"Why Should I Wake Up?" - from Cabaret.

Does anyone else think it's a shame this song is always cut from all major productions of CABARET these days? It's a really beautiful song. And Cliff could use some more singing in the revised versions of the show.

Any other fans of this song? "Why Should I Wake Up?" was replaced by "Don't Go" in the 87 revival. It's a good song too, But the former is still better.

Updated On: 7/2/08 at 11:21 PM

*Shocked* It's pointless to have Cliff sing a verse in PERFECTLY MARVELOUS. Then not have him sing again.

I like the song, but as Cliff has gotten more bi/gay as the show and movie have evolved him over the years, it kinda makes less sense.

Love this song!! I think it fits perfectly into the show. Both the original, Bert Convy, and Brent Barrett (on his Kander & Ebb CD), with the great Ruthie Henshall, give excellent renditions of the song.

I like both "Why Should I Wake Up?" and "Don't Go". I'd never be able to pick which one to use. Maybe they could alternate every night.

Cabaret has been revised SO DAMN much. I would love if Encores! did it in it's original 1966 form for their Summer Stars.

Updated On: 7/3/08 at 01:48 AM

Can Martha Plimpton sing?

This and "What Would You Do?" are the whole point of Cabaret. The fact that it is always cut and that "Maybe this Time" which sounds more like 60s nightclub than 30s Berlin is always put in just to make the dumb audience happy is a real shame.

But it sounds nothing like anything else in the score. It was thrown into the movie because Fred Ebb and Liza really liked it. There's the whole notion of Fosse wanting a song in that spot for her, but K&E could have easily written a completely new one.

I think Maybe This Time is one of my top three favorite songs from any show. I don't know how anyone could think that it doesn't belong in the show or is not accessible into the score that features a nightclub and tragic characters with broken dreams. It finally lets us take a peek into a perhaps more intimate side of Sally that we never really see because we're mostly viewing her from Cliff's perspective or through the lens of the Cabaret, which is almost always distorted to show a grim truth underneath anyway.

It's intriguing, we see her solipsism from a romantic side infused with cynicism and doubt, as opposed to her normally careless and fun-loving flirtation. Plus, it works in the setting and the song fits the sound of show the: dark, decadent, brassy.

As for "Why Should I Wake Up?" I like the song because it does flow nicely and is a great nod to The Berlin Stories where Isherwood definitely narrates from this perpetual half-amused, half-curious state that goes hand in hand with the lyrics to this song. That said, I think the show survives well without it and the issue of placement and time as well is another factor. As for Cliff being non-singing, I can't buy that because he is in Perfectly Marvelous and I could kind of make a mental excuse for him to have zero songs if he didn't sing a note, but him doing so makes me torn on whether he should have this song or not.

I don't understand the beginning of that last post - it is a two act show - but the first act runs around 1 hour and half and the second is like a half hour/45 minutes. I just directed the show and the biggest complaint from the audience was having to sit for so long. I mean first of all, I told them to all shut up because you sit down in a theater to watch movies that are longer, but secondly it has to be structured that way for dramatic reasons- the break for intermission needs to come after the Tomorrow Belongs to Me Reprise.

Also, I think Maybe This Time fits perfectly into the score like someone else said. Maybe because it's been placed in our memories as being part of the show because of the movie - and I think it was effective in the 98 revival when placed into that scene instead of Don't Go. It's Don't Go from Sally's point of view.

Ah thanks. That cleared that up.

I adore this song. "Don't Go" is quite awful.

Brent Barrett does a gorgeous duet of "Why Should I Wake Up?" with Ruthie Henshall on his Kander and Ebb album. Quite wonderful.