Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
tz0o
Leading Actor Joined: 11/10/05
#0Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 1:52pmI know it's a bit. . .late. . .to be posting this since "Cabaret" is not playing anymore, but who's interpretation of the Emcee do you prefer, Joel Grey's or Alan Cumming's? Personally, I prefer Joel Grey's, simply because it doesn't make sense for the Emcee to be singing the blatantly anti-semetic song "If You Could See Her Through My Eyes" one minute, and then get locked up in a concentration camp wearing both a Jewish star and a pink triangle. But then again, I'm just another biased Joel Grey fan. What do you all think?
You insult me, I ignore you. That's how the system works around here.
#1re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 2:56pm
The Joel Grey version of "Cabaret" - stage or film, is completely different from the Alan Cumming version. I saw Alan Cumming in "Cabaret." Seeing him and Natasha Richardson together, was one of the most extraordinary theatrical experiences I've ever had.
You can't compare one to the other.......apples and oranges. It's not fair to say that one is better than the other.
Both versions of the show are completely different.
#2re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 3:22pmI think it's a lot more ironic to have the revival version locked up in a concentration camp at the end -- I've always felt like he's mysterious and ephemeral, almost without a concrete identity. I don't think he's singing that song as himself; he himself, rather, not being anti-semetic. He's mocking it. He is, in essence, a trickster, making a mockery of what goes on around him, until he's swallowed up by it. Joel Grey said once in an interview that to him, Emcee was a representation of Hitler. Cumming's was more vulnerable, and a representation of everything to be destroyed.
#3re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 3:22pmI think it makes a lot of sense. Denial of ones roots is a very emotional subject.
BSoBW2: I punched Sondheim in the face after I saw Wicked and said, "Why couldn't you write like that!?"
#4re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 3:25pmExactly, Emcee.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
#5re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 3:29pm
I think these character choices are more of a director's decision than the actors'.
Though personally I prefer the 1998 version more. Ever read the poem "And then they came for me?"
"I am ready to disclaim my opinion, even of yesterday, even of 10 minutes ago, because all opinions are relative. One lives in a field of influences, one is influenced by everyone one meets, everything is an exchange of influences, all opinions are derivative. Once you deal a new deck of cards, you've got a new deck of cards."
— Peter Brook
tz0o
Leading Actor Joined: 11/10/05
#6re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 3:30pm
Thanks, Emcee. I think I'm starting to understand the revival interpretation a bit more.
And Necro, yes I did. It's very sad.
You insult me, I ignore you. That's how the system works around here.
Updated On: 4/22/06 at 03:30 PM
#7re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 3:31pm
It was one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen. 
#8re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 4:03pmTotal threadjacking here but: How was Norbert Leo Butz's performance as the Emcee (M.C?) I know he performed during the tour but haven't really heard a review of him one way or the other.
tz0o
Leading Actor Joined: 11/10/05
#9re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 4:20pmNorbert Leo Butz played the Emcee during the tour?
You insult me, I ignore you. That's how the system works around here.
#10re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 4:25pm
Yes the Emcee has been played by:
Alan Cumming
Neil Patrick Harris
John Stamos
Norbert Leo Butz
Adam Pascal
and others...
Perosnally, I prefer Alan. His version was just so much darker and artistic, and in my opinion, deeper. However, Joel Grey also gave an iconic portrayal of the role.
"The hallmark of aristocracy is responsibility. Oh brother, that got me, that did me in!"
#11re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 5:09pmAwesome ideas, emcee!
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill A Mockingbird
#12re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 5:23pm
It's all up to the director, really. Many feel that the Emcee, like the leading player in Pippin, has complete control over what goes on in the show - in the Cumming version, he sort of loses that control as things get out of hand. He may be able to control the wild, sexual, decadent party that was pre-Nazi Berlin, but when the party ends (I Don't Care Much) he loses control of the show and becomes a victim himself. The last verse of "auf wiedersehn, a bientot...", directly translated, means "see you later" (it wouldn't be appropriate to say goodbye). The emcee is bidding the audience farewell, at least until he sees them in hell. He was living a heaven of sex, drugs, and scandal before, but now he has lost control to something much greater than he.
