‘Life is a Cabaret’ at the Old Globe

It’s all fun and games, until it’s not

COLIN MULLANEY / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Old Globe’s debut of “Cabaret” written by John Van Druten and directed by Josh Rhodes began on Sept. 1 and will finish its run on Oct. 15 at Balboa Park. Prices for full-time students start at $52.

joannaalexisjones/Instagram

Set in 1931 Berlin, Act One of “Cabaret” is a raunchy, satirical, and hedonistic display that moves quickly from one musical number to the next. Songs like “Don’t Tell Mama” and “Mein Herr,” characterize the dynamic and enigmatic Sally Bowles, an Englander who’s made her escape to Berlin for a carefree lifestyle in the artistic scene.

When Bowles falls on bad luck and needs a place to stay, romance blossoms between Bowles and the serious, hardworking wannabe author, Cliff Bradshaw. Their joint song “Perfectly Marvelous,” helps to humanize Bowles, who previously chose to remain inaccessible and aloof — to maintain the emotional upper hand in her relationships. In her time of vulnerability and need, Bowles is met with understanding and support from Bradshaw.

It was clear that “Cabaret” would be a standing ovation from the time that Bowles’ actress Joanna Jones sang her rendition of “Maybe This Time”: a heartfelt plea that this new romance won’t prove a disappointment, like all her relationships before. Jones’ vocal range and emotional expression far exceeded that of the Broadway recorded version and brought the house down, just before intermission.

After the break, a stark change in tone swept over the theater, as the Nazi party swept through Berlin. Characters who had seemed fun and jovial during Act One soon revealed themselves to be complicit in the ideological, fascist movement.

While landlady Fräulein Schneider and her love Herr Schultz are supposed to be celebrating their engagement, political tensions interfere with their genuine appreciation for one another. The two characters had fallen in love over a romantic song about a pineapple and agreed to marry by happy — and humorous — circumstances. However, antisemitic forces drive a wedge between them, including a brick thrown through the window at Herr Schultz’s store.

Because Fräulein Schneider cannot bear the thought of losing Schultz, she does not allow herself to love him. In the song “What Would You Do?” she will not take a stand for her love. She is too afraid that she will lose him, when the Nazis come to power and scapegoat the Jewish population for Germany’s economic woes.

Sally Bowles and Cliff Bradshaw meet a similar fate, when Bowles refuses to read the writing on the wall and give up her performative lifestyle for something of substance.

The festering apathy expressed in earlier songs like “So What?” and “I Don’t Care Much” erupts into full-blown tyranny, when the Nazis capitalize off the German citizens’ complacency and moral relativism. Scores of Germans are converted into blindfolded puppets, by an invisible master. Echoes of political events not long past shine through, in nationalist lyrics like “somewhere a glory awaits unseen: tomorrow belongs to me.” 

In the final scene, the Nazi party’s total domination and devastation becomes undeniably clear, in shocking fashion. Sobs echoed through the theater at the Sept. 22 show, until the dismal stage finally faded to black. Reluctant and scattered applause ensued, like the audience was afraid to clap for the Nazi victory. However, this awkward silence was soon replaced with a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes. As the cast reemerged to take a bow, the audience was reminded that the events were only fictional — after all.

The Old Globe’s version of “Cabaret” is a dark and unambiguous condemnation of contemporary politics and weak morality — just like the Cabaret performances embedded into the show are a thinly veiled satire of the social and political elements of Weimar Republic Berlin. 

One thing is clear: when individuals fail to take accountability for their own personal decisions and lack of bravery, all of society suffers. Human beings can escape the consequences of their own cowardice, delusions and self-aggrandizement through fantastical escapism — but only for so long. If left unchecked, decadence will turn into decay. It’s all fun and games, until it’s not. “Life is a cabaret, ol’ chum,” until about 11 million people are murdered in a genocide, with the entire nation responsible for enabling it.