Stand-by Joined: 5/3/14
Just saw this on Facebook, and I thought it worth sharing here.
“An open letter to Adam Lambert,
This afternoon at Cabaret, as you were finishing the song "If You Could See Her" and you held the gorilla's face in your hands to say "She wouldn't look Jewish at all," you were but were cut off by people in the audience laughing at the joke. Not nervous laughter, not shocked laughter, but people who found the surprise that it was a Jewish gorilla legitimately funny. As I was shaking my head that we live in a world that didn't get the point of that joke, you turned to them and - without dropping character, without dropping the accent - said,
"No. This is not comedy. Pay attention."
Especially the week of this inauguration, I really appreciated that. And from the applause you got for it, I feel like the rest of the audience appreciated it, as well. Thank you so so much.
Tearfully,”
left out the persons name who posted it, as it was a shared post.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/27/19
I've read plenty of commentary over the years about how conservatives don't get irony and how art that is intended as criticism is instead embraced as positive, like all the people who watched "All in the Family" because they agreed with Archie Bunker and the fans who didn't see--or care--that "The Boys" aren't intended as heroes (and the show is explicitly criticizing them) but view them as such.
Are we finally at the point where Cabaret is viewed by some as a feel-good story for Nazis of their rise? Or has that always been the case? There was a similar post on Reddit recently where Lambert emphasized the line a second time when some audience members seemingly laughed (though that was enough and he didn't go as far as this example). Someone responded that if the actor has to do that for the audience to get the point, it's a failure of the performer and the production. Unfortunately, I'm not certain it is. Increasingly, and dispiritingly, it may be that some audience members really are reading it exactly the opposite as intended, and it has nothing to do with the production. After this week, it seems entirely too plausible.
Some of Adam Lambert's one-liners in this are quite funny. I loved his performance and wonder if he opened the show whether it would have been received differently and whether the Tony race would have been closer.
Understudy Joined: 3/22/22
Sadly, far too many people are stupid and ignorant (yes, they are two different things). I’ve come to expect nothing from the public, thus I’m never disappointed.
Broadway Star Joined: 4/20/15
How do you know it wasn’t a liberal audience member? Considering conservative politicians are way more supportive of Israel than liberal politicians are.
And Jesus was a Jew, and plenty of liberals blaspheme Him daily. As they do His father in that musical BoM.
Liberals find that hilarious. People in glass houses…
Swing Joined: 1/23/25
Yeah, I was at this showing, and it was rough. It wasn’t just a few laughs, it was what felt like over half the audience. He just looked and stared at the audience for over 30 seconds, not saying a word. Audience continued to laugh for quite some time, then slowly stopped. The he said the line about this not being a comedy and paying attention, and the other half of the crowd gave a huge applause. He repeated the last line of the song, and got another applause.
It was…rather uncomfortable. And it seemed like Adam wasn’t that happy at the moment. But this was also a very discounted matinee with the main Sally out, and multiple people who didn't return at intermission, so who knows. It was just. Odd.
I've seen several reports of this happening recently and Adam responding in a similar way. Maybe this is becoming the new 'normal' at Cabaret.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
theatreguy12 said: "How do you know it wasn’t a liberal audience member? Considering conservative politicians are way more supportive of Israel than liberal politiciansare.
And Jesus was a Jew, and plenty of liberals blaspheme Him daily. As they do His father in that musical BoM.
Liberals find that hilarious. People in glass houses…"
The Jews in my congregation would tell you that you sound ridiculous and you’re wrong.
Broadway Star Joined: 3/29/23
I Starred in ‘Cabaret.’ We Need to Heed Its Warning.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/24/opinion/cabaret-trump-joel-grey.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rU4.yGyR.FkK8drYCA3aC
20+ years ago I worked crew for a production of Cabaret in a conservative town. One night the audience gave thunderous applause to the act one finale, “Tomorrow Belongs to Me.” One of the actors, stepping into the wings, said “as long as they don’t start singing along.”
The box office received a complaint about the show… because two chorus boys danced together during a song. That was the takeaway.
This isn't new, and has happened before, incl his reaction/retort.
A 2010 production in Chicago had Ernst begin menacing the Cabaret dancers in the second act. After "She wouldn't look Jewish at all" the gorilla dancer removed her mask and bowed. Ernst rose from the audience and shot her. I felt it was over-egging the pudding.
