BECOMING MARILYN MONROE

More than six decades after her death, Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962) remains one of the most dazzling figures in pop culture. Hardly any face has been reproduced, interpreted, and commercialized more often than hers. Yet behind the screen legend stood far more than the famous Hollywood smile. The exhibition at the Lichthalle MAAG approaches Marilyn Monroe not only as a myth, but also as a woman who understood early on how power, media, and staging function.

Cameras, spotlights, and props – all styled like a 1950s film studio. The moment the director calls ​“Action,” the scene comes alive. Through impressive visual stagings, interactive elements, and previously lesser-known perspectives, the world premiere ​“Becoming Marilyn Monroe” celebrates the 100th birthday of a woman who profoundly shaped pop culture and who resisted throughout her life being defined by others. In the immersive area of Lichthalle MAAG, where previous productions have already brought Tutankhamun back to life or recreated the sinking of the Titanic, Marilyn’s story now unfolds across projection surfaces more than eight meters high. It is the story of an actress, singer, and style icon who was often underestimated. For decades, the image of the glamorous, seductive blonde dominated public perception, while behind the scenes Marilyn thought remarkably strategically and guided her career with great precision.

Born in Los Angeles as Norma Jeane Mortensen (baptized Norma Jeane Baker), she grew up under difficult conditions and developed early on a strong awareness of how identity is constructed through images. What would later become internationally famous as ​“Marilyn Monroe” was not merely one of Hollywood’s many products, but also the result of deliberate self-creation. Marilyn understood the power of her own image and knew how to use attention intelligently – at a time when women in the studio system usually had little control over their careers. In the mid-1950s, she founded her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, openly defying Hollywood’s power structures. An extraordinary move for an actress of that era. Marilyn fought for better roles, higher salaries, and greater artistic control. Above all, however, she wanted to be taken seriously – not only as a sex symbol, but as an actress and businesswoman. In doing so, she paved the way for future generations of women in the film industry toward greater independence.

Perhaps it is precisely these contradictions that explain Marilyn Monroe’s enduring fascination. She embodied glamour and vulnerability at the same time, public perfection and private insecurity. She could dominate a room while simultaneously feeling lost within her own fame. The exhibition embraces these tensions without trying to resolve them completely. Rather than presenting a classic biography, it creates a multilayered portrait of a woman who was ahead of her time in many respects. The projections and soundscapes create an atmospheric gateway into Marilyn’s visual universe. Her films, photographs, and appearances were already among the defining visual symbols of the 20th century during her lifetime. The staging therefore creates no distance, but instead intensifies the feeling of encountering a personality whose aura still resonates today. Behind the myth of Marilyn Monroe remains visible an intelligent, ambitious, and remarkably modern woman.

When: until June 28, 2026

marilyn​-immersive​.ch

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