MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS – Part 15a
THE TOP TEN – #4
NOTE: Due to the length of this entry,
I'm dividing it into two parts. This is part one of two.
THE
ORIGINAL
Groundbreaking. Innovative. Chilling.
Thought-provoking. Marvelous. And still, tragically, so very relevant fifty-two
years (in 2018) after it first burst onto the New York stage.
# 4: CABARET
– Book by Joe Masteroff, Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Cabaret spent the last 11 months of its run at the 1761 seat Broadway Theatre, a theatre about 600 seats larger than the more intimate 1156 seat Broadhurst Theatre where it started out.
The iconic original cast. Note Joel Grey's billing. In my opinion, the four top-billed actors (Sally, Cliff, Schneider, Schultz) are the leads in Cabaret. The Emcee is, and always will be, a supporting role.
********************
Broadway had never seen anything like it when Cabaret opened at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York on November 20, 1966. The critics didn't quite know how to review a show that
was a radical departure from musicals prior to this, and certainly didn't know
how to react to a leading lady in a musical (Jill Haworth in her only Broadway
role) whose vocal abilities were limited. Considering Cabaret's legendary status today, it's worth nothing that the show
received favorable, but not across-the-boards raves when it opened. Based on the play
by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood, Cabaret was, in a way, a musical with a split personality: part bawdy
nightclub fare and part more traditional book musical with all the
traditional trimmings of plot, subplot, and romantic interests. Some critics in
1966 had an issue with that. I didn't. What director Harold Prince and
choreographer Ron Field accomplished in this groundbreaking production cannot
be praised enough. Through his musical staging, Ron Field created a world
teetering on the brink of the abyss that would become known as the Third Reich.
Director Prince took the traditional book musical elements and added just
enough twists and jolts to bring its plot-based characters and
situations also to the edge of that coming abyss. Take for example,
smooth-talking Ernst and his mysterious trips to Paris, the disturbing
"Tomorrow Belongs to Me" both as first sung by a group of waiters and
then at the engagement party scene that closes Act One in which Nazi armbands
make their first appearance, the rock thrown through Herr Schultz's fruit shop
window, Sally's unheard-of-in-musicals abortion, the desperation of Cabaret's title song, the devastating
regret and resignation in Fraulein Schneider's "What Would You Do?"
No, it's not perfect. The original Cabaret
skirts around the hedonism of pre-Nazi Berlin and plays it safe by being
solidly heterosexual. So heterosexual, in fact, that when it's revealed that
the Emcee played one of the kick-line dancers in drag in the number that opened
the second act, the audience gasped in shock and then tittered in nervous
amusement. (Not the first time drag had made a Broadway appearance, but still
not an everyday thing.) "The Telephone Song," though cleverly and
delightfully staged and which gave the ensemble a rare moment to shine, isn't
really generic to the show. Kander and Ebb gave Herr Schultz a cloyingly
saccharine number, "Meeskite," which I've always felt was there only
to give the original Schultz, Jack Gilford, more to do. (Even when listening to
the original cast album at the tender age of 16, I would usually skip over that
number. Bugged the crap out of me then; bugs the crap out of me now.) And, of
course, the substitution at the end of "If You Could See Her" of
"she isn't a meeskite at all" instead of the original "she
wouldn't look Jewish at all" because producer/director Prince was afraid
of potentially offending the large Jewish theatre audience. (In the early 70s,
Prince, in an interview, stated he regretted his decision and, thankfully, the
original lyric has been restored.)
And now, let's travel to Berlin. New Year's Eve, 1929.
"Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome/Im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret!"
– Shubert
Theatre, Chicago
The fabulous original artwork on the souvenir program. Never surpassed.
"Meeskite" is mercifully gone. Sadly, so is "Why Should I Wake Up?" and the whimsical, yet pointed, original "The Money Song." I still miss the glorious singing of the waiters when they sing "Tomorrow Belongs to Me." Check out the box about the intermission medley.
