Hans Georg Pfannmüller showing Dietrich during a cabaret performance in 1954.]]
From the early 1950s until the mid-1970s, Dietrich worked almost exclusively as a cabaret artist, performing live in large theatres in major cities worldwide.

In 1953, Dietrich was offered $30,000 per week{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=369}} to appear live at the [[Sahara Hotel and Casino|Sahara Hotel]]{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=368}} on the Las Vegas Strip. The show was short, consisting only of a few songs associated with her.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=368}} Her daringly sheer "nude dress"—a heavily beaded evening gown of silk soufflé, which gave the illusion of transparency—designed by [[Jean Louis]], attracted a lot of publicity.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=368}} This engagement was so successful that she was signed to appear at the [[Café de Paris (London)|Café de Paris]] in London the following year; her Las Vegas contracts were also renewed.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=371}}

Dietrich employed [[Burt Bacharach]] as her musical arranger starting in the mid-1950s; together, they refined her nightclub act into a more ambitious theatrical [[one-woman show]] with an expanded repertoire.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=395}} Her repertoire included songs from her films as well as popular songs of the day. Bacharach's arrangements helped to disguise Dietrich's limited vocal range—she was a [[contralto]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Carpenter|first=Cassie|title=Cassie's Corner: Marlene Dietrich's Top 10 Badass One-Liners|url=http://laslush.com/2011/08/09/739/|work=L.A Slush|archive-date=12 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112192350/http://laslush.com/2011/08/09/739/|date=9 August 2011}}</ref>—and allowed her to perform her songs to maximum dramatic effect;{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=395}} together, they recorded four albums and several singles between 1957 and 1964.{{sfn|O'Connor|1991|p=154}} In a TV interview in 1971, she credited Bacharach with giving her the "inspiration" to perform during those years.<ref>{{YouTube|oj3HrvJW8SM|"Marlene Dietrich 1971 Copenhagen Interview"}}, 1/2 hour video</ref>

Bacharach then felt he needed to devote his time fully to songwriting. But she had also come to rely on him in order to perform, and wrote about his leaving in her memoir:
{{blockquote|From that fateful day on, I have worked like a robot, trying to recapture the wonderful woman he helped make out of me. I even succeeded in this effort for years, because I always thought of him, always longed for him, always looked for him in the wings, and always fought against self-pity ... He had become so indispensable to me that, without him, I no longer took much joy in singing. When he left me, I felt like giving everything up. I had lost my director, my support, my teacher, my maestro.<ref name=Dietrich>Dietrich, Marlene. ''Marlene'', Grove Press (1989) ebook</ref>}}

She often performed the first part of her show in one of her body-hugging dresses and a [[Down feathers|swansdown]] coat, and change to top hat and tails for the second half of the performance.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=394}} This allowed her to sing songs usually associated with male singers, like "[[One for My Baby]]" and "[[I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face]]".{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=395}}

"She ... transcends her material," according to [[Peter Bogdanovich]]. "Whether it's a flighty old tune like '[[I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby]]' ... a schmaltzy German love song, 'Das Lied ist Aus' or a French one '{{Lang|fr|[[La Vie en Rose]]|italic=no}}', she lends each an air of the aristocrat, yet she never patronises ... A folk song, 'Go 'Way From My Window' has never been sung with such passion, and in her hands '[[Where Have All the Flowers Gone?]]' is not just another anti-war lament but a tragic accusation against us all."{{sfn|Morley|1978|p=69}}

Francis Wyndham offered a more critical appraisal of the phenomenon of Dietrich in concert. He wrote in 1964: "What she does is neither difficult nor diverting, but the fact that she does it at all fills the onlookers with wonder ... It takes two to make a conjuring trick: the illusionist's sleight of hand and the stooge's desire to be deceived. To these necessary elements (her own technical competence and her audience's sentimentality) Marlene Dietrich adds a third—the mysterious force of her belief in her own magic. Those who find themselves unable to share this belief tend to blame themselves rather than her."{{sfn|O'Connor|1991|p=133}}

