#Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

[the0retically]

The fact that people are bashing Eddie Redmayne’s version of the Emcee are not understanding the point of Cabaret at all

The fact that every single one of his movements is jerky just shows how he is like a puppet. He is not in control of the story, he is not in control of the outcome, he is simply there to tell the tale. He has no autonomy of his own

He is the Master of Ceremonies, he should be moving by himself and making his own decisions but everyone at the Kit Kat Club is fast asleep

The Emcee is the only one aware of how this story ends but he is powerless to change anything about it

[dangergggg]

Willkommen

Last year I saw Cabaret with the Emcee being played by Mason Alexander Park and it changed my brain chemistry: a doodle.

[cloudii-skiies]

noel gruber takes a trip to the kit kat club in berlin when ⁉️

(he would fit right in 😭)

[tabooi]

even the orchestra is beautiful!

🎥: @callmelasagna

[areinca]

because why not, here is the most likely diegetic language every cabaret (1998) song is in

and yes not all of these songs are technically diegetic but cmon

anyway

Willkommen: German, French, and English, but as likely most of the Kit Kat Klub’s visitors are from Germany the spoken bits not translated twice are probably German.

So What - We can assume English, as based on both Cliff and Fraulein Schneider’s dialogue in the spoken scene it is implied they are both speaking in English (Schneider appears to not understand all of his words and speaks brokenly at times).

Don’t Tell Mama - Mostly English; the word “bitte” is kept in German, and is rhyming with “please, sir,” so it would make most sense if the rest of the song was in English. This would mean that the Kit Kat Girls (apart from Texas) are singing phonetically, which does not have to do with diegetic languages but is interesting to me.

Mein Herr - English and German. Again, it would make most sense that the English parts are English and the German parts are German.

Perfectly Marvelous - English. Cliff and Sally’s native language is English.

Two Ladies - German. There are no German words in the song that could imply otherwise and German is the native language of everybody singing (and the majority of those watching as well).

It Couldn’t Please Me More - German. Schultz and Schneider’s native language is German.

Tomorrow Belongs To Me - German, due to the song’s nationalistic nature.

Maybe This Time - English, as it is Sally’s internal monologue and her native language is English.

Money - See Two Ladies.

Married - Despite the fact that there is a part of the song translated into German, I think the rest of the song is also dietetically in German. It would make the most sense due to the reasons also for It Couldn’t Please Me More, and the intimacy adds to that. This is the one exception to “if there are multiple languages, there are dietetically multiple languages” thesis I’ve been following.

Tomorrow Belongs to Me (Reprise) - See Tomorrow Belongs to Me.

Married (Reprise) - See It Couldn’t Please Me More.

If You Could See Her - The sung part is German, see reasons for Tomorrow Belongs to Me and Two Ladies. However, the spoken part with some double translation (German to French to English) and single translation (German to English) indicates that at least a small portion of the spoken part (that isn’t these translations) is dietetically in English.

What Would You Do - We can assume English with this one too, as Sally reacts to Schneider’s words and seems to have understood what she just said. Sally does not understand German, as she reveals in the scene before Perfectly Marvelous.

I Don’t Care Much - See Tomorrow Belongs to Me.

Cabaret - This is the one I’m least sure about. Sally is singing it, so we might think English. However, now definitely the vast majority of the audience is German and wanting to hear German songs. At the same time though, Sally doesn’t understand German, and she definitely knows what she’s singing. She is also marketed as “a talented young lady from England,” so I’m going to go with English for this one.

Finale - See Willkommen.

