Mixed Reviews

A pagoda, a lotus flower, a crumpled hat have been used to describe Potsdam's new Hans Otto Theater, which opens Friday. The latest creation by architect Gottfried Böhm will be the scene of a gala weekend with five premieres over three days and a visit from German President Horst Köhler.

Theater director Uwe Eric Laufenberg's slogan is "people belong in the middle." The 2006-2007 program isn't just a bunch of short-lived trendy plays, he said, nor is it all conventional one either.

Potsdam, located just a hop and a skip outside of Berlin, is due for a fresh theater. The city, Brandenburg's state capital, hasn't had a new one in 211 years and theater productions had to make do with temporary solutions for the past 60 years.

Years of provisional stages

Since its original Theater am Kanal was bombed in 1945 during World War II, the theater company has performed in provisional buildings, including a dance hall, an unfinished structure commissioned by the East German government. Since 1992, Potsdam actors have appeared on the stage of a building affectionately called the "tin can."

Gottfried Böhm's 26-million-euro ($33 million) theater rests on the edge of a lake and can be accessed either by boat or from Schiffbauergasse on the other side, a street that has become known as a cultural center.

A native of Cologne, Böhm is the only German architect to have received the Pritzker Prize, which is described as the Nobel Prize for architecture. The German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt is featuring an exhibit on his works until Nov. 5.

Last minute adjustments

Böhm said the 484-seat Hans Otto Theater was inspired by a trip he took to Asia, which is apparent in the playfully layered, pagoda-like form. He didn't have total freedom in the design, though: There was a land-marked gas holder on the site that he was obliged to integrate into the building.

The theater, which Laufenberg called "a new icon," isn't quite complete. The choice of building materials, mainly glass and steel, apparently do not provide for a suitable acoustic.

Experts are racing to reduce the reverberation in the hall to 1.4 seconds by Friday's gala premiere.

But with a magnificent view of the lake and Babelsberg Castle behind it, the experience inside the theater won't be only about what comes from the stage.