Cabaret just ended its run last night, and I managed to catch the last performance. Kudos to the performers that they can last two weeks! The performances I was involved in were only for two to three days, yet the entire process made me feel like dying.
Sex. Illusions. Idealism. Politics. Innuendos. Threesomes. Semi-nudity. That is the essence of the show. The plot was during 1930s Germany where the Nazis just came into power. And already the tension was building up on the extermination of "all those that are not German", ie the Jews, Communists, Gypsies, etc.
Through these, a cabaret in Berlin known as the Kit Kat Klub continuied functioning despite the political tension surmounting outside, performing show after show, with the main star Sally Bowles and her relationship with the Amerian writer Clifford Bradshaw.
The first half was good, nice songs with good singers. The main character is the Emcee, played by Kris Fei Xiang, distintive due to his rich baritone voice. He was the observer of everyone, from the dancers in the Kit Kat Klub to the star-crossed lovers in the streets of Berlin.
Sally Bowles (Mezzo-Soprano Emma Yong) and Clifford Bradshaw (Jason Chan) fell in love, but when Hitler's army started branding "those that are not German", he wanted to escape back to America. However, she wanted to remain in the Kit Kat Klub to enjoy fame and glory, and refused to go back with him.
Clifford's landlady Fraulein Schneider (Karen Tan with her rich Alto voice) was supposed to marry Herr Schultz, a German Jew who owns a fruit stall in a market, but the engagement was called off and he had to move away in order not to cause her trouble.
The bad guy of all is one Ernst Ludwig, an officer in the Nazi army, played by Mark Richmond, who made Clifford smuggle things for him from Paris. He was the one that threatened Fraulein Schneider that her life would be in a turmoil if she allowed the marriage to take place.
The other supporting character is Fraulein Kost, a prostitute who has a thing for young sailors. She could not get along with the landlady (Schneider) due to her "work", but in the end, it was she who helped Schneider and Schultz on their engagement night by mocking Ludwig.
The second part was a bit abrupt. Somehow I feel the ending is not that good. The first half was long, about an hour, but the second half was only about half an hour, thus it probably explains why the ending was so abrupt. The final words was sung by Fei Xiang, but I feel the finale itself should be more spectacular.
The message is clear and simple. Life is like a cabaret indeed.
Sex. Illusions. Idealism. Politics. Innuendos. Threesomes. Semi-nudity. That is the essence of the show. The plot was during 1930s Germany where the Nazis just came into power. And already the tension was building up on the extermination of "all those that are not German", ie the Jews, Communists, Gypsies, etc.
Through these, a cabaret in Berlin known as the Kit Kat Klub continuied functioning despite the political tension surmounting outside, performing show after show, with the main star Sally Bowles and her relationship with the Amerian writer Clifford Bradshaw.
The first half was good, nice songs with good singers. The main character is the Emcee, played by Kris Fei Xiang, distintive due to his rich baritone voice. He was the observer of everyone, from the dancers in the Kit Kat Klub to the star-crossed lovers in the streets of Berlin.
Sally Bowles (Mezzo-Soprano Emma Yong) and Clifford Bradshaw (Jason Chan) fell in love, but when Hitler's army started branding "those that are not German", he wanted to escape back to America. However, she wanted to remain in the Kit Kat Klub to enjoy fame and glory, and refused to go back with him.
Clifford's landlady Fraulein Schneider (Karen Tan with her rich Alto voice) was supposed to marry Herr Schultz, a German Jew who owns a fruit stall in a market, but the engagement was called off and he had to move away in order not to cause her trouble.
The bad guy of all is one Ernst Ludwig, an officer in the Nazi army, played by Mark Richmond, who made Clifford smuggle things for him from Paris. He was the one that threatened Fraulein Schneider that her life would be in a turmoil if she allowed the marriage to take place.
The other supporting character is Fraulein Kost, a prostitute who has a thing for young sailors. She could not get along with the landlady (Schneider) due to her "work", but in the end, it was she who helped Schneider and Schultz on their engagement night by mocking Ludwig.
The second part was a bit abrupt. Somehow I feel the ending is not that good. The first half was long, about an hour, but the second half was only about half an hour, thus it probably explains why the ending was so abrupt. The final words was sung by Fei Xiang, but I feel the finale itself should be more spectacular.
The message is clear and simple. Life is like a cabaret indeed.
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