#Vivien Parry did a remarkable job as Schneider

[fanchonmoreau]

Listening to the original cast recording and watching some pro-shoots of Cabaret and Fräulein Schneider is just everything? She sings a whole song to Cliff about how she's weathered everything she's lost in her life by settling for what she still has, and then two seconds later the Jewish guy next store offers her fruit and a little schnapps and Cliff watches her absolutely melt over it. Clings to outdated ideas of propriety in relationships even when it's heavily implied she had a long-term sexual relationship with a man outside of wedlock. Has a mean and hypocritical streak, particularly with Fräulein Kost. Considers herself the most practical person she knows but takes a total of thirty seconds to agree to marry Herr Schultz when he spontaneously proposes. And a good Schneider will both look at and sing to Schultz like he's the fucking sun.

And you want to hate her for ending the engagement after the brick goes through Schultz's window, but you just can't. She represents all of the people who hated the Nazis but stood by and did nothing, who abandoned the Jews in their time of great need, but how can you resent her for choosing the only way she knows how to survive? You die for love, you're still dead. And she gets the best song in the show, the Brechtian gut-punch of What would you do? that stands in front of the audience and asks them if they really would make a different choice.

You may come to Cabaret for the Emcee or Sally Bowles, but in a good production? You leave with Fräulein Schneider.