If a moment isn’t landing, I think it’s on the director to go back to the table and devise adjustments rather than let the actor ad-lib essentially out-of-character admonishments to the audience.
theatreguy12 said: "How do you know it wasn’t a liberal audience member? Considering conservative politicians are way more supportive of Israel than liberal politiciansare.
And Jesus was a Jew, and plenty of liberals blaspheme Him daily. As they do His father in that musical BoM.
Liberals find that hilarious. People in glass houses…"
See there's your first mistake, Jewish People are not Israel. I also dont recall any Nazi Salutes at the last Democratic Inauguration from someone who regularly echos antisemitic world views on his website used by billions. And ACTUALLY liberal politicians had been handing Israel billions of dollars and weapons to carpet an entire country in a genocide... so...
Kad said: "If a moment isn’t landing, I think it’s on the director to go back to the table and devise adjustments rather than let the actor ad-lib essentially out-of-character admonishmentsto the audience."
Is this production not meant to be "immersive" performing with the audience. I don't see a problem with emphasis...
Can I just check my sanity, the line "she wouldn't look Jewish at all" is meant to be shocking but it's so shocking that I could imagine some uncomfortable chuckles. Are we saying that there were people sincerely laughing along who didn't realise the subtext?
Also checking my sanity I would suggest that right now because of the Gaza situation the primary source of Jew hatred from what I can see does appear to be coming from a small amount of left wing people who conflate Israel with jews, some of which even sympathetic to Hamas. This has been a big political divide for a year now. So if we are saying that there are people clapping along sympathetic to Nazism I wouldn't personally assume they are indeed conservatives.
It kind of reflects Elon Musk's reaction (well one of many) to the criticism that he appeared to do (I assume unintentionally personally) give a nazi salute. "Liberals briefly pause chanting 'Death to Israel' to call Elon Musk a nazi" to point out this irony.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/27/19
binau said: "It kind of reflects Elon Musk's reaction (well one of many) to the criticism that he appeared to do (I assume unintentionally personally) give a nazi salute. "Liberals briefly pause chanting 'Death to Israel' to call Elon Musk a nazi"to point out this irony."
Why would you assume it was unintentional? The person who is literally backing neo-Nazi parties in Germany and other countries the way he backed Trump here? The person whose actions have been recognized as a Nazi salute in Germany and by American neo-Nazis? The person who could easily say he didn't intend to make a Nazi salute, and hasn't?
Yes, please check your sanity.
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” ― George Orwell, 1984
Because it would be a dumb thing to do intentionally even if he was a Nazi (ie the social consequences are too high) and Elon Musk is obviously team Israel/jews as reflected by the statement of the prime minster of Israel. Maybe the Nazi symbol means something else today, but if we are trying to suggest Elon Musk is in any way a nazi that hates Jews I don’t think he is a Nazi that hates Jews. Basically, I am so over this ridiculous scare mongering committing by progressives I just don’t take it seriously anymore. I think one of many reasons progressives lost the election. In addition to other terrible missteps, such as trying to censor free speech that the Meta CEO described as very 1984like to contrast your post.
Look I’m not looking to start an argument or anything so please ignore me - I’m just not going to subscribe to this ideological thinking is all. It’s got too extreme for me. But I am going to continue just to give my opinion for the same reason that I have kept warning that Donald trump might win, which is unless you can find a way to be a bit more reasonable I honestly believe the progressive movement is going to become so marginalised that this extreme thinking is doing more harm than good to the progressive movement and we will all suffer as a result.
Calling leaders nazis etc is the ultimate expression of victim mentality because you get to pretend your very livelihood is under threat. That is absurd - Nazi means something very specific. Someone can even be racist and it wouldn’t make them a Nazi. We have spoilt the use of the word in our language and it’s losing all meaning.
You might not see it, but I believe this is the same kind of ideological thinking that lead to the closing of The Great Comet etc. it feels unhinged and in a different world to me. I don’t buy it.
Stand-by Joined: 8/23/12
Kad, I completely agree. I find it hilarious that the original Facebook poster wrote that Lambert spoke to the audience "without breaking character." As if an actual 1930s Berlin emcee would admonish his audience for laughing at a joke that, back then, they would have found quite hilarious. No, this is an actor who's pissed off about the current political situation in 2025 America (and who can blame him, it's an unspeakable nightmare out there), and injecting that into his performance.
