Cabaret (Revised 1987)

Cabaret (Revised 1987)

Cabaret (Revised 1987)

Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Broadway production directed by Harold Prince
Produced for the Broadway Stage by Harold Prince

Cabaret (Revised 1987)

Cabaret (Revised 1987)

Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Broadway production directed by Harold Prince
Produced for the Broadway Stage by Harold Prince

Overview

In a Berlin nightclub, as the 1920s draw to a close, a garish Master of Ceremonies welcomes the audience and assures them they will forget all their troubles at the Cabaret. With the Emcee’s bawdy songs as wry commentary, Cabaret explores the dark, heady and tumultuous life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. Cliff, a young American writer newly arrived in Berlin, is immediately taken with English singer Sally Bowles. Meanwhile, Fräulein Schneider, proprietor of Cliff and Sally’s boarding house, tentatively begins a romance with Herr Schultz, a mild-mannered fruit seller who happens to be Jewish. Musical numbers include “Willkommen,” “Cabaret,” “Don't Tell Mama” and “Two Ladies.”

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NOTE: Two Broadway versions of this show (1966 and 1987) are available for licensing. Though both follow the same story and share most songs, there are some differences in the script and score:

  • Only the Original 1966 version includes “Why Should I Wake Up?” and “Meeskite.”
  • Only this Revised 1987 version includes “Don’t Go,” “The Money Song” and “I Don’t Care Much.”
  • The two versions differ in their treatment of the character of Cliff: In the Original 1966 version, there is no suggestion that he may be gay or bisexual. In this Revised 1987 version, his bisexuality is more strongly implied.

Both versions include “Willkommen,” “So What,” “Don’t Tell Mama,” “Perfectly Marvelous,” “Two Ladies,” “It Couldn’t Please Me More (The Pineapple Song),” “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” “Married,” “If You Could See Her,” “The Telephone Song,” “Sitting Pretty” and “Cabaret.”

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Cautions

  • Caution Alcohol Alcohol
  • Caution Mild Adult Mild Adult Themes
  • Caution Smoking Smoking

Details

  • Genre: Adaptation (Literature), Period, Docudrama/History
  • Time Period: 1930s, 1920s
  • Cast Attributes: Expandable Casting, Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle), Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle), Role(s) for Trans Actor(s), Role(s) for Non-Binary Actor(s)
  • Target Audience: Adult, Pre-Teen (Age 11-13), Teen (Age 14-18)

Authors

Joe Masteroff

Born in 1919 in Philadelphia, Joe Masteroff had only one dream from infancy: to write for the theatre. After the essential lonely childhood and four-year stint in the Air Force, he came to New York to face his future: book writer or book seller? Luckily, luck intervened. Befo ...

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John Van Druten

John William Van Druten (June 1, 1901 – December 19, 1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observations of contemporary life and ...
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Christopher Isherwood

Christopher Isherwood was a novelist, playwright, screen-writer, autobiographer, and diarist. He was homosexual and made this a theme of some of his writing. He was born near Manchester in the north of England in 1904, became a U.S. citizen in 1946, and died at home in Santa ...
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John Kander

John Kander is a Tony, Emmy and Grammy-winning composer, a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors Award, and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. With frequent collaborator Fred Ebb, he composed the score to dozens of Broadway musicals, including Cabaret, Zorba, Chi ...

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Fred Ebb

Fred Ebb (1933–2004) was an award-winning lyricist, librettist and director who frequently and successfully collaborated with composer John Kander. Ebb's work for the theatre included Flora, The Red Menace; Cabaret; The Happy Time; Zorba; 70, Girls, 70; Chicago; The Act; Woma ...

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