Cabaret

Clifford Bradshaw, a young American, comes to Berlin on New Year's Eve 1929. His train acquaintance with Ernst Ludwig opens the doors of the Kit Kat Club and Fräulein Schneider's boarding house to the penniless writer. Cliff gets to know the singer Sally Bowles and cannot escape her fascination. When Sally becomes pregnant, he wants to take responsibility and believe in a long and happy relationship with Sally, although she does not give up her dream of an artistic career. The landlady Fräulein Schneider also believes in "late luck", because she and the Jewish fruit trader Mr. Schultz have long had more than just friendly feelings for one another. At their engagement party, however, social conflicts break out. Cliff recognizes Ernst Ludwig as a staunch Nazi and keeps his distance. Due to the political changes that accompanied the rise of the NSDAP, Cliff no longer sees a future for life in Berlin. Success story The British author Christopher Isherwood wrote his autobiographical Berlin Stories in the 1930s "Mr. Norris changes ”and“ Farewell, Berlin ”. The play “I am a Camera” by John van Druten is based on this, premiered in New York in 1951 and filmed in 1955 (1952 “I am a Camera” at the Schlossparktheater Berlin). The musical "Cabaret" by Joe Masteroff, John Kander and Fred Ebb, which premiered on November 20, 1966 in the production and direction of Harold Prince at the Broadhurst Theater in New York, is based on these sources. Fräulein Schneider was played by the Brecht Weill interpreter Lotte Lenya. The story of Miss Schneider and the Jewish fruit trader Mr. Schultz is of particular importance here. The German-language premiere after the original production took place in 1970 at the Theater an der Wien. The musical finally achieved world fame through the film adaptation of Bob Fosse (1972) with Liza Minelli, Joel Gray, Michel York, Helmut Griem, Fritz Wepper and others. The film is based on Isherwood and shows Cliff (in the film Brian) clearly bisexual, which the musical did not dare to do in 1966, but found its way into the new productions of 1987 and 1998. The songs "Maybe this time", "Mein Herr" and "Money, Money" were composed for the film and have since been an integral part of most musical productions. “I don't care much”, composed in 1966 for Liza Minelli, was added in 1987 for the emcee Joel Gray. Money ”were composed for the film adaptation and have since become an integral part of most musical productions. “I don't care much”, composed in 1966 for Liza Minelli, was added in 1987 for the emcee Joel Gray. Money ”were composed for the film adaptation and have since become an integral part of most musical productions. “I don't care much”, composed in 1966 for Liza Minelli, was added in 1987 for the emcee Joel Gray. John Kander and his artistic partner Fred Ebb wrote songs such as "New York, New York" and numerous Broadway musicals such as "Chicago" and "Kiss the Spider Woman". On the occasion of the Germany tour of “Chicago” in 2019, the 92-year-old composer was asked by the world why this success was unbroken. Kander: A popular thesis in New York is that it could be because corruption is an acute problem - but I can't remember a time when it was any different. So I have no idea. When Chicago came out in 1975 many critics thought it was too bad, and when I watch it again I think it's not bad enough. What do you think? The world:A good question. If the problem thesis is correct, “Cabaret” has a big comeback ahead of it, because populism, which fuels racism and nationalism, is currently experiencing its political comeback. Kander: I'm afraid you're right, and that really scares me. Fascism. A warning So the Nazis set about broadening their base. As early as 1929 they had daily and weekly newspapers, and they had their own party formations for young people, women, teachers, lawyers and doctors. In order to incite the fanaticism of his supporters, Hitler ceaselessly berated the government for paying war reparations - in his eyes a cowardly admission of national guilt. He accused the British and French of conspiring to do everything to keep Germany poor and weak. He accused the leading political parties of disregarding the needs of the common people. Most importantly, he attacked the communists - a strategy which made friends in the financial world and which earned him favorable coverage in some of the country's largest newspapers. But as the twenties drew to a tumultuous end, the Nazis were still an insignificant party. However, with the sudden outbreak of the global economic crisis, Germany stumbled. The representatives of the traditional political parties did little besides arguing, which paralyzed the Reichstag. A series of elections did nothing to change that. In these angry times, an angry man, the future leader, finally found his audience. When Germany was once again on the ground, it offered itself as a megaphone for its misery. He hit the so-called November criminals again and announced that the time had come for a new generation of fearless Germans, led by a party that fulfilled Germany's destiny, In September 1930 the dissatisfied voters went to the polls once again and with great displeasure. This time the result was different. The share of the vote for the Nazis rose sharply, and the number of Reich mandates increased considerably after Hitler made impressive profits, especially among women, small businessmen, farmers and young voters. Overnight, the ninth largest party had become the second largest, behind the Social Democrats. The communists also did well, with the extremist parties storming the bastions of democracy from both sides and the political center shrinking to an island where only godly aristocrats and insecure liberals stayed. Madeleine Albright * from: fascism. A warning. Dumont. New York 2018 (pp. 47-49) * US Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001 under President Clinton The world of yesterday Berlin turned into the Babel of the world. Bars, fairgrounds and liquor stalls shot up like mushrooms. What we saw in Austria turned out to be only a mild and shy prelude to this witch's sabbath, because the Germans brought all their vehemence and systematics into perversion. Along the Kurfürstendamm promenade made up boys with artificial waists and not only professionals; every high school student wanted to earn something, and in the darkened bars one saw state secretaries and high-ranking financiers tenderly courting drunken sailors without shame. Even the Rome of Suetonius had no such orgies as the Berlin transvestite balls, where hundreds of men in women's clothes and women in men's clothes danced under the benevolent gaze of the police. In the overthrow of all values, a kind of madness gripped bourgeois circles in particular, who had hitherto been unshakable in their order. The young girls proudly boasted that they were perverted; To be suspected of being a virgin at the age of sixteen would have been considered a disgrace in every Berlin school at the time, everyone wanted to be able to report their adventures and the more exotic the better.