[wekiaam]

Quick Emcee sketch bc he haunts me

[mochiebochie]

this may be for a very niche audience but rockstar lestat is so sally bowles

like he’s just so life is a cabaret old chum

[song-of-baldy-ron]

SO since everyone's doing a hot take on Cabaret

I have less issues with Eddie Redmayne's actual performance as the Emcee as I do with the entire staging/ role the Emcee plays as well as the rest of the Cabaret

My major issue comes in with how this production did the framing of the cabaret and audience as well as the ending of this show (SPOILER WARNING HERE)

According to recordings I've seen, reviews, and firsthand reports this adaptation turns the emcee into a sinister figure tempting and corrupting the audience/ other cabaret members into assimilating into the Nazi party, with the final song revealing most of the cast in beige outfits to embody their assimilation into the new fascist regime

ON THE SURFACE LEVEL I get it- we should all be on watchout to ensure we don't become supporters of a fascist ideology just because we want to escape reality or are somehow entranced by the (silly? circus-like?) vibes of the people holding the guns to our heads

But in reality and looking at the historical context, portraying the rest of the cabaret as eventual Nazis is a huge step backward from everything we've come to learn about Weimar Berlin and what historically happened to queer, neurodivergent, and political dissidents in addition to Jewish people during WW2.

This cast of characters wouldn't be the perpetrators of violence- in the best case scenario, they'd become perhaps complicit as bystanders or get out before shit went down, otherwise they were some of the first groups of people to be shipped off to camps/ extermination.

I absolutely think any good production of Cabaret should find a way to implicate its audience either directly or frame them as bystanders who did nothing to stop the rise of fascism. I also know the Sam Mendez version of the show is top of mind for most of us but I don't even think the original cast version with Joel Grey managed to swing as far as to implicate all of the Cabaret members themselves as direct perpetrators of Naziism. To me, that's a bridge too far to cross given the historical implications- there are better allegories you can make instead of making the countercultural ""sexual deviants"" and weirdos your enemy.

[ghostpaynes]

RIP everyone at the Kit Kat Club y'all would have loved Pink Pony Club

[hyperspecific-musical-summaries]

what if we made a political statement and freed the cheeks at the same time

[eddieredmayneargentinablog]

New photos:"..I adore these three humans so much! thanks for letting me play with you at the @kitkatclubnyc this last year. it’s been a joy and utter privilege. happy trails to three of the bests, Eddie, Gayle & Ato!!

📸 #Repost Jenny Anderson Photography @jennyandersonphoto on Instagram.

[charliesarchivee]

SPOILERS FOR CABARET 2024 I LITERALLY AM DESCRIBING THE ENTIRE SHOW

this is my initial rundown of cabaret scene by scene I just needed to get this off my chest then I can be normal again and have normal thoughts and be a cats fan on main

Willkommen: A celebration!!! Eddie redmayne is a delight on stage and Gayle rankin walking through the mezzanine is so cool

Train: the emcee freezes in a tableau of playing with a toy train on the rotating stage which is delightful. Also, I saw the understudy for Clifford Bradshaw (he was AMAZING.) and his hat fell off of his suitcase and kept rotating around and I think at one point somebody picked it up bcos it disappeared!

So what: Bebe Neuwirth is a legend. A legend. That is all. Also Frauline Kost was HILARIOUS

telephone song: yes I know it’s not REALLY the telephone song but emcee hanging off a pillar (there were four pillars around the round stage) and reaching for Cliff as the whole cast echoes (and I mean it they had echoes on their mics) WELCOME TO BERLIN… FAMOUS NOVELIST… sent chills down my spine and to my toes like I think that gave me more chills than Alan cumming standing on top of the set with his head up and his chest out as if he was possessed

Don’t tell Mama: at one point she flopped on her back and kicked her feet up and went WAA WAA I WANT MY MAMAAA and I wept this was so funny and some lucky gal in the front row got her stage cigarette that she threw into the audience. Also when she said the convent part she was like “yea i know right” and the France part she went “haugh haugh haugh” like French laughter

cliff and Sally telephone: cliff was like “and somejwere men are laughing and somewhere childrenshoutbutthereisnojoyinmudvillemightycaseyhasstruckout” which is SO canon and was SO funny. And Sally’s face dropping as she deadpans “oh you’re American.” elicited like lots of laugjter

mein herr: SLOW AND SCARY MEIN HERR SAVE ME SLOW AND SCARY MEIN HERR PLZZZ

outside the klub: Sally just undresses right in front of him which was funny. At my performance there was a laundry hamper behind her and she threw her don’t tell mama dress out behind her and it did not land in the basket which, planned or not, made everyone laugh. Also, when Bobby kissed cliff, someone in the opposite mezz screamed “YEAAAA!!” Which like truth