December, 1968; January, 1969. Making an extended stop at the Shubert,
the First National Company of Cabaret
was a dazzling replica of the still-playing Broadway original. I was completely
mad for Melissa Hart. She was a tart, big-voiced Sally, all brass and sass, and
ultimately tragic. You left the theatre with the distinct feeling that, for
her, life would never be a cabaret, old chum. Signe Hasso and Leo Fuchs were
excellent as Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz (What are their first names? Does anyone know?) Charles Abbott made for
an appropriately creepy Emcee. I had a crush on handsome Gene Rupert who played
Cliff. Catherine Gaffigan and David Rounds were nicely villainy as Frl. Kost
and Ernst. When the mirror swung down to reveal the audience during
"Willkommen," well, this eighteen-year-old boy practically wet his
pants. It was all just Too. Fucking. Awesome! So awesome, in fact, I saw it a
month later on a weekend trip home from school. – at the Shubert Theatre,
Chicago
THE
PARENTS COME TO THE CABARET: In 1968, I took my parents to see Cabaret at the Shubert as their
Christmas present. It was the first professional show for both of them. We
schlepped up to the Shubert's Second Balcony, something I could do with ease
back then and settled into our seats in the first row. Unsure what my parents'
reaction would be, especially my dad's who grew up in southern/central Illinois,
not exactly a haven for the fine arts, I was delighted when they told me
afterwards that they loved it. Huh. Wow. Lesson: don't underestimate your
parents. They may surprise you when you least expect it. (For the record, my
down-home dad was crazy about The Wiz
when we saw a touring company during a stopover in Milwaukee. Who knew I had a
hip dad?)
THE
STARS OF CABARET: Above-title stars Signe Hasso and Leo Fuchs were not exactly box-office
names, but both had distinguished careers in theatre prior to leading the First
National Company. Born in Sweden, Hasso was an acclaimed actress in America,
Europe, and especially in Scandinavia. Fuchs was born in Poland and began his
career at the age of five, distinguished himself in his native Poland, and became
a staple on television and the stage. Melissa Hart became a Chicago favorite
with this performance and subsequent performances in the Windy City, especially
during the tour of Promises, Promises
and the Forum Theatre's production of Company.
She was Barbara Harris' standby during The
Apple Tree, Mary Tyler Moore's standby during the aborted Breakfast at Tiffany's, played Sally on
Broadway during Cabaret's final weeks, won a Tony nomination for Best Featured
Actress in a Musical for the short-lived Georgy,
starred in numerous regional productions, and resides in the Minneapolis/St.
Paul area where she remains active in theatre and teaches voice and conducts
master classes. She last appeared on Broadway in 1997. Gene Rupert would later
play the lead in Broadway's Promises,
Promises, a performance I saw from the first row of the Shubert Theatre,
and would appear in Jean Kerr's Finishing
Touches on Broadway and on tour, which included a stop at the Studebaker
Theatre. He appeared in television's Ryan's
Hope, and, sadly, died in 1979 at the age of 48. David Rounds achieved his
greatest fame in Morning's at Seven
winning a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He died at 53 in 1983.
REVIEWER
POLICE: The Chicago Tribune's William
Leonard reviewed Cabaret, writing
that "Never did a chorus line comprise a horsier set of girls than the
homely, heavy-legged dames who kick through the coarse choreography."
Uh…what? Wow. Can you say totally unacceptable? Yet, in 1966, gay men were
called fags in reviews, male reviewers gushed over female physical attributes,
and sexism and misogyny, overt and subtle, were the order of the day. Here's
the kicker, though. Despite the homophobia, sexism, and misgogyny, for the most
part, the men doing the reviewing (there weren't many women reviewers back
then), knew their theatre, knew what made a show great, knew what made a show
terrible, and relayed that information to their readers, unlike some
reviewers/bloggers today who only have a vague idea what theatre is about.
– Stroud
Auditorium, Normal, IL
One of my most prized posters.