Kander: Eine populäre These in New York ist, dass es daran liegen könnte, dass Korruption ein akutes Problem ist – aber ich kann mich an keine Zeit erinnern, in der das anders war. Also ich habe keine Ahnung. Als Chicago 1975 herauskam, fanden viele Kritiker es zu schlecht, und wenn ich es mir noch einmal ansehe, denke ich, dass es nicht schlimm genug ist. Was denkst du? Die Welt: Eine gute Frage. Stimmt die Problemthese, steht „Cabaret“ ein großes Comeback bevor, denn der Populismus, der Rassismus und Nationalismus befeuert, erlebt derzeit sein politisches Comeback. Kander: Ich fürchte, Sie haben Recht, und das macht mir wirklich Angst. Faschismus. Eine Warnung Also machten sich die Nazis daran, ihre Basis zu verbreitern. Schon 1929 gab es Tages- und Wochenzeitungen, eigene Parteiformationen für Jugendliche, Frauen, Lehrer, Anwälte und Ärzte. Um den Fanatismus seiner Anhänger zu schüren, beschimpfte Hitler die Regierung unaufhörlich wegen der Zahlung von Kriegsreparationen – in seinen Augen ein feiges Eingeständnis nationaler Schuld. Er warf den Briten und Franzosen vor, alles zu tun, um Deutschland arm und schwach zu halten. Er warf den führenden politischen Parteien vor, die Bedürfnisse des einfachen Volkes zu missachten. Vor allem griff er die Kommunisten an – eine Strategie, die ihm in der Finanzwelt Freunde machte und ihm in einigen der größten Zeitungen des Landes positive Berichterstattung einbrachte. Doch als sich die zwanziger Jahre ihrem turbulenten Ende zuneigten, waren die Nazis noch immer eine unbedeutende Partei. Doch mit dem plötzlichen Ausbruch der Weltwirtschaftskrise geriet Deutschland ins Stolpern. Die Vertreter der traditionellen politischen Parteien taten wenig, außer zu streiten, was den Reichstag lahmlegte. Eine Reihe von Wahlen änderte daran nichts. In diesen zornigen Zeiten fand endlich ein zorniger Mann, der zukünftige Anführer, sein Publikum. Als Deutschland wieder einmal vor Ort war, bot es sich als Sprachrohr für sein Elend an. Er schlug erneut auf die sogenannten Novemberverbrecher ein und verkündete, die Zeit sei gekommen für eine neue Generation furchtloser Deutscher, angeführt von einer Partei, die Deutschlands Schicksal erfülle, Im September 1930 gingen die unzufriedenen Wähler erneut und mit großem Unmut an die Urnen. Diesmal war das Ergebnis anders. Der Stimmenanteil der Nazis stieg stark an, und die Zahl der Reichsmandate nahm nach Hitlers beachtlichen Gewinnen vor allem bei Frauen, Kleinunternehmern, Bauern und Jungwählern erheblich zu. Aus der neuntgrößten Partei war über Nacht die zweitgrößte geworden, hinter den Sozialdemokraten. Auch die Kommunisten schnitten gut ab, wobei die extremistischen Parteien die Bastionen der Demokratie von beiden Seiten stürmten und das politische Zentrum zu einer Insel schrumpfte, auf der sich nur gottesfürchtige Aristokraten und unsichere Liberale aufhielten. Madeleine Albright * aus: Faschismus. Eine Warnung. Dumont. New York 2018 (S. 47-49) * US-Außenminister von 1997 bis 2001 unter Präsident Clinton Die Welt von gestern Berlin wurde zum Babel der Welt. Kneipen, Rummelplätze und Spirituosenstände schossen wie Pilze aus dem Boden. Was wir in Österreich sahen, entpuppte sich nur als milder und schüchterner Auftakt zu diesem Hexensabbat, denn die Deutschen brachten all ihre Vehemenz und Systematik in die Perversion. Entlang der Kurfürstendamm-Promenade geschminkte Jungs mit künstlichen Taillen und nicht nur Profis; jeder Gymnasiast wollte etwas verdienen, und in den dunklen Kneipen sah man Staatssekretäre und hochrangige Finanziers, die betrunkenen Matrosen ohne Scham zärtlich den Hof machten. Selbst das Rom des Suetonius hatte keine Orgien wie die Berliner Transvestitenbälle, wo Hunderte von Männern in Frauenkleidern und Frauen in Männerkleidern unter den wohlwollenden Blicken der Polizei tanzten. Im Umsturz aller Werte erfasste eine Art Wahnsinn vor allem bürgerliche Kreise, die bisher in ihrer Ordnung unerschütterlich waren. Die jungen Mädchen rühmten sich stolz, pervers zu sein; Mit sechzehn Jahren unter Jungfrau-Verdacht zu stehen, wäre damals in jeder Berliner Schule als Schande gegolten, jeder wollte von seinen Abenteuern berichten können und je exotischer, desto besser.