Perfectly marvelous: Sally came in with this GIANT pink floral suitcase which she pulls articles of clothing out to put on cliff which was rly funny and fresh. Also- WERE HER PRAIRIE OYSTERS REAL?? Her recacrion seemed so genuine omfg.. also she buried herself under his coat for “nearly invisible perfectly marvelous girl” which was so cute and yes canon. Also I noticed she hugs his knees a lot in this show so cute

Two ladies: YES!! and they invited everybody to jump out of Sally’s big suitcase and just love!! It was so good!! During the dance break everyone was rotating around just getting it up and Herman (there’s nothing funny about Herman) was just on stage with a deadpan look and a mop, going back and forth to the beat, literally going under people’s legs, etc. one of my fav moments that I noticed cos I was just mesmerized by his mop was that someone came around jacking off to a book and then they held out their hand to Herman and he just wiped it with the mop disgustedly. SO FUNNY. Also Eddie redmaynes tights had little eyes on them so even wjen his pants r pulled down you know he’s always watching eek. Also now would be a good time to mention that the people sitting at the tables near the stage had little tea lights that would turn on during the Kit Kat limbo stuff (like two ladies and if you could see her) and they would turn off if we were in the apartment or the street or whatnot. A lovely little touch that my dad noticed! Also also when he credits the Kit Kat girls he says “rose lulu frenchie texas fritzie and My Helga!!” And he seems to really take a liking to Helga which is so canon and yes

It couldn’t please me more: she has this little headband on that I love. And also, I was gauging how many people would be shocked after If You Could See Her in this number. My hypothesis was if many people were pleasantly surprised/laughed at the pineapple reveal, then many people would have the bomb dropped on them during if you could see her. So I was paying attention! Anyway at the end he gave her the bag to put the pineapple back in and I KNEW WHAT WAS COMING but he slowly licked his two fingers, opened the bag, and slowly placed the pineapple inside very smoothly. Then they went their separate ways but on the orchestta button they turned around, smiled at each other, and she reached out her hand and he gleefully ran and took it and they exited together. SO cute. I love this staging. It is SO fresh after watching so many sam mendes recreations (not to say those are bad I love those too!)

Tomorrow belongs to me: when Eddie redmayne came out and started singing my first thought was “this can’t be right!!” I had only been accustomed to emcees sitting over a record player, or writers in the klub bursting out in song. I’ve only seen one production of cabaret have the emcee sing tbtm, and even then they had literal strings attached to them being pulled by uniformed men. So this was completely different for me! And also the arrangement of the song was beautiful if the song wasn’t an in universe Nazi song I would suggest it in choir it was really good sonically! And the mic echoes ATE. And SPOILER the cast had little plastic figures up to my thigh of little blonde boys that they placed in a perfect circle around the emcee (who was on a raised platform) and they were rotating around as the emcee looked around at everybody like “yeah look at what happens now..” and he TAKES OFF HIS RED WIG and literal GOOSEBUMPS UNDER MY SILVER TIGHTS.

