Cabaret question

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 1:47pm

Ok...I completely forgot...

When did the MC bring people up on "stage" to dance?

Also, my friend never saw Cabaret and I was trying to explain the (revival's) ending when the MC removes his coat and is wearing the prisoner's outfit. I was trying to incorporate that into the whole brick thing in Herr Schultz's window and the end of Tomorrow Belongs To Me (with the MC saying To Me...)

Can anyone help me explain this coherently lol?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 1:52pm

The audience interaction is at the top of Act Two. As for your other question, I am too tired to go into it coherently enough at the moment. Sorry.

[2day4u9704301]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 1:53pm

Well, I can help you by saying he dances with people at the beginning of Act II before the kick line. Can't help ya with the explanation, tho....:-/

[NJgirl]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 1:59pm

I saw the revival in spring 2003 and loved it. I had to jog my memory there to remember if they even did approach anyone in the audience..but i remember it now....
I do remember that I was sitting in the bar stool seats at Studio54 on the side, next to the stage...we got student rush tix very last min...bc it was the first night of the musicians strike...and we had to return our tix for Chicago that night and ran down to 54..as Cabaret was one of the few things still playing bc it had a diff contract...and we had drinks and a snack on our counter...but all of a sudden we ended up part of the show and one of the actors came over...moved our stuff aside and used our counter as a telephone stand complete with prop telephone and we proceeded to be in the spotlight for a few while he did his scene..lol When the box office person said we'd be so close, we'd practically be in the show...now we knew why...lol

~Cristin

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 2:06pm

LOL, thanks all....

I'll give you time on the other question (it's not life or death)

[sean martin]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 2:54pm

The second question? The rise of Fascism, the concentration camps, the attacks on Jews in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power.

My god, have we failed our history this much?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 2:56pm

I'll PM you a link to a summary I have... just give me a minute to find it.

... and I would now like to take this time to express my love for the dearly departed Cabaret. I Don't Care Much just came on my iTunes shuffle.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 3:11pm

Sean Martin,

I understand the show - and I didn't feel like going into detail, but you have forced me.

I have to explain it to my friend in French and I have NO idea how!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 3:44pm

The ending was audience manipulation and it doesn't make sense. If you assume that the MC is evil, then what is he doing in a concentration camp outfit acting as a victim? The original ending is much better when you realize that evil has completely taken over and the MC is more of an evil spirit than an actual person living the events.

Updated On: 10/28/04 at 03:44 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 3:46pm

Audience manipulation? I'm not sure I understand how it doesn't make sense, but then again, I ONLY saw the '98 production. I've yet to see the movie in its entirety (soon, I promise). In the newer one, anyway, he wasn't quite 100% evil, like he was in the movie....

Updated On: 10/28/04 at 03:46 PM

[sean martin]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 4:57pm

I think it depends on how you handle the Emcee as a character. When we produced it at TCR, he was in every scene, watching, making silent commentary, acting as the completely free spirit of Berlin at the times. His mockery of the Nazis just underscored Sally's obliviousness to the situation -- and when he appeared as the train policeman in the penultimate scene, it was almost like "Okay, I'm completely and utterly embracing this for the foolishness that it is" -- only to have that jerked away when he becomes a prisoner. It's not an easy concept to get across, but once you do, the audience will be right there with you.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 5:07pm

well put, sean!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 5:12pm

With the MC being in a prison outfit at the end, I read that to mean victim of the Holocaust. I could never justify the MC being a part of the Two Ladies pornography and then being a victim at the end. It never made sense to me. The original left a very cold, chilling attitude toward the MC. This revival, in my opinion, tries to manipulate the audience into feeling sorry for the MC at the end.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 5:15pm

In the newer version, it seemed like you were supposed to feel sorry for him at various points throughout. He didn't have as much of a sinister side about him as the original did... he was a lot more vulnerable, it seemed. Still a confusing idea to wrestle with for sure.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 5:59pm

Ahhh! I can't beleive I've been missing out on this.
Sean, I totally agree with you.
You have to understand, that with nine Emcee's, there are going to be some major diferences in character interpretation. Say for example, Raul's Emcee was more cynical, and harsh, where as John Stamos was more on the comical side. And Vance Avery, well, I don't really know what I would describe his as, other than just sort of more up beat than a bunch of the others I saw.

[Alix]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 7:43pm

If you think of the emcee as evil than no, I guess the ending wouldn't make a lot of sense. I have never thought of him as evil at all though. I just take the end to mean that years later the emcee is a concentration camp prisoner. I also think all the Kit Kat Boys and Girls standing, staring at the audience in that blinding light at the back of the stage is a metaphor for how alone everyone was during the holocaust. Always gives me chills...even just listening to the end of the CD.

Alix

[Kris2]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 10:13pm

Oh man, Cabaret was amazing. I wish I had seen it more than once. I apologize if my memory is a little fuzzy.