November, 1969. The Entertainment Board of Illinois State University,
where I was going to school at the time, brought in popular entertainers of the
day and, usually, a touring show or two. Under the auspices of the
Entertainment Board, the bus-and-truck company of Cabaret swung through Normal for a two-performance Sunday. By happy
coincidence, my parents were driving me back to Normal following the
Thanksgiving break, and by even happier coincidence, they wanted to see the
show again, too, so we went to the 2:30 matinee. Back then, the "A"
bus-and-truck companies were all Equity and the quality was often as good as
what you'd see in the fully-produced tours. With the original creative team on
board, but adapted for quick, often daily, load-ins and strikes, and with
direction and choreography by Hal Prince and Ron Field, this had the look and
feel of the version I saw at the Shubert a year earlier. The cast size was
slightly smaller, the Kit Kat Klub Kittens were reduced from four to three, and
I remember lots of wagons being used to expedite scene changes, but the iconic
mirror was there, and with a cast of superb professionals, the show was in
excellent hands. Leading the cast as Sally Bowles was Tandy Cronyn, daughter of
Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. And, yes, she was quite marvelous. Jay Fox, a
native of neighboring Bloomington and an alumnus of Bloomington's Illinois Wesleyan
University, was an appropriately sleazy Emcee. – at Stroud Auditorium, Normal,
IL
Sidebar:
Stroud
Auditorium would certainly not be anyone's first, second, or even third choice
to house a musical of any size, let alone one the size of Cabaret. Primarily used as the auditorium for University High
School (U-High), one of the lab schools associated with ISU, Stroud was rarely
used for touring shows. (FYI, ISU, the oldest public university in Illinois,
was called Illinois State Normal University until 1965, known and renowned for
its teacher training programs. Today, it is also noted for having a
highly-regarded theatre department.) Stroud, then and now, is an oddly designed
venue, sort of thrust, but not really, with a huge space between the stage and
the first row of audience seating. I don't remember, but the orchestra could
have been there. When I was at ISU, touring plays were usually done at the traditionally-designed,
but musty, Capen Auditorium in Edwards Hall, and touring musicals and concerts were
usually performed on a portable stage set up in the Horton Field House. Cast,
musicians, and tech staff for B&T companies deserve kudos for their ability
to adapt to venues that frequently are not even remotely ideal.
Reviewer's
Notebook: In its after-the-fact review of Cabaret,
The Pantagraph, the daily paper for
the Bloomington-Normal area, justifiably made a big deal out of hometown boy
Jay Fox's performance. In fact, he was almost the only actor in the show named
in the review. Tandy Cronyn got this: "Oh, yes, Tandy Cronyn, the daughter
of Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, is the leading female and she is
impressive…" The review was very positive, but had this curious
assessment: "If you ever get a chance to see Cabaret…, you should do so. It has a sparkle, a charm about it that
leaves one feeling good when he leaves the theater…" What show is reviewer
Tony Holloway talking about? "Leaves one feeling good." Seriously,
Tony? The Nazis are gaining in power, Sally has an abortion, and things are
looking bleak for all involved, and you left the theatre feeling good? Were you
at Hello, Dolly! and didn't know it?
Different strokes, I guess, but I just have never thought of Cabaret as a feel-good show.
Some snaps from the Hasso/Fuchs/Hart Cabaret:
Some final thoughts…
Cabaret the film is not
Cabaret the musical. Though sharing
the same source material and composer/lyricist, they have different dramatic
thrusts, with the film discarding or radically reducing some characters and
adding others. It won a slew of Oscars and is beloved by many. I'm not among
them. I admire the professionalism, some of Bob Fosse's imagery and directorial
touches are masterful and memorable, and the new characters and storyline are
well-done, but, overall, I find it calculated and a showcase for the miscast
Minnelli rather than a showcase for the material. Minnelli's Sally is just too
good a singer and just too charismatic a performer to be even remotely
believable as a struggling singer in a third-rate Berlin dive. She wasn't Sally
Bowles; she was Liza. Or more accurately, she was one of Minnelli's patented
wounded-bird characters, like those in The
Sterile Cuckoo and Tell Me That You
Love Me, Junie Moon. I saw the film not too long ago after a period of
twenty years or so, and it was a chore for me to get through it. Ah, well.
The original production of Cabaret
would run for 1165 performances. It won eight Tony Awards, including the
all-important Best Musical award. It spawned several national companies and
quickly became a staple in regional and amateur theatre. The 1968 London
company played a more modest engagement of 336 performances and starred Judi
Dench, yes, that Judi Dench, as Sally
Bowles. (The original London cast album is a stunner!) A revised version of the
original, once again directed by Harold Prince and staged by Ron Field, opened
in 1987 for a short, disappointing run, this time featuring Tony and Oscar-winner
Joel Grey above the title. Jump ahead eleven years. In 1998, nearly thirty-two
years after its Broadway premiere, a stunning revival of Cabaret would once again set the theatre world on its collective
ear, proving beyond the shadow of a doubt, that everything old is new again.
See part two…
© 2018 Jeffrey Geddes
