4 September 2008 5:02 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news
The theatre where Marlene Dietrich made her stage debut faces closure unless local officials agree to a desperate plea for cash.
The Friedrichstadtpalast, in Berlin, Germany currently depends on $8.7 million (GBP4.8 million) a year in government grants to keep its doors open.
But now bosses are asking for a further $5 million (GBP2.8 million) to see off the threat of closure.
The legendary theatre was renowned for its saucy shows involving chorus lines of scantily-clad women.
Dietrich first performed there in the early 1920s, wowing the crowds by reclining on a couch and kicking her legs in the air.
The theatre became a tourist attraction in the latter half of the 20th century, but interest has slumped and it is now on the verge of bankruptcy.
A spokesman for Berlin's culture department, which has been asked to prop up the ailing theatre, says, "This was completely unexpected. It is deeply worrying and depressing."
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