CABARET


Today we’re going to the Sheas Performing Arts Center to see the touring version of Cabaret. I’m anticipating seeing a performance unlike the famous Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli movie. We’ve seen stage versions of Cabaret twice. The story and the music stay fresh as Art mirrors current events. What do you think of Cabaret?

22 thoughts on “CABARET

    1. george Post author

      Steve, I haven’t seen a stage version of CABARET in a decade. I’m curious to see what this latest touring version will look like. The film is a classic.

      Reply
  1. wolfi

    Saw the film as a young pupil in school – it was a part of the information about the rise of the Nazis …

    Those years of the Weimar Republic just befor the Nazis came to power must have been crazy – on the one hand the economic difficulties (catastrophe would be a better word – I remember seeing amongst my grandmother’s stuff 1 Billion Mark notes …) on the other the “bohemians” dancing in Berlin as if there were no tomorrow.

    Many authors wrote books describing those days – fascinating!

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Wolf, the Weimar Republic signaled that something darker and more dangerous was just around the corner. The hyper-inflation of money–those Billion Mark notes–shows the instability of the economy.

      Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    Love it!

    We saw the original Broadway production (later cast), with Anita Gillette, if you can picture that (she was 30 when she went into the show in late 1966; we saw in at the end of 1968) and Bert Convy (in the then non-gay role of Cliff, and Martin Ross (very Joel Grey-like) as the Emcee.

    Thirty years later (at the very uncomfortable Studio 54) we saw the revival with Alan Cumming’s brilliant Tony-winning performance as the Emcee, Jennifer Jason Leigh (who replaced Tony-winning Natasha Richardson as Sally Bowles), John Benjamin Hickey, and Ron Rifkin (another Tony winner).

    The movie was simply one of the best musical Broadway to screen adaptations ever. Even though THE GODFATHER won Best Picture and Best Actor in 1972’s Oscars, CABARET actually won 8 of 10 awards it was nominated for, and I think deservedly so. Bob Fosse, Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Art Direction, Cinematograhy, Editing. I can remember going to see it at the Ziegfeld Theater when the movie opened, and loving it from the beginning.

    Enjoy!

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, I’m sure this touring company version of CABARET isn’t going to have the acting chops of Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, but these touring company versions of Broadway musicals are very good. The movie version of CABARET is a classic!

      Reply
  3. Deb

    Whenever I think of Cabaret (I’ve only seen the movie; although I’ve seen some film of Judi Dench’s performance as the original Sally Bowles), I think of how Michael York’s indolent German boyfriend (Fritz?) says “we will let the Nazis take care of the communists for us, but we’ll control the Nazis.” And then, after the spontaneous Hitler Youth rally (“Tomorrow Belongs to Me”), Michael York asks, “Do you still think you can control these people?” I have thought of that scene constantly over the almost 40 years since the Reoublucans made a Devil’s bargain with the evangelical right wing to get Reagan elected. See who runs the party now.

    As Peter Cook once said, “The Weimar Republic was the height of German satire…and see how well that stopped Hitler.”

    Reply
    1. Deb

      Republicans

      /You’d think autocorrect–which can change “strgnth” to “align” without missing a beat–just might have autocorrected that!

      Reply
    2. george Post author

      Deb, you’re right about the political implications embedded in CABARET. Little did they realize they were on the brink of a deadly precipice.

      Reply
  4. Jeff Meyerson

    It’s really true. So many times when you hear the crap Bannon and the rest of the alt-right are spewing out, the only reaction is “Tomorrow belongs to me.”

    Reply
  5. maggie mason

    I loved the movie. Would have loved to see Alan Cummings, etc. in the recent stage show. I remember being shocked at the “tomorrow belongs to me scene, which started with a simple love of country and ends up showing the horror that was to follow. I can’t help but see a correlation to our current political scene

    Auto correct doesn’t work for me. sigh

    Reply
  6. Scott Cupp

    George – The University here just did Cabaret last month. I as surprised at the differences between the stage version nd the play with the interaction between the landlady and her boyfriend depicting common Germans and their problems. The performance here as first rate.

    Reply

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