You know I love etymologies, oui, ja, si? Here’s one, fairly obvious, but which I could not perceive until I looked it up: Cabaret: French, tap-room, from Middle Dutch cabret, from Old North French camberet, diminutive of cambre, from Late Latin camera, from Ancient Greek kamara (καμάρα) “vaulted chamber.” And now I know where the word camera comes from, too. How interesting and useful!
This weekend I saw the Arena Civic Theater’s production of “Cabaret” at the lovely Shea Theater in Turner’s Falls, MA.
The show was great. Fantastic costumes, choreography, and a very strong cast top my list.
Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli had the iconic lead roles in Bob Fosse’s 1972 movie “Cabaret.” Theirs is a tough act to follow so theater people have to find a way to make anything from “Cabaret” their own. I thought the Emcee in the production at the Shea was strong all around, achieving the Triple Crown of musical theater fairly well–singing, dancing, and acting. I found his performance refreshing, something quite difficult in a role made so famous on film. It’s also an edgy role, so the word “refreshing” might not suit the persona of the Emcee, but it suits me just fine, so there.
Here’s Liza Minnelli doing “Mein Herr.” But don’t set yourself up: I recommend that you first see the production at the Shea and then poke around on youtube. You’ll even find Judy Dench (who knew?) vamping and singing as Sally Bowles. Wow.
If that’s not enough for you, here’s a honey of the intro, “Wilkommen,” from Sam Mendes’ 1998 Broadway revival starring that rapscallion Scotsman, Alan Cumming. A performer who definitely had his way with the role.
**LOVE CABARET**
We went to see it at Playhouse Square about a year ago. It was wonderful. Jessie loved it. Thanks for the YouTubes.
Erin,
I actually preferred the stage show that we just saw to the movie. They did a really good job, for one, but it was quite different in a lot of ways. I am also loving the youtube coverage of all sorts of Alan Cumming.
Thanks for reading! K
This is how goofed I am. Eric and I actually show Cabaret onstage years ago. It was Chicago that we took Jessie to recently at Playhouse Square.
Jeez I’m mixed up these days.
Still loved the YouTubes, particularly the Emcee in the second one.
Erin, I am likely as mixed up, if not more, than you. Is it age? I have only seen the movie of “Chicago” once. I should really see that again. I hate Richard Gere, though, but big deal. I don’t like Renee Zellweger either.
Here’s Alan Cumming doing “Mein Herr.” He is one sexy motherfucking Scotsman, I tell you. He’s obviously not got much of a singing voice left, hence the whispering, and then the yell/singing but he is so fabulous physically and his face is so damn expressive. This song is really, really hard to sing. I keep trying and I can’t get all those minor notes and half-steps. You probably have to copy and paste this.
Saw Cabaret last night (the ACT production, also), and it was great. I agree with you – the Emcee was very strong, loved him. That dude who played Ernst was also impressive! And, ohhhh, Alan Cummings….I think the YouTube commenter said it best: “so much sex in one man.”
I liked the ACT production better than the movie. They really were spot on. They pulled off the very difficult “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” so effectively and powerfully. I didn’t expect the production to be quite that good. I’m glad you got to go. K
Thank you so much for your wonderful compliments. It was an incredible show to be involved in, and what makes it worth it is our audience members’ enjoyment. Thank you!
Thanks, Martha. You were fabulous. I didn’t focus on any of the performers except for the Emcee because I wasn’t really trying to review the show. You are very talented! I had never been to an ACT performance before, but I read that you have been with them for a while. I will definitely come back!!! BRAVO! I hope every performance was well-attended.
Katherine
[…] back to kilts….Alan Cumming. Remember him? He’s Scottish. Like Ewan McGregor. And I’ve seen photos of each of them wearing kilts. […]