Okay, so I've never seen it live. But it's a musical, originally on Broadway, so it goes here. Cabaret is the story of a idealistic young performer named Sally Bowles and her lover and their tumultuous relationship set against the backdrop of Berlin, 1931. This was when the Nazis were still a tiny political faction that was looked upon as a bit of a joke. It starts out with only one Nazi in the cabaret, but by the end everyone in the crowd is a Nazi. It's really fascinating. People who dislike musicals because they're consantly breaking out into song would like this (hell, my dad did and he hates musicals) because most of the songs take place within the cabaret. The songs are very pertinent to what's going on in the story however. For example, with Sally's sleeping around in order to get to the top, she leaves a great many people behind. This is expressed in her song "Mein Herr" about a woman leaving her lover. "It was a fine affair but now it's over." It's a brilliant play and very funny at times. I see a bit of myself in Sally. It was also one of the first musicals of it's time to deal with some serious issues like the Nazis and abortion and the like. And the songs are entertaining.
The most entertaining character in that play is the Master Of Ceremonies at the cabaret, who you never see out of makeup or out of character. It's a brilliant part. Currently Alan Cumming is playing him on Broadway. I understand that he has completely reinvented the character of the Emcee from the original Joel Grey character. From what I've heard of the new Broadway cast recording, he definitely kicks ass. Natasha Richardson plays Sally Bowles in the revival. Her character is much more toned down and she took a great risk in recreating a character defined by Liza Minelli. She does a wonderful job as well. Alan Cumming and Natasha Richardson won Tonys for Cabaret this year.
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