“Divine Decadence”, the words of Sally Bowles, capture the essence of the musical Cabaret.
Set in Berlin of 1929/30, it deals with sexuality, fascism, love and hate.
The Emcee, a ghostly looking creature, guides us through the dark world of a
German Cabaret. His narration is seemingly spontaneous, happening in excellently sugue-ed musical numbers.
He orders us to leave our troubles outside, for “In here life is beautiful, the girls are beautiful,
even the orchestra is beautiful”.
As the show continues, you are further submerged into the world of the Cabaret,
forgetting the outside world. This is probably because of the sleazy glamour that the piece
showcases.
The whole play is a device used for social commentary on Germany, which despite
the promises of the emcee, was a troubling place in 1930. Berlin was a place where almost
anything could happen. The sexual attitude of the time was very liberal ("Two Ladies")
and everyone was awash in drugs and alcohol. However the show always seems to be aware of
Isherwoods line "I am a camera" and never places judgement on the people or what they do.
It's merely capturing what's happening, and leaves it up to you to decide what to make of it.
This new revival of Cabaret, directed by Sam Mendes (director of American Beauty) is much
more glamourous, hedonistic and decadent than the Bob Fosse film, and quite possibly the
best version to date. The last revival of Cabaret ran 254 performances, this version
running for two years now, with a national touring company as well.
Perhaps it’s Rob Marshall (who is currently working on the film version of Fosse's "Chicago")
amazing choreography, or the fact that each remarkable performer, dances, sings and plays in the
orchestra. Maybe it’s Mendes updates, making it more relevant now than it has been before. Then of
course there is Kander and Ebb’s timeless music and lyrics. It's far more likely thatit's all of these
factors coming together. The entire audience, which ranged from seniors to youth, was entranced by the whole thing,
which was comedic and tragic all at once. Cabaret seems to have found a new niche that holds a universal appeal.
