Joel Grey's Emcee vs. Alan Cumming Emcee — Page 2

I have never seen the Grey version of the stage show, only the movie. And, have seen the revival on tour (with Norbert).

I do not have some of the deep interpretative experiences that many of you have, but I have a very simple take on it.

Grey's Emcee was a witness in the world around him. The Cabaret itself was a metaphor for Nazi Germany, and the slow, creep of the rise of fascism. He was not as much a participant, as a commentator. He merely mocked and mirrored what his audience wanted. If you remember the end of the movie, you look in the audience, it was filled with Nazi uniforms, as opposed to it being filled with civilians in the beginning (at least that is my recollection, I have not seen it is a couple of years).

The Revival to me is even more powerful, because while the Emcee is also a commentator, it shows the consequences of not looking objectively at what is going on around you. The Emcee here has the fools impression that by going along with the crowd, he will be protected from its consequences. He, in many ways, participates in his own downfall.

And, for the record, along the lines of your poem, one of my favorite quotes is from Dante: "The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality."

The show is amazing, and sadly, very relevant to what is going on today.

ETA - and, if you have not seen the movie as an adult, I recommend you do. When you see it as a child or a teenager, I thing some of the inferences are lost. "Tomorrow belongs to me" and the scene, and the chills it generates when I watch it . . . still frightens me.

Updated On: 4/22/06 at 10:21 PM

I want to listen to the revival recording now. :)

I feel like Emcee in the revival was *very* self-aware. He was enjoying the part and the decadence, but I don't think he was blind to what was going on -- that seems to be there the hugely sinister undertones come in. He's not just inviting you to a night of dirty, dark, senusal pleasure; there's something else very ugly and terrible going on -- maybe a mystery as to *what* at first, but it's there. I think the best actors to play Emcee made it look like he was hiding something from you, while still being irresistable and enticing and making you want this party of a life he led, so seemingly carefree. When he threw that brick, it wasn't out of innocence; he knew what he was doing, and it was very deliberate, but he did it in disguise and/or, depending on how you look at it, mockery.

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An explanation that has taken much deliberation! I'm totally fascinated by it. Obviously.

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So do I. Obviously, in many ways, the interpretation Cumming and Mendes built was passed down, and a lot of the quirks of Alan's performance were picked up by the actors who played the part after him, but he brought something inherently disconcerting, I think, which was so, so necessary.

I saw Jon Secada my first time, who was dreadful, but even though his performance was bad, the part and the interpretation and all that could be taken from just what it *was* were incredible.

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Well, he was terrible.

Adam was...... yeah. Ridiculously f*cking good. Not *quite* creepy enough, but.... I still don't have the right words!

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I have seen a video of Adam singing "If you could see her" on YouTube. Although I think Adam is an awesome performer, from what I saw in the video he didnt capture it that well. I just have this feeling it wasn't the right role for him. He couldnt keep the accent very well and doesnt fit the bill of the Emcee that much either. Personally, I am really curious how Neil handled it because I can imagine him being spectacular.

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Updated On: 4/23/06 at 11:02 PM

luvtheEmcee,

I think you can borrow the "Cabaret" movie from any library for free. If you like it after watching, you can buy it from ebay.