Cabaret - gender roles
Cabaret - gender roles
#0Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 12:35pm
this past summer here in Dallas we had a production of "Cabaret" with the Emcee played by a woman, kind of a Marlene Dietrich thing.
but, why couldnt Sally be played by a man as a woman?
it makes sense to me, it would heighten the sleaze factor and the ambiguity of weimar germany and how dangerous things really were in the wake of rising nazi-ism - or have sally played by a black woman.
Don't f*ck with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo.
Updated On: 2/17/06 at 12:35 PM
apdarcey
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/10/04
#1re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 12:50pm
i think a man in drag would make really interesting plot lines with the naziism and her whole relationship with cliff. sort of like a hedwig type thing. also, what if the emcee was really in love with sally (as a man) and they were playing cliff while being played by the nazi's.
oh you can do so much with that show.
#2re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 1:13pmExcept that Sally gets pregnant and has an abortion ...
"I am open, and I am willing,
For to be hopeless would seem so strange.
It dishonors those who go before us,
So lift me up to the light of change."
Holly Near
#3re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 1:17pmIt could be played as Harvey played Edna in Hairspray - without "winking" at the audience - just play the role straight, as a woman.
"High time we made a stand and shook up the views of the common man" - Tears for Fears
#4re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:23pmoh yeah, that whole abortion thing. hmm, but otherwise it would work, right?
Don't f*ck with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo.
Kringas
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/27/05
#5re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:25pm
It would work if Sally didn't have an abortion, but since the entire climax of the play hinges on it, it's not possible.
On a somewhat related note, I did play a Kit Kat Girl in a production of few years ago.
"How do you like THAT 'misanthropic panache,' Mr. Goldstone?" - PalJoey
Updated On: 2/17/06 at 02:25 PM
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#6re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:27pmI think, with the exception of the EmCee, all the main roles have to be played by someone of the correct gender. But as Kringas highlighted, with the ensemble, it's all to play for.
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
#7re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:28pm
As already said, she's got to get pregnant, so it can't be played by a man in drag. It could be played by a male actor playing a female (a la Edna Turnblad) but... I dunno, what's the point?
The gender-bend works with the Emcee because it's already such an ephemeral role -- can be anyone, anything. No identity, almost.
Also, if Sally were a man in drag, that'd take away from the point made by fact that Cliff is with Sally, yet also exploring with men -- he'd be far less ambiguous if he were with no women at all.
#8re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:32pm
kost, the whore, could be played by a man as a woman easily.
i do like the idea of a "non wink" man as sally, but i think especially in "mein herr" and "mama" she would need that winking.
oh yeah, and the whole cliff and bobby thing wouldnt make sense if sally were a man.
part of the problem i have is that the emcee is so ambigious, if you do decide to do something avant garde or strange with that role and everything else stays as is, then it disjoints the mood.
Don't f*ck with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo.
#9re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:35pm
Well certainly, you could do almost anything, but the question isn't necessarily what you could do, it's why? I mean, I don't necessarily believe in doing things just simply because you can. You've got to have a purpose and a point in doing so.
I think that the Emcee's ambiguity, if anything, lends itself to many different sorts of possible moods, rather than hindering or disjointing. But why would you change him/her that drastically and keep everything else status quo? I mean, he's got to have SOME cohesion.
#10re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:38pmwell i guess im just going back to this cabaret with a woman as the emcee, i saw it as a stunt without any real motivation and thats where my disconnect came from.
Don't f*ck with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo.
#11re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:40pmSee, but that's one bend that I don't think is such a "stunt" or a stretch. Because it's already so ambiguous, what's throwing in something like that? Especially something sexual. It fits, to me. I mean, making the Emcee is a woman isn't like putting him in a space suit and still have him romping around Weimar Germany.
#12re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:40pmWell - even if it's not directly addressed, there is still a specific energy and implication that would come from a man playing a woman's role...Like Donna Lynn Champlain in Sweeney Todd right now for a vice versa example....
"High time we made a stand and shook up the views of the common man" - Tears for Fears
#13re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:45pm
oh wait, didnt i mention it was a woman IN A SPACE SUIT as the emcee, ala "Quantum Leap"... just joking.
thanks luvtheEmcee for your opinion, it's nice to have a discussion about something like this. it's such a maleable show that a director can either make it great or horrid.
Don't f*ck with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo.
#14re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:46pm
LOL.
Anyway, yeah. That's one of the things I like about it.
#15re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:56pmI was not sold on the idea of a woman playing the Emcee when it was first announced at the aforementioned Dallas theater, and, after seeing the production, I am still not sold on the idea. (No reflection on the talents of the actress playing the role.) I just don't think it worked.
"I am open, and I am willing,
For to be hopeless would seem so strange.
It dishonors those who go before us,
So lift me up to the light of change."
Holly Near
cheezedoodle
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/15/05
#16re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 2:59pmI did a production where I (a man) was cast as a Kit Kat girl and did the role in drag. It was very fun. The song "Don't Tell Mama" actually references one of the girls in the line as Sally's brother. That's how we played it.
"Oh Link...your pork is ready..." - Edna Turnblad
#17re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 3:00pmDBillyP - i totally agree with you that actress is one my faves in town, but i wasn't really too keen on her as the emcee - she has the talent to pull it off, but i think the direction might have been the problem.
Don't f*ck with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo.
#18re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 3:59pmcheeze, this production also used a make Kit Kat girl. Again, nothing against the actor's talent; he is a very good dancer. However, physically, he is definitely a guy. Again, it didn't quite work.
"I am open, and I am willing,
For to be hopeless would seem so strange.
It dishonors those who go before us,
So lift me up to the light of change."
Holly Near
Kringas
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/27/05
#19re: Cabaret - gender roles
Posted: 2/17/06 at 4:16pmWhen I played a Kit Kat Girl, people in the audience knew one of us was a guy. In almost all cases, people guessed that a different girl (one of the real girls) was the guy. She wasn't too happy about that.
"How do you like THAT 'misanthropic panache,' Mr. Goldstone?" - PalJoey
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