Cliff and Sally apartment: they are so intimate makes me happy! Also the delivery of “a horrid little German infant with a mustache ordering us around” was superb and got audience laughter

maybe this time: literallt in her head voice because she’s UP IN HER HEAD like YES SLOW AND INTIMATE MAYBE THIS TIME SAVE ME SLOW AND INTIMATE MAYBE THIS TIME PLZ

Money: I have been predisposed to the money choreo being about prostitution, but this felt way different to me. I think in this song (bear with me) the emcee IS money. He’s dressed very bedazzled, rhinestones on his coat, sparkly long nails, but also scary, with a helmet and stark makeup, because money can be scary! Also, all of the dancers, dressed in uniform rags, were constantly following the emcee around and reaching for him, and he would often lightly brush or peck them, which makes me think thag he represents money in that song specifically! I asked my dad about it on the way home and he said that money is just another reason people have to bury their head in the sand when important shifts are happening in their world. I agreed.

married: at one point in the sneaking around scene, Herr Shultz comes out wearing a floral cardigan and runs back going “oh this isn’t mine! This isn’t mine!” And frauline kost (and the ajdience) had a laugh. Also this song was so sweet and tender. Great job everyone!

engagement party: SCORE THING: the underscoring switch from the beginning of maybe this time to if you could see her as the party comes up was CHILLING. there was no scene in between married and the engagement party, so frauline Schneider had an impressive on stage quick change into a dress! Also, Herr Schultz getting tipsy on schnapps was hilarious. I had another hypothesis too here which was If a lot of people gasp at Herr Ludwig’s reveal, then a lot of people will have a bomb dropped on them at the end of If You Could See Her. And in fact, a lot of people did gasp! I literally felt a chill just descend on everybody as the weight of this sank in.

tomorrow belongs to me (reprise): SCARY. The emcee comes up at the end on a small raised platform in his money outfit (here I think he represents power) and he has a baton and he’s conducting everybody!!! Also he conducted correctly in 3/4 I was so warmed to notice that he wasn’t just flailing about like he did that right thank you Eddie redmayne for doing it right

—

Entracte: I need to make a seperate post about the prologue and entracte performances. Oh my lord. Words cannot describe. Just chills.

kick line: YES. I love any production that adds the German counting and I loved how they transitioned into the march in this one! Like they started by (in a ripple may I add) reaching out all inviting and then dramatically pivoting around to reach all inviting to the other side and then it slowly turned into a salute and a goose step!! And then the emcee comes out the center with a CLOWN COSTUME AND A COMIC ORANGE GUN with a little swastika flag in it and then he hands it to the last person on line who marches away with it. V scary. Props.

married reprise: there is a heartbreaking moment where Herr Schultz asks “how much time do we”- and then he breaks off and cries. Oh my gosh. Also the emcee is doing very slow magic tricks in the corner like producing an orange. And producing a glass. And then he stands up and shows the audience he’s putting the glass in a napkin like he’s about to release a dove and at first I’m thinking “oh instead of a dove he’s gonna throw a brick right?” But NO. He excitedly puts the glass down.. and at the very last minute HE REARS BACK AND STAMPS ON IT (like at Jewish weddings!) AND THE STAGE GOES DARK. Theres screaminf and when the lights come back up, the entire stage is covered in little triangles of white paper like broken glass. Those remain for the rest of the show. The emcee then goes to the middle of the stage, looks Herr Schultz in the eyes, and drops the glass and towel down this seemingly bottomless pit and then Herr Schultz gets really scared and runs away and then the emcee closes it up with a wave of his hand. I think in that moment Herr Schultz was face to face with the gravity of his situation.

if you could see her: chilling because the gorilla isn’t even a gorilla in a dress. It’s practically a real animal. It walks on all fours the whole number and sits and like picks at its fur or whatever gorillas do. And the emcee is tempting it with a banana the whole time. Now i seriously prepared myself for the last line here I was ready for very hesitant applause and maybe even gasps but NO Eddie redmayne delivered it like a punchline (not his fault the Nazis are getting more and more powerful so this would be a joke) SO a couple people around me LAUGHED before realizing snd they like cleared their throats. Also they used the rotating stage in this one and when it turned on he said “oh we’re moving my little one!” Which was a nice touch but is also this song so

Cliff and Sally apartment 2: cliff gets like visibly upset when Sally wants to go back to the klub he’s like leaning on furniture which is a nice touch! Also after what would you do when he said “you’re going a lot further than the Kit Kat klub you’re going home. My home. America,” somebody in the audience went “YES!”

what would you do: LEGEND. Bebe Neuwirth was phenomenal. The platform rose her up too it was amazing. What would you do hits something in me that I didn’t know was there.

