This weekend has been an exploration of the arts for me. And while I’d love to go into details about all that I was up to, I think this topic deserves its own blog post.
Leave a comment if you’ve seen the movie or play Cabaret. The musical has many influences, but the main one is the book “Goodbye to Berlin” by Christopher Isherwood. The book is semi-autobiographical and takes place during the Weimar Republic in Berlin Germany.
And to add fuel to this fire, here's a controversial statement: I think students should be taught Cabaret. Not in college, but in high school...no younger than 12th grade. It's a tale of tragedy, accommodation, and the sinister way terrible ideas become mainstream that would make for a fascinating study in media literacy. The conservatives may clutch their pearls over the overt sexuality, gender fluidity, queerness, and other touchy subjects that are covered in this story. It's basically the book banner's worst nightmare - which might be why its so important to teach and discuss.
Cabaret is a fantastic glimpse into a very interesting point in history. One that should not be forgotten. And one that isn't discussed enough.
I haven’t read the book or seen the 1972 movie. Though I admit I know a bit about them from YouTube videos discussing queer history.
My first full exposure to the show was Friday at my local community center.
That’s right. I may have been spoiled by Broadway and the shows just off its street when I lived in New Jersey, but that won’t stop me enjoying local community theater productions either. And this production of Cabaret was very good.
The version I saw has been updated in the years since it first premiered in 1966. The story is also a little different from the 1972 movie. However, the songs are all there.
I loved it!
The Emcee was great. I loved who they got to play Sally Bowels. The stage was well designed with deep reds and art deco browns. A soft smoke hung sinisterly in the upper rafters of the stage through most of the show. Always ominously looming over the characters.
Because despite the upbeat and happy performances of the member aid the Kit Kat Klub and the assurances that there are no troubles in its halls - evil is slowly pulling them into a death spiral. It’s 1929/1930s Germany guys - things are about to get really bad for a lot of people, particularly these characters.
Something y’all might not know about 1920s Germany - Berlin specifically - was that it was famous for its Cabarets, art, and queer scene. The world's first Transgender clinic with the largest research and resources on the LGBTQIA+ community was the The Institute for Sexual Research and was located in Berlin. I say "was" because like anything labeled "degenerate" by the ruling political party in the 1930s, it was destroyed.
Nearly all of the art scene from the Weimar Republic's Berlin was destroyed. All that remains of it are written records of their existences and a few photos that survived into modern times. These are poor substitutes for the thriving art community was the cut short far too soon. We'll never know what these artists might have accomplished.
"Goodbye to Berlin" is a record of the Berlin cabaret culture. This record has been morphed and transformed into the current Cabaret show. A show that is hilarious, sexually charged, queer, and sinister.
It is at this point in my blog post that I will be writing about a story that was written over 50 years ago. If you are unfamiliar with Cabaret or how it ends and you chose to proceed, don't say I didn't warn you.
At first it's slow. The protagonist, Clifford Bradshaw meets a man named Ernst on the train. At the boarder Ernst hides one of his bags - claiming the contents are perfume and other knick-knacks that go over the legal customs limit. Ernst directs Clifford to a boarding house run by Fräulein Schneider, who tends to let the rules slide if it means that she still gets the rent at the end of the month. She is in love with a fruit seller, Herr Schultz, who is also Jewish. Ernst also tells Clifford to check out The Kit Kat Klub where he meets the flighty, yet lovable Sally Bowles and reconnects with an old flame...named Bobby.
So far, the story is full of people living a carefree life, celebrating the promises of a new year (Clifford arrives on New Year's Eve). The main conflicts are Fräulein Schneider and one of her tenets who brings home sailors every night, Sally breaking up with her boyfriend (who is also the club owner - and gets a fantastic break up song in the form of "Mein Herr"), and Clifford trying to figure out how to pay the rent.
Ernst seems to be a friendly enough character. Not only does he get Cliff a cheap lodging, but eventually he becomes Cliff's first English student and then starts to recommend Cliff as a teacher to his friends. He knows Sally and frequents he Kit Kat Klub.
And then the end of the first act approaches.
Everything seems fine. Everyone is having fun. Then Ernst takes off his jacket and we see his armband.
Yeah - Ernst is a follower of a certain art school reject (and that's the closest I'm going to name that person).
This is the point of no return for everyone in this story.
As the second act begins, we're treated to a chorus line of girls (plus the Emcee dressed as one of the girls) in a kick line and preforming some acrobatics. Close to the end of the number they start counting in German (makes sense, they are in Berlin). And then they make a very specific gesture that is related to a certain fascist political party.
This isn't the first time in the show that the certain political party was mentioned. Sally, intrigued by the fact that Clifford is a writer, picks up a book he is reading and assumes he wrote it. She then exclaims "Why it's in German!"
