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Most of the literary and artistic works that have such a relationship with Fengyue Place are inseparable from a meaningful refutation and criticism of the society at that time.
"Cabale" is such a musical with a background completely laid out in feasting and feasting. The English name of this play is Caberat, which not only means "karaoke", but also a form of entertainment that combines music, dance and performance. Cabaret's performances are continuous, usually in restaurants, pubs, nightclubs and other places, with gorgeous and dazzling styles and grand joy. As the title implies, many of the repertoires in this play are in this typical cabaret style, but the stories told in the play reflect the sharp and cold reality of society hidden under this extreme level of singing and dancing.
"Cabale" is adapted from John Van Druden's 1951 play "I Am a Camera", lyrics by Fred Ebb and music by John Kander, in 1966 It premiered on Broadway in New York in November.
The prosperous, open and undercurrent social status of Berlin on the eve of the fascist power was revealed to the audience through the advancement of the story. The love affair between the showgirl Sally Bowles and the American novelist Cliff Brightshaw is the main storyline, and Cliff’s landlord, Miss Schneider, and her suitor, Mr. Schultz (an old fruit seller) The doomed love between them is another clue to the story.
1998 Kennedy Center Honors performance: Wilkommen
Alan Cumming & Joel Grey as Emcee
(Joel Grey was the actor of Emcee in the 1966 OBC and 1972 movie versions)
In it, the host of the nightclub "Emcee" witnessed all the joys and sorrows. As the male character in the play, Emcee has always been isolated from the whole story from the perspective of a bystander. He is not the main body of the story narrative, but an important image used to embody the center of the whole play. Although his repertoire seems to be the cabaret performance in Kit Kat Klub and is not embedded in the story, it is inextricably linked to the story itself: in the opening song "Willkommen", he tried his best to persuade everyone Fang Laigu stayed and tried all kinds of ways to sell:
"So- life is disappointing?
Forget it!
There're no troubles here!"
He portrayed Cabaret as a place of bliss and beauty, with all his worries vanished, and only the fragrant flesh of a pretty girl and a life of wanton joy. But when the dilemma is the norm and people can only walk into the karaoke hall to forget their worries, the social crisis has quietly appeared.
In the extremely bold "Two Ladies", Emcee repeatedly emphasized "two women", but in fact only one of the two was a real woman-the Berlin thinking avant-garde at the time, the prevailing homosexuality was in the official "No. 147" Under the suppression of "Tiao", we can only be forced to hide it underground. The debauchery revealed throughout the performance hints at the truest status quo; afterwards, the absurd interpretation of "Money" exposes the money worship that prevails in the entire capitalist world.
But if the problems reflected in the previous repertoire are only common ills in the context of capitalist society in the 1930s, then "If You Could See Her" directly points to the absurd ideas of Nazi racism. The gorilla held by Emcee is metaphorically referred to as an inferior Jew. The lyrics repeatedly emphasized "If you can see her with my eyes, you will change your opinion of her", which fits the previous landlord and fruit shop owner due to race The tragic ending that the reasons cannot come together after all;
"I Don't CareMuch", which pushed the whole drama to the peak of emotions, not only embodies Sally's desperate state of mind, but also the most profound portrayal of the vast majority of the people at the bottom in the face of the upcoming large-scale invasion of the Nazis: thin clothes and collapsed roofs. , The precarious life makes them too much time to take care of the beauty they once had. The sudden change of style here and the shiny earrings and dress that Emcee put on are more like a kind of mourning for the glory of the past. Until the shocking ending in "Finale", the character Emcee presented to us transcends the dimension of the story itself, but in the interpretation of many songs, Emcee, an individual who should be independent of the story, is constantly showing his personal characteristics. , In the end even became the most symbolic existence in the play.
