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Cabaret emcee12/27/2023 ![]() Cabaret: Cliff, now aware of the encroaching Nazi menace, feuds with Sally and has an ugly brawl with Ernst at the club. What Would You Do?: Schneider returns Cliff and Sally’s party gift determined to survive, she has cancelled her engagement and faced the fact that marriage to Schultz would destroy her income. If You Could See Her: The Emcee waltzes on with his lady love, a gorilla in a tutu, reminding us that prejudice is a bad thing and that it’s not fair to judge a book by its cover. ![]() Entr’acte: The all-girl Kit Kat Klub band is wheeled on to play for the audience before the house lights dim for the second act. He is observed by Ernst, who now sports an armband and warns Schneider that the marriage is not advisable. Meeskite: At the engagement party that Sally throws for them, Schultz entertains with a comic ditty heavy on Yiddish expressions. Banks may be failing, but as long as he has all that he needs, who cares? Married: Schneider and Schultz marvel at how becoming engaged changes everything. The Money Song: The Emcee appears to tell us that there’s more than one way to make money. But he needs money, so when Ernst, who appears to be working for some as-yet-unnamed political party, shows up at the flat and offers to pay him well for a quick smuggling chore, he agrees. Why Should I Wake Up?: Temporarily under the influence of Sally’s philosophy, Cliff has begun to surrender to the heedlessness around him he knows he’s dreaming, but he’s decided not to care. ![]() Tomorrow Belongs To Me: A group of well-scrubbed young waiters join the Emcee for a simple, pastoral hymn to the fatherland with an ominous undercurrent. It Couldn’t Please Me More: Fräulein Schneider is wooed by Herr Schultz, the sweet Jewish fruit store proprietor who is her lodger and who cannot resist showering her with items from his shop. Two Ladies: Cliff and Sally are wiped away by the Emcee in limbo, appearing with two ladies of the ensemble to outline an unconventional living arrangement not unlike the one in the story. Perfectly Marvelous: Sally, who firmly maintains that politics has absolutely nothing to do with her, shows up at Cliff’s flat, and moves in. Telephone Song: Sally and Cliff connect immediately as the festivities at the club reach a fever pitch (thanks to Ron Field’s dazzlingly witty dance sequence). There he sees the club’s madcap, not overly gifted young British singer Sally Bowles entertain. Don’t Tell Mama: Alone, Cliff attempts to do some writing, when a girl at a telephone appears from nowhere, summoning him to leave his typewriter for the Kit Kat Klub. When the price of a room in the rooming house recommended to him by German Ernst Ludwig proves too steep, landlady Fräulein Schneider summons up her customary ability to lower her expectations and accept things as they are. So What?: American novelist Clifford Bradshaw arrives in Berlin on New Year’s Eve, 1929, hoping to find inspiration for his next book. ![]() Emerging from the darkness, the Emcee, hair lacquered, mouth rouged into a cupid’s bow, welcomes us, not just to the Kit Kat Klub, but to the central metaphor of the musical about to unfold. When I walk out on stage and sing those songs, it is Berlin.” A rundown of how the songs fit into the story will also serve to illustrate the evening’s modus operandi: Willkommen: A neon sign lights up, spelling out the show’s title. When Kander was criticized by some for the Weill influence, Lenya told him, “No, darling. Kander and Ebb’s score is equally adept at character numbers (ranging from comic pieces like “It Couldn’t Please Me More” to powerfully emotional items like “What Would You Do?”) and cabaret ditties that evoke the authentic sounds of Kurt Weill and Hans Eisler. Oops, looks like your browser doesn't support HTML 5 audio.
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