On this, “Cabaret” delivers.
Each time you see it, it draws you into a world with characters you care about and events that touch and trouble you.
Thursday, February 04, 2016
Review: 'Cabaret' still delivers 50 years after its debut
On this, “Cabaret” delivers.
Each time you see it, it draws you into a world with characters you care about and events that touch and trouble you.
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2 comments:
Yeah, I guess the 50 year benchmark is pretty telling as to the quality of a show, but to me, it isn’t at all surprising that Cabaret as a show still holds weight in society. It’s on the level of metaphorical that allows it to be about so many different things that are pretty much ubiquitous in society. In fact, the personal struggles of the main characters seem so universal and heartbreaking that it almost intentionally distracts us from the rise of Nazi Germany, a subject that now over 70 years later we are all still obsessed with. My guess is that this show will be just as successful in another 50 years, and that no matter what the particular issues of society are, people will still be fascinated by the game like façade that is put up to cheer people up when they know they shouldn’t be cheery. Everybody has been fooled into a sense of false comfort, and it’s a particularly powerful emotion when that all comes tumbling down. This show does a great job of recreating that.
After the production of Cabaret I did a few years ago, my mom claimed quite vehemently that she was never seeing the show again. Not because of the quality of production, the music or lyrics, or even most of the content. My mom’s objection to the show is that everyone dies at the end. While the content of the show may be questionable, its popularity and success certainly isn’t. It seems somewhat odd to me that despite its content, the show has had continued success since the mid sixties. (Though, perhaps not that much success if it has been revived three times.) Even today, the topic of sexuality is taboo in a lot of circumstances. Despite being produced in the mid sixties, Cabaret dealt with issues like prostitution and bisexuality is astounding. Even though Cabaret may not be the happiest of shows, it has a lot of good songs, music, and social commentary.
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