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"I Don't Care Much" by Alan Cumming (Reprinted in London 1993)
Jane Horrocks as Sally, Adam Godley as Cliff
This kind of play design can be said to be quite stunning, and Alan Cumming is undoubtedly one of the actors who can interpret this role most vividly: he was Emcee in the 1993 London re-typesetting and 1998 Broadway re-typesetting, 15 years later , And participated in the 2014 Broadway complex typesetting performance. Foreign media commented that his Emcee was "coquettish and aggressive, making it hard to imagine how he combined these two qualities perfectly." And 15 years later, the Emcee he presented was a character that seemed more frivolous and desperate, so that when the leather jacket fell off only the prison uniform in the last scene, the smile on Cumming's face was hysterical and crazy.
In contrast, the female number one Sally Bowles, as the main participant in the story, embodies more personal emotional expression. In the vicissitudes of the times, the little people in the big era are trapped in the historical trend but still have dreams in their hearts. The showgirl and the German novelist fell in love but ended up with her return to the karaoke hall.
The tragedy of Sally Bowles stems from her constant escape, and the cabaret has always been used by her as a shelter. When faced with long-term unbearable pressure, whether it comes from family or society, she naturally turns to the environment she is used to. , Continue to live in their own dreams. She is not a naive and stupid blond girl. All the pain and suffering can only be turned into a "Life is a cabarat" pretending to be relaxed. For the low-level people at the time, perhaps this was the only comfort for themselves. Methods. And the insurmountable class and concept difference between Cliff and Sally determines the completely different direction of their destiny. As Sally said:
"Isn't it funny -It always ends this way?
Even when I do finally love someone quite terribly for the first time,
butit'sstillnot quiteenough."
In fact, thinking about it carefully, the love between Cliff and Sally is more like a short-lived dream, beautiful but destined to fall apart. Cliff wakes up from the dream first, but Sally is still sleeping and pretending not to wake up. Everything about the relationship with the karaoke hall is It was the last trace of stubborn resistance before the arrival of darkness.
If this story reflects a doomsday carnival, then in another story line, the encounter between the landlord and the fruit shop owner is the tragic portrayal of love under the Nazi cloud: the two have similar interests, and have the same mind, even a pineapple. It can ignite the spark of love, and the marriage contract can only be ruined in the end. In this story, the characters on both sides are extremely similar, tolerant, cautious, and cautious. Even the duet has a restrained emotion, which is in sharp contrast with Cliff and Sally. The ordinary is more real and more depressing.
In this way, "Kabale" is actually a profound tragedy. "Ups and downs" is probably an appropriate adjective, which makes my heart tremble every time I look at it. But fortunately, there are also wonderful irony and sweet singing and dancing passages, and the anxiety can be slightly relieved. Also in a black garter stocking lace skirt, Sally Bowles's slutty innocence is inexplicably similar to Roxie in Chicago. And Sally obviously has more qualities besides being beautiful: In the 1973 movie version, Lisa Minnelli gave her the sly and sly like a black cat, and Shitou's iconic big white teeth grin highlighted her little beast-like ignorance and ignorance. presumptuous.
Sally is heartbreaking, but the cabaret itself is a peachy place for indulgence. In the 2014 recomposition, the band is a scene of its own, with a large pink neon frame hung on the top of the stage in a square shape, creating a psychedelic atmosphere. Emcee's smoky red lips didn't fall off, and the girl with two pony tails looked tempting, and she was very ambiguous on and off the court. And this sense of ambiguity, even when the plot took a turn for the worse, did not disappear, but gradually became depressed and sad. Finally Emcee said firmly: "We have no troubles here!" Then the Nazis with red armbands walked up. On the stage, dark Cabarat dancers stood behind. The grand dream of the karaoke hall fell apart at this moment.
People's carnival mentality of drunken fans before the end of the day seems to make sense to think about it: life is just a show. The era will end sooner or later. If we are unable to resist, why don't we enjoy it first? But there is something wrong with it after all. Looking at it from another angle, what the story itself is trying to throw out may not be a specific value, but a philosophical proposition worth pondering.
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