With the Grey version, the Emcee presents an image of fun, with the clown face and impish mannerisms, the promise of a new era - but in the end, only ruthlessly tramples on all that is decent around him. HIs control does not slip, but tightens. His "auf wiedersehn, a bientot..." also refers to a hell, but the hell that he sees over, and it therefore is much more menacing. It's very interesting. It makes the older versions of Cabaret of the 60's and 80's seem considerably less tame.
I've been thinking about this a lot, I'm in a production of the show right now.
tz0o
Leading Actor Joined: 11/10/05
#13re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 5:25pm
Geez, I really feel bad, so I'm just gonna make a little confession.
Truth is, I never saw "Cabaret" with Alan Cummings in it. Mum wouldn't let me. Heck, I'm lucky that she hasn't taken away my "Cabaret" cast recording with Joel Grey on it. I just formed an opinion of Alan Cumming's performance based on what I heard. Now after hearing how great he was and after Emcee explained the confusing parts, I feel really bad for doing so.
Is there any way you can get a copy of Alan Cumming's performance? Then I can truely decide who I like better.
You insult me, I ignore you. That's how the system works around here.
Updated On: 4/22/06 at 05:25 PM
BSoBW2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/8/04
#14re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 5:26pm
The only legal copies are from Donmar OR the press footage...
Is it available at the LC Library?
Updated On: 4/22/06 at 05:26 PM
#15re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 5:26pm
I like that, inlovewith.... but do you mean literal hell, or a hellish existence -- sort of post-war life of disillusionment and destruction? I think I'd side with the latter.
I'll confess that I (still) have not ever seen the movie.
erinrebecca
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/29/04
#16re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 5:29pmI saw Norbert twice as the Emcee. He was terrific and my second favorite after Alan.
tz0o
Leading Actor Joined: 11/10/05
#17re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 5:32pmCan you buy those, BSO?
You insult me, I ignore you. That's how the system works around here.
Flahooley
Leading Actor Joined: 11/17/05
#18re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 7:29pm
I never thought IF YOU COULD SEE HER THROUGH MY EYES was anti-semetic... I always thought it pointed up the prejudice of the time... and perhaps today.
Alan Cummings makes me uneasy...I always feel like I've been violated after I see him in anything.
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jsand25
Stand-by Joined: 10/22/05
#19re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 9:59pmI prefer Alan Cumming's take, but only because I like the show much darker. However, you cant really compare because the revival and original were so different.
C is for Company
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/16/05
#20re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 10:08pm
Oh Flahooley, that was perhaps one of the funniest things I've seen written here!
Emcee, I'd suggest the movie. I at first, was not impressed, but rewatched it a year later and appreciated it so much. It didn't help me to clarify any of the interpretations because each seems so different than the others in how the characters are portrayed. If you are a fan of the material though, which I think it is safe to say that you are, definitely view it cause it is just another great take on a very flexible show.
Cabaret seems to me as one of the unique shows that can be taken in so many directions and withstand a lot of changes made, giving the audiences a new perception each time.
#21re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 10:10pmYou know, I've been *meaning* to see it for a good long while. I'm not sure that I want to buy it if I won't watch it often, and I'm having trouble finding it without buying it. I don't know anyone I can borrow it from, even. Eventually, I will just cave and buy it, because I'm so ashamed that I haven't yet seen it.
#22re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 10:13pmEmcee, I think we just made up your mind! Decide not to see RENT for like 500 bucks, instead pay 20 on Cabaret!
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill A Mockingbird
#23re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 10:15pmheh. Actually, I was just given some B&N gift cards for my birthday, so I'll order the DVD.
C is for Company
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/16/05
#24re: Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee
Posted: 4/22/06 at 10:18pmI think Alan after Threepenny, should play the Wizard so that we can further get more discussion in on the comparison between these two fine actors!
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