I haven't seen this production (having seen the Mendes many times over the years and am just Cabaret-ed out), and I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseam on this site (so forgive me for being VERY late to the party), but when you throw themes at the audience that weren't in the original show (like gender and race) and imply to a modern audience that that's what this show is about, I wonder if it doesn't dilute the original intent. Yes, undeniably the Nazis murdered queers and blacks, but Cabaret was written, directed and produced by Jews not long after WWII to remind audiences of what was done to the six million and that we must never forget. Audiences unfamiliar with the show who see the advertising now and are hoping for a big gay jamboree (many of them clueless and straight, looking to live a little on the edge) and instead get a history lesson and are pretty plastered by the time that "If You Could See Her" rolls around, probably have no idea what to think of the piece and/or how they're supposed to react to any given line/lyric. I'm not excusing their sorry asses, I'm just proposing that there may be multiple reasons that the social commentary of the musical isn't landing as it's meant to. Try to do too much and you end up doing nothing at all.
"but when you throw themes at the audience that weren't in the original show (like gender and race) and imply to a modern audience that that's what this show is about, I wonder if it doesn't dilute the original intent."
This is nonsense. It's a new production. The intention of the creators of this production is different than when it originally appeared... AS IT SHOULD BE. That's why theater survives. Theater needs to speak to the time it's performed in. Sometimes that means keeping the original intention and sometimes it doesn't.
However, I do not think this production does a great job with ANY of its intentions. I think the production also does a pretty mediocre job of merely telling the story which is why I think the audience is so out of control. If you don't know the plot of Cabaret I think you have a hard time tracking what's going on in this production so these sort of tone changes come as a surprise. I liked the production quite a bit, especially with the two current leads, but it's not particularly competent (in my opinion) and I think that's completely the reason this is happening and why its ultimately this specific directors fault and not because they're trying to speak to the current moment.
MemorableUserName said: "I've read plenty of commentary over the years about how conservatives don't get irony and how art that is intended as criticism is instead embraced as positive, like all the people who watched "All in the Family" because they agreed with Archie Bunker and the fans who didn't see--or care--that "The Boys" aren't intended as heroes (and the show is explicitly criticizing them) but view them as such.
Are we finally at the point where Cabaret is viewed by some as a feel-good story for Nazis of their rise? Or has that always been the case? There was a similar post on Reddit recently where Lambert emphasized the line a second time when some audience members seemingly laughed (though that was enough and he didn't go as far as this example). Someone responded that if the actor has to do that for the audience to get the point, it's a failure of the performer and the production. Unfortunately, I'm not certain it is. Increasingly, and dispiritingly, it may be that some audience members really are reading it exactly the opposite as intended, and it has nothing to do with the production. After this week, it seems entirely too plausible."
Without wading into the additional political discourse above, Lindsay Ellis has a video (nearing a decade old, which is disheartening) about this effect, including about Cabaret and songs name-checked in this thread.
I remember my first exposure to the show was a bootleg from the 2021 production, it was Fra and Amy and what he did was he was using his normal speaking voice then he just yelled the word Jewish. It was long and drawn out and it got the point across so well that even I was shaking and uncomfortable a year after that performance happened.
Having seen Adam and knowing he whispers it, I feel like if you put more into it, scare the audience into what you’re trying to get across then it would work better. A tone change and a couple more seconds would help out a ton. Explaining it just takes away from the whole thing, and cabaret is a show that’s supposed to make you feel uneasy whenever shot goes from 0 to 100 in just a few seconds (I still think it shouldn’t be uncomfortable from the get go and should stay with tomorrow belongs to me but that gd my opinion.) When you have to explain why it isn’t good than you’re not moving your point across correctly.
Cabaret is a show that’s supposed to show you why it’s so ****ed up and why it shouldn’t happen again. Explaining it kills the suspense and the point you’re trying to make. I love this show, but it really could be done better to bring the point across.
No, this is an actor who's pissed off about the current political situation in 2025 America (and who can blame him, it's an unspeakable nightmare out there), and injecting that into his performance.
I totally agree, him trying to have a teachable moment with people who have already turned off their ignorant ears is a giant waste of his time. Or maybe they were really stupid, really confused, or really high on fentanyl. No one knows.
Stand-by Joined: 3/27/22
People are either in denial, or wilfully ignorant if they think a lot of antisemitism isn't coming from certain groups of the left. While being Jewish, and isreal, are two different things, that doesn't stop people from equating them as the same and targeting them all as one in the same.
The left is equally as capable of being dangerously idiotic, just like the MAGA crowd. Some parts of the left have gone so far left they are becoming right wing.
Videos