Her use of body-sculpting undergarments, nonsurgical temporary [[facelift]]s (tape),<ref>{{cite news|url=https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/how-one-night-in-montreal-changed-the-life-of-marlene-dietrich|title=How one night in Montreal changed the life of Marlene Dietrich|work=[[Montreal Gazette]]|date=2 May 2012}}</ref> expert makeup and wigs,{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=406}} combined with careful stage lighting,{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=371}} helped to preserve Dietrich's glamorous image as she grew older. Dietrich had owned a penthouse in [[New York City]] at 993 [[Park Avenue]] since 1959.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.worldofinteriors.com/story/marlene-dietrich-belongings-photographed-paris-apartment | title=Marlene Dietrich's mementos from her Manhattan apartment | date=19 January 2024 }}</ref>

[[File:Marlene Dietrich in Israel (1960) (Cropped).png|thumb|left|upright|alt=Marlene Dietrich, 1960|Dietrich in Jerusalem during a tour in Israel, 1960]]
[[File:Marlene Dietrich CBC Interview 1960.ogg|thumb|Marlene Dietrich discusses her film and cabaret career in an interview recorded in Paris, 1959.]]
Dietrich's return to [[West Germany]] in 1960 for a concert tour received a mixed reception—despite a consistently negative press, vociferous protest by Germans who felt she had betrayed her homeland, and two bomb threats, her performance attracted huge crowds. During her performances at Berlin's [[Titania-Palast|Titania Palast theatre]], protesters chanted, "Marlene Go Home!"{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=401}} On the other hand, Dietrich was warmly welcomed by other Germans, including Berlin Mayor [[Willy Brandt]], who was, like Dietrich, an opponent of the Nazis who had lived in exile during their rule.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=401}} The tour was an artistic triumph, but a financial failure.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=401}} She was left emotionally drained by the hostility she encountered, and she left convinced never to visit again. [[East Germany]], however, received her well.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19660307&id=Ie4tAAAAIBAJ&pg=5373,1354064&hl=en|title=A Candid Portrait of Marlene Dietrich|work=[[Montreal Gazette]]|author=Chesnoff, Richard Z.|date=7 March 1966}}</ref> She also undertook a tour of Israel around the same time, which was well-received; she sang some songs in German during her concerts, including, from 1962, a German version of [[Pete Seeger]]'s anti-war anthem "[[Where Have All the Flowers Gone?|Where Have All the Flowers Gone]]", thus breaking the unofficial taboo against the use of German in [[Israel]].{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=406}} She would become the first woman and German to receive the Israeli Medallion of Valor in 1965, "in recognition for her courageous adherence to principle and consistent record of friendship for the Jewish people". ''[[Dietrich in London]]'', a concert album, was recorded during the run of her 1964 engagement at the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]].{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=526}}

She performed on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] twice (in 1967 and 1968) and received a [[Special Tony Award]] in 1968. In November 1972, ''[[An Evening With Marlene Dietrich|I Wish You Love]]'', a version of Dietrich's Broadway show titled ''[[An Evening with Marlene Dietrich]]'', was filmed in London.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marlenedietrich.org/noteIwish.htm |title=''I Wish You Love'' Production Schedule |access-date=11 October 2008 |work=Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924100847/http://www.marlenedietrich.org/noteIwish.htm |archive-date=24 September 2008 }}</ref> She was paid $250,000 for her cooperation but was unhappy with the result. The show was broadcast in the UK on the BBC and in the U.S. on CBS in January 1973.<ref>Roberts, Paul G. [https://books.google.com/books?id=lMx3BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1887 ''Style Icons Vol 4 Sirens'']. Fashion Industry Broadcast, 2015 p. 39.</ref>

Dietrich continued with a busy performance schedule until September 1975.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/marlene-dietrich-53d60bad.html|title=Marlene Dietrich Concert Setlists|website=setlist.fm|access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref> When [[Clive Hirschhorn]] asked her why she continued to perform, she said, "Do you think this is glamorous? That this is a great life, and that I do it for my health? Well, it isn't. It's hard work. And who would work if they didn't have to?"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000017/bio|title=Marlene Dietrich|website=IMDb|access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref>

In her 60s and 70s, Dietrich's health declined: she survived [[cervical cancer]] in 1965{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=416}} and suffered from poor circulation in her legs.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=406}} Dietrich became increasingly dependent on painkillers and alcohol.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=406}} A stage fall at the [[Shady Grove, Maryland|Shady Grove Music Fair in Maryland]] in 1973 injured her left thigh, necessitating skin grafts to allow the wound to heal.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=436}} She fractured her right leg in August 1974.{{sfn|Bach|1992|p=437}}