"Futuristic 'Cabaret' " — Page 2

That's not nearly as over dramatic as comparing what's happening in America today to Nazi Germany. Sorry, that's false equivalency.

I mean...I don't really care. I wouldn't do it myself because I think it's probably most effective set in its time period. But as MisterMatt points out, many great works have been set successfully in time periods different from where they are set. At some point we'll all be dead, everything will be in the public domain and companies and directors will be having at everything everyone thinks is sacred. So, who cares? So what?

SonofRobbieJ said: "I mean...I don't really care. I wouldn't do it myself because I think it's probably most effective set in its time period. But as MisterMatt points out, many great works have been set successfully in time periods different from where they are set. At some point we'll all be dead, everything will be in the public domain and companies and directors will be having at everything everyone thinks is sacred. So, who cares? So what?"

But, I think that pieces written before the 20th Century aren't rooted as much in their times like like current things are. I mean, Romeo and Juliet, Antigone, etc. all work wherever you make it. The King and I, South Pacific, Camelot, etc. don't work.

SonofRobbieJ said: "I mean...I don't really care. I wouldn't do it myself because I think it's probably most effective set in its time period. But as MisterMatt points out, many great works have been set successfully in time periods different from where they are set. At some point we'll all be dead, everything will be in the public domain and companies and directors will be having at everything everyone thinks is sacred. So, who cares? So what?"

I'm finding posts like the one above, as well as comment/response (one among many, btw) like...

ABitOnTheSide said: "Nobody will ever convince me that we are living in the same sort of story as the people who died before us 70 something years ago. It is arrogant to believe otherwise."
And Cabaret is literally about people unwilling and unable to believe they are living on the precipice of what you've described.

...to hold much more significance, contemporary relevance, and thought-provoking, enjoyable drama than either the synopsis of production description notes that were found in the link from the OP, or the coming production itself.

This thread actually is current and relevant, whereas that future production concept seems forced and stagey.

SonofRobbiej's post (above) struck me in a very enjoyable way - like I was hearing a character speak those lines in a contemporary play. I think the reference to Cabaret, exactly how he has written it, and within this contemporary setting of a thread in cyberspace, is much stronger than the concept Boston Conservatory intends to produce.

SonofRobbieJ said: "Well that's because, in my mind, I'm always on stage of the Walter Kerr. :) :) :)"

You'll be a phenomenal "contemporary" Fräulein Schneider...

I do a lot of Shakespeare, as both an actor and a director. When I'm coming up with a "concept" for a production, it's usually while trying to answer the question, "What can I do to best help a modern audience connect to this 400 year old play?" Usually, that involves setting it in a different time and place, or giving it some sort of design aesthetic (summer themed, steampunk, etc.). There's really no reason to do any of Shakespeare's plays in Elizabethan dress, etc. unless perhaps you are doing one of the history plays, or you are purposely doing it as a museum piece a la Mark Rylance's Globe productions.

This approach can also apply to some modern plays - i.e. David Cromer's Our Town, Ivo Van Hove's...well, anything he directs...

The thing is, this is, I think, much harder to do with musicals. They are just a different animal. Also, although Sam Mendes' made popular the "seedy" Cabaret, which basically upped the shock value, since blatant sexuality and the horrors of the Holocaust are much more familiar to audiences than they were in the 1966 or whatever - he basically changed the aesthetic of the play, but...the 1930's wasn't that long ago. I'd say for most musicals, unless it takes place before the 20th century, it's probably not old enough yet to warrant a change in time and location. It's just too soon for it to really work for most musicals written over the past seventy years. Give it a couple centuries.

The Distinctive Baritone said: "I do a lot of Shakespeare, as both an actor and a director. When I'm coming up with a "concept" for a production, it's usually while trying to answer the question, "What can I do to best help a modern audience connect to this 400 year old play?" Usually, that involves setting it in a different time and place, or giving it some sort of design aesthetic (summer themed, steampunk, etc.). There's really no reason to do any of Shakespeare's plays in Elizabethan dress, etc. unless perhaps you are doing one of the history plays, or you are purposely doing it as a museum piece a la Mark Rylance's Globe productions.

This approach can also apply to some modern plays - i.e. David Cromer'sOur Town,Ivo Van Hove's...well, anything he directs...

The thing is, this is, I think, much harder to do with musicals. They are just a different animal. Also, althoughSam Mendes' made popular the "seedy"Cabaret,which basically upped the shock value, since blatant sexuality and the horrors of the Holocaust are much more familiar to audiences than they were in the 1966 or whatever - he basically changed the aesthetic of the play, but...the 1930's wasn't that long ago. I'd say for most musicals, unless it takes place before the 20th century, it's probably not old enough yet to warrant a change in time and location. It's just too soon for it to really work for most musicals written over the past seventy years. Give it a couple centuries."

For me, this is the perfect answer!

My wild guess here is that, much like the Mendes version was "set" in the nightclub, this will be too, with the caveat that it's "futuristic", which sounds like an opportunity to use designs and choreography that you wouldn't usually see in Cabaret.

As always 3/4 of the people on these boards are just horrible. How are you people theatre goers?