Back in 1977, a television program called Roots was broadcast over eight nights. Its final episode was watched by more than 100 million Americans. Roots was the first time many delved deeply (or at all) into the origins of slavery and the brutal journey from life and kidnappings in West Africa to bondage in America. This family saga, a mini-series adapted from author Alex Haley’s blockbuster book of the same name, ushered in an era when exploring one’s own roots became an obsession. Today it has become commonplace and has changed lives and families.
In 2015, a little show called Hamilton (based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton) opened on Broadway, introducing to stage-goers a vision of the nation’s founding the likes of which no one had ever seen. With the use of hip hop and rap and a cast comprised of people of color, composer and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda made it possible for millions of Americans to rethink America’s history and wonder anew about the men and women who made our country great. Not only did over eight million people see the theater show, many millions more have streamed it on Disney+.
Now comes a new production of Cabaret, the story of 1931 Berlin centered at a risqué nightclub where people in Weimar Germany felt the freedom to be themselves—before it all went so terribly wrong. The show opened in 1966, just two decades after the end of the Nazi holocaust and the deadly devastation of World War II, before being adapted for film by director Bob Fosse and Liza Minelli in 1972. This latest incarnation arrives on Broadway transplanted from London’s West End and stars Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne as Cabaret’s lurid and magnetic emcee (a role originated by Joel Grey).
Directed by Rebecca Frecknall, this re-envisioned masterpiece (now called Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club) walks audiences through the August Wilson Theater’s side doors, past baudy performers before the show begins, and into an immersive theater in the round. But it’s not the brilliant stagecraft that matters most—it’s how this story of love, desire and desperation pulls you into the reality of its diverse characters’ lives as they think they can avoid the madness of the Nazis and eventually must either flee for their lives or become one of them to survive.
I saw Cabaret a long time ago as a child, have seen the movie (many times), experienced the new show just before its London closing and saw a New York preview last night. It hasn’t lost any of its power or relevance—quite the contrary given the dangers facing our country now. I wish millions could see it, with the hope that this work of history could change some minds among those who are unconcerned or indifferent about America’s possible future.
So here’s this week’s question: Can a work of art change minds or even change society? Is there a work of art—a film, a television show, a book, a piece of theater—that profoundly changed your thinking?
As always, I look forward to reading your observations and insights and for this community to learn from each other. Please do be respectful. The comments section is free for everyone, so trolling will not be tolerated.
*Photo: Eddie Redmayne as the emcee in the latest incarnation of Cabaret. Photo by Marc Brenner.
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