I don’t care much: everybody knows this is my favorite song to ever come out of cabaret. I LOVE this song and it’s just dear to me. When Eddie redmayne came on stage in a suit and he was NEWLY BLONDE I cried I was like no way. And when he went WOORDS SOUND FALSE he frantically tied to get the pieces of glass I was just in shambles. And then he GRABBED SALLY BY HER WRISTS and practically spat the last “I don’t care” in her face and then SUFFOCATED HER IN A HUG and I feel like in that moment he was still a reflection of a changing Berlin, beating on people like Sally. I have a whole analysis of this

Outside the klub 2: the emcee is leaning on a pole and Sally starts to walk toward him to enter tne klub and then cliff walks in and is like “DONT GO NEAR HIM SALLY!!” And I don’t think the emcee is the emcee in that moment tbh I think he’s a pimp but anyway. When cliff gets beaten by Nazis Sally is sitting deadpan on the end of the stage with her back to everything. She doesn’t even flinch. She physically turns her back on everything

cabaret: no words in any language can describe how remarkable this was. That is all. Also when the emcee introduces her he comes up and poses and nobody clapped cos this was kind of a dark moment and he was like “…thank you..thank you..” all small and shaky and I think that nearly killed me it really did

Cliff and Sally apartment 3: when herr Schultz was like “I’m leaving” someone said “NO!” Which liek truth. This scene was just heartbreaking. Cliff like raised his hand to hit her and literally broke down and I BROKE DOWN JUST WEEPING ALL OVER MY SEAT

finale: YIKES. When cliff started singing wilkommen I also wanted to scream “NO!!” As well but I did not. The emcee yelled where are your troubles now? Forgotten? Right at cliff which scared me. And he had a baton and was conducting everybody again! Also also the entire cast mirrored the first ever tomorrow belongs to me and stood in a perfect circle all dressed in brown and at the drumroll hit the lights darkened immediately on the emcee but stayed dim on the rotating circle like saying “THIS IS YOU!!” Also the bows didn’t have music and were very solemn.

ok danke merci thanks!

[cloudii-skiies]

me

[dick-chugger]

You may not like it but theatre peaked here.

[effeminatenightmare]

I've been seeing A LOT of discourse about Eddie Redmayne's performance at the Tony Awards. It's a totally mixed bag of either praising or trashing his portrayal of Emcee.

Now, as a long time fan and admirer of this musical, I want to remind everyone that Cabaret isn't supposed to be comfortable or lighthearted. It is about complacency, complicity, and the dangers of not speaking up against the horrors of f*c*sm by letting it take over such vibrant and diverse societies and leaving them to crumble to dust.

I went to see Eddie last month. I can say that his gleefully evil, mesmerizing, otherworldly take was so perfect and detailed it was magical. The Emcee as a character is a cautionary tale supposed to unsettle the audience, nauseate them, compel and repel them. His duties are to lead everyone into a falsified sense of security that's what "Willkommen" is it's his way of saying "I know something you don't know..." it's propaganda to advertise The Kit Kat Club as a "safe haven" when really it's the complete opposite of safe. He is both a puppet and a malevolent puppetmaster who has the ability to manipulate these characters around him as well as the audience.

Eddie's take was both an homage to past Emcee's while he also brought his own spin to it. Joel Grey gave Eddie his stamp of approval for a reason, y'all. If you watch Joel's performance I guarantee it will help you understand his movements, high energy, and puppety look.

PS: This musical and this character are such things that can be reinterpreted. It's the beauty of live theatre. It brings new conversations to the table and makes you ask questions. Let artists be creative beings. Let them break the binaries.

[eddie-redmayne-italian-blog]

Little tips on how to meet our beloved and talented Eddie in NY!!

Thanks and credits video to weeraaro on IG!