cabaret
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
The story of Cabaret is based on the Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood, and I Am a Camera by John Van Druten. The play is rendered in the famous Studio 54, which sets the mood of the play even before it actually begins, as the audience seems to be sitting in a caf, with small lamps at tables. This could not have been a better stage for the production, given the history of Studio 54, Cabaret just seem to fit into it. The story of Cabaret takes place in the 1930's in an exciting and tantalizing dramatization of the city of Berlin, during Hitler's rise to power in Nazi Germany. Most of the story takes place in or around the Kit Kat Club, which at first glance seems to be untouched by the wearisome troubles of the depression and war that is sweeping across Germany. The club dancers, and musicians sing and dance with a bohemian sprit to keep their minds off of the terrible truth of events of the world outside of the Kit Kat Club. And so it begins the dramatic story of Cabaret.
The production of Cabaret is a tragicomedy, although it is dealing with real and serious issues from the beginning of World War II and Hitler's rise to power, it also lightens the mood by comical events, and characters which break the tension of a serious moment this is done so the audience does not get caught up in that specific event. It is used to take the audience through a light transition instead of jolting from one serious mood to another; the use of comedy allows us to take the situation less serious. Cabaret can also be considered a form of performance art, as the characters of the play use music and dance to replace dialogue and express moods, and enhance actions pertaining to a situation that the director wishes to focus on...