Clifford is reading the certain art school reject's manifesto to "learn about the current politics". Sally is dismissive. After all "it's all just politics. What does that have to do with us?"
At the same time the adorable romance between Fräulein Schneider and Herr Schultz comes to a screeching halt because of what Ernst did at their engagement party (yeah - I didn't mention that part). Fräulein Schneider is a practical woman - she has a whole song about this personality trait in Act 1 called "So What?" - she's seeing the extent a certain political party has grown and how many of her friends and neighbors have joined. Herr Schultz, however, is optimistic. He believes ("as a German" himself) that everything will be fine.
But a brick through Herr Schultz's fruit shop window frightens Fräulein Schneider to the point that she calls off their engagement. She knows that it's not just "mischievous school children" doing these things.
The Kit Kat Klub's show cuts in again with what appears to be a comedic performance of the Emcee with a person in a gorilla suit called "If You Could See Her". However, the last line is chilling and suddenly all the humor, all the laughter you've participated in is no longer funny at all. In fact, you might start to feel a bit uncomfortable, maybe even disgusted with yourself.
There are quite a number of points in the show like this. The most famous song - also called "Cabaret" - is the second to last in the play. If you hear it on it's own, the song sounds like a fun up beat about enjoying life. However, just before Sally goes on, there's another scene that's a point of no return moment for these characters.
Clifford, horrified that he's become friends with and working for a certain political party decides to leave and wants Sally to come with him back to Pennsylvania (she's actually from England). She's pregnant and has been living in a fantasy that it's Cliff's (it's not clear whose baby it is, but it's unlikely to be Cliff's). Sally doesn't want to leave Berlin - she loves it - and she's been invited back to preform at The Kit Kat Klub. Cliff doesn't want her to perform, he wants to marry her and start living like responsible adults.
In many ways, Cliff is just as naïve as the other characters denying what's going on around them. Whereas he is politically knowledgeable, he isn't very good at understanding the people around him. Sally understands the world of performance and doesn't believe that anything else can touch her. It's just as much a fairytale as Cliff's vision of a long term relationship with her. He can't force Sally into a role she neither wants nor can thrive in. She wants to live life to the fullest, but not the longest.
That's the message of the song "Cabaret".
Cliff leaves Berlin alone, but with the barebones start of the novel that will make him famous. As he leaves, he starts to sing for the first time and is eventually overtaken by the Emcee. The Emcee reminds the audience that "Life is beautiful. The girls are beautiful. Even the orchestra is beautiful." The Emcee sings a similar song that he sang at the opening of the production, welcoming us in. However, this time the music is off. It more sinister sounding.
The Emcee in the production I saw had his makeup smeared more and more as the Second Act went on. By the finally, it looks like he's been crying. Everyone came on stage. Three doors were opened. Herr Schultz stood in one. A gay couple in another. In the center was a lesbian couple fearfully holding each other. The background turned brilliantly white as the drumroll melded with a mysterious crackling sound. The smoke that had been hovering in the rafters now wafts on stage. The Emcee takes off his jacket and he's wearing a shirt with a pink triangle and a Star of David. He enters the center door with the lesbians. Three characters, a man dressed in a navy uniform, the owner of The Kit Kat Klub, and Ernst begin closing the doors while the other characters look away. Before his door is closed, the Emcee looks around as though begging someone for help.
The final door slams shut and the lights cut to black.
Cabaret is a tragedy. One that most people should realize going in. It takes place in Germany between two World Wars. Anyone who has taken a modern World History class knows what's about to happen to the majority of these characters. Cliff even asks Herr Schultz why he doesn't go to America with everything is going on - he has family there. But Herr Schultz wants to stay in Germany because it is his home and he is German. He is also Jewish.
The Kit Kat Klub was lively, counter culture, and perverse, but it also accommodated and catered to people who hated them. In the end, it was destroyed. The fairytale turned into a nightmare.
Fräulein Schneider asks the audience several times during the production "what would you do?" She's asking for the audience to put themselves in her shoes, to empathizes with her.
We live in interesting times and if they don't seem all that interesting, then maybe you're not paying that much attention to what is going on around you. If you've ever asked yourself what you might do during a certain historic event such as the Civil Rights Movement or the Vietnam War protests, what you might have done during the Salem Witch Trials or the aftermath of 9/11 (this one is for the Z generation).
I've asked myself that many times - mostly when I was still in school.
Some recent current events have provided me with some answers. I can't say that I'm happy 100% with the ones I've found.
There are so many reasons Cabaret is a fantastic work of art. It's dark and tragic, but also fun and lively. You know what the ending is for these characters, but that doesn't stop you from hoping that this time - this show - they'll get a happy ever after.
Until next week.
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