Alix: If you think of the emcee as evil than no, I guess the ending wouldn't make a lot of sense. I have never thought of him as evil at all though. I just take the end to mean that years later the emcee is a concentration camp prisoner. I also think all the Kit Kat Boys and Girls standing, staring at the audience in that blinding light at the back of the stage is a metaphor for how alone everyone was during the holocaust. Always gives me chills...even just listening to the end of the CD.

I think it was left open to interpretation. If you take the ending literally, then yes, the emcee could've been a concentration camp prisoner. I see it more as a transition from sleeping through the pre-Holocaust days and the Nazis' rise to power (hence the pajamas). Then everyone was thrust into the Holocaust and WWII and there was no escape, not even in the Kit Kat Club even though Sally thinks she'll be safe there and people think things won't change. The Emcee states in the beginning that you can leave your troubles outside, but everyone discovers that you can't (hence the change to the prisoner of a concentration camp outfit, meaning everyone was involved). It's about much more than just one man. All the people standing in the background, I felt like it symbolized how everyone was just looking on at first and not doing anything while the Nazis rose to power. People were blinded by the Nazi party and it disoriented and confused them. Basically, I got the feeling that you just can't escape something by ignoring it because it'll bite you in the ass. You can't run from the circumstances that surround you and you can't let people blind you to the truth.

I feel the "brick thing" was meant to symbolize the growing hostility against Jews in Berlin. In its own way, it may symbolize Kristallnacht ("the Night of the Broken Glass"). I hope people know what that is!

Tomorrow Belongs to Me - Well, it's playing out of this old record player. You hear this young boy's voice - the voice of youth. Many Nazis were recruited as young boys/teenagers and were brainwashed and such. I believe there was a Nazi Youth group or something to that effect. The idealism was based on false principles that the Jews were to blame. Even with the Nazis starting to make noise in Berlin and let their voices be heard, people still thought it wouldn't affect them. The Emcee saying "to me" was, in my opinion, him saying that he still thought he controlled his fate and destiny (what happened to him tomorrow).

I have never seen the Emcee as being evil. Deliciously dirty and sinful and racy, but not evil. I never felt like he was the bad guy or the good guy. He presided over the evening in his own fashion. He alternated between offering commentary and entertaining the kit kat club patrons. He was the character at the end on the train platform with Rick because people like the Emcee were just as guilty as the Nazis for doing nothing while they rose to power.

Cabaret is just such a cerebral, powerful show that I'm sure it's open to many interpretations though. I miss it.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 10:15pm

gah! I love you.

I miss it, too.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 10:18pm

Okay, don't even get me started on how much I miss this show...
Edit-Listening to the Entr'Acte as I type...*sob*

Updated On: 10/28/04 at 10:18 PM

[Kris2]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 10:21pm

YOU guys miss the show?! I saw Jon Secada and even he couldn't ruin it for me. I wanted the chance to see another Emcee, but I never did. It closed on my birthday too. I wish I had seen Alan Cumming, Raul Esparza, Norbert Leo Butz (tour), or Neil Patrick Harris.

My friend saw John Stamos and just can't think of Uncle Jesse the same way after seeing a swastika on his butt.

*Edit: Aww, Cabaret!love. Updated On: 10/28/04 at 10:21 PM

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 10:25pm

"It closed on my birthday too..."

Well isn't that a nice birthday present?

Posted: 10/28/04 at 10:28pm

Kris2, according to your explanation, the reason why all characters at the end were in the concentration camp is because even they couldn't escape what was going on in Germany? If that is the case, it makes a lot of sense. We weren't sure if they were in the camp as the characters themselves or just prisoners in the camp.

Great interpretation, by the way! Thanks!

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 10:29pm

Believe me, *shudders* it wasn't a pretty sight. I actually hated Stamos the most out of all of them. He was way to cocky for his own good, and broke character to much for my taste. Elch, and Jon Secada, that was just a nightmare he never had any character to begin with.
Oh look, I've probably gone and pissed off someone who actually liked one of them.

[Kris2]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 10:38pm

bmeonbway2: Kris2, according to your explanation, the reason why all characters at the end were in the concentration camp is because even they couldn't escape what was going on in Germany? If that is the case, it makes a lot of sense. We weren't sure if they were in the camp as the characters themselves or just prisoners in the camp.

It's not even that the background people at the end had to be in a concentration camp. It didn't matter where you were in Germany. You were involved in what was going on whether you ignored it, acknowledged it, or participated in it. They all bear a little blame for not doing anything and allowing themselves to be blinded by the Nazi promises to restore Germany to it's former glory and establish the Third Reich. The ending really can be interpreted many ways though. It could be that the people were powerless bystanders. They couldn't stop it no matter what, everyone was a victim, divided by certain affiliations whether it be race, religion, gender, etc. The beauty of the show is to take from it what you can and just sit back and absorb.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 10:41pm

ah, Jon Secada. His last show was my first.... and that couldn't stop me from going back.

I miss it.