Tuesday, 10 October 2006 12:58 pm
I'm dressed for a masque and talking about...
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deckardcanineIt had been a while, but I ushered another Arena Stage show last Friday. I had seen Cabaret first as an Oberlin College play, in a room that was never designed to be a theater. In the last year or so, I saw the movie version that showed Liza Minnelli in top form and immortalized (as well as ended the career of) Joel Grey. Both times, I found myself enjoying the first half and not much of the second. The folly of the Cabaret itself ceases to provide sufficient sanctuary from Berlin’s Nazi presence, and the final note is far darker than the opening notes had led me to expect. I can appreciate it on artistic merits, but I don’t like having my joy built up only to be shot down, especially when the message is nothing I need to hear by now. (Interesting that Minnelli is best remembered for singing “Life Is a Cabaret,” which doesn’t carry the same meaning out of context.)
My memory of the Oberlin production is hazy, but I’m sure its script bears a greater resemblance to the Arena production’s than to the movie’s. I’ve never seen so much discrepancy in a film adaptation of a stage musical. As with most such adaptations, I found it good but overall not as good as a typical stage version.
Now that I’ve seen Cabaret in the Fichandler Theater, which requires a bit of abstraction by virtue of having the audience on all four sides, I get the impression that this is really how it was meant to be performed. It reminded me a bit of Chicago, the way part of the stage always retained a sign of the Cabaret like there was no escape. I’d been worried at the start when I saw a cylindrical curtain at the center, but it promptly dropped down a trap door to reveal the Master of Ceremonies from all viewing angles. The pit band, which I’m sure had been chosen only for instrumental ability, consisted primarily of men in black gowns and bowler hats. (The film pretty much leaves out gay showboys, but both plays I’ve seen presented them conspicuously.)
The cast featured two Damn Yankees veterans: the MC had been Mr. Applegate, and Sally Bowles had been Lola. The MC was more virile than in previous incarnations, even with his eventual pink triangle badge, but he delivered masterfully. As for Sally, dang, how did she sing so well when lying on her stomach? (And what musical has more tempting roles to play than those two?)
Maybe the third time’s the charm, or maybe Arena’s magic was what I needed to like Cabaret better than ever.
My memory of the Oberlin production is hazy, but I’m sure its script bears a greater resemblance to the Arena production’s than to the movie’s. I’ve never seen so much discrepancy in a film adaptation of a stage musical. As with most such adaptations, I found it good but overall not as good as a typical stage version.
Now that I’ve seen Cabaret in the Fichandler Theater, which requires a bit of abstraction by virtue of having the audience on all four sides, I get the impression that this is really how it was meant to be performed. It reminded me a bit of Chicago, the way part of the stage always retained a sign of the Cabaret like there was no escape. I’d been worried at the start when I saw a cylindrical curtain at the center, but it promptly dropped down a trap door to reveal the Master of Ceremonies from all viewing angles. The pit band, which I’m sure had been chosen only for instrumental ability, consisted primarily of men in black gowns and bowler hats. (The film pretty much leaves out gay showboys, but both plays I’ve seen presented them conspicuously.)
The cast featured two Damn Yankees veterans: the MC had been Mr. Applegate, and Sally Bowles had been Lola. The MC was more virile than in previous incarnations, even with his eventual pink triangle badge, but he delivered masterfully. As for Sally, dang, how did she sing so well when lying on her stomach? (And what musical has more tempting roles to play than those two?)
Maybe the third time’s the charm, or maybe Arena’s magic was what I needed to like Cabaret better than ever.