Fred Ebb, John Kander - Cabaret: The New Broadway Cast Recording (1998 Broadway Revival)
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Free Music Notes for Cabaret: The New Broadway Cast Recording (1998 Broadway Revival)
Free Music Review: 3.5 New better than old!
Hit: 3 Stars
"Life is a cabaret..." Indeed it is my friends, and no horrifyingly beautiful music can tell it quite like the Cabaret itself. This musical is nothing but beautiful ballads, and that is what I love. While the original Broadway cast comes with five additional songs, they are just songs from the show, sung by someone else with bad quality. This recording actually comes with "Maybe This Time" which is not on the original cast, and it is one of my favorite songs! The major difference between old and new casts is the evilness of the emcee. In this recording Alan Cumming is sinister and almost sadistic in his portrayal of the emcee, while in the Original Grey takes a much milder tone with the character. In addition to that, the music in this recording is much more interesting and engaging. So if you are having to decide which Cabaret to get, get this one hands down. If your just looking for the next addition to your Broadway or music collection, this is full of Jazz and burlesque style music. I think it's good to listen straight through, but not exactly a typical Broadway CD. Favorite Song: "Maybe This Time"Free Music Review: Cabaret CD
Hit: 5 Stars
This was a great production. My son is an actor and loves Broadway. It's one of our favorits.Free Music Review: A TRULY REMARKABLE REVIVAL
Hit: 5 Stars
The 1998 revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb's `Cabaret' belongs to a handful of revivals that actually stand equal, if not better, to the original production. Although most people know `Cabaret' as the Oscar winning movie with Joel Grey and Liza Minelli, the stage production, which bears little resemblance to the movie, remains the definite version of the story and the score.
This CD captures the main musical numbers of the highly acclaimed 1998 Broadway revival of the show. Directed by Sam Mendes, it run for six years and won four Tony awards. We follow the events in 1929-1930 Berlin, during the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. This main plot has few other layers: the relationship between a young American writer Cliff Bradshaw and the London cabaret singer Sally Bowles, together with the problems facing the relationship between Cliff's landlord, Fraulein Schneider and her Jewish suitor Herr Schultz. The whole plot is presented and affected by the Emcee (The Master of Ceremonies) who is the main character and runs the cabaret at Berlin's `Kit Kat Club'.
This revival has considerable changes when compared to the original production (directed by Hal Prince in 1996) and the 1972 movie version. The score was re-orchestrated and played by the bigger orchestra. The orchestrations themselves feature a fresh, lively sound. Some of the songs written for the movie are also featured here (`Mein Herr'; `Money'). There were some differences in the staging as well. Whereas in the original production at the end of the show the Emcee himself is shown wearing the Nazi insignia, this revival has him stripped in the concentration camp striped suit, with a yellow star of David (denoting a Jew) and a pink triangle (denoting a homosexual). The appeal of this revised score is easily seen on this CD. The highlights include `Willkommen' (Emcee's invitation to come in and leave our troubles outside); Sally Bowles' and Emcee's cabaret numbers (`Cabaret', `Don't tell mama'; `Two ladies', `Money'...) or the deeply disturbing `Tomorrow belongs to me' (where a group of party guests shows their enthusiastic support for the rising Nazi Party). The score is generally very enjoyable and grabs you from the start.
One of the main reasons this revival was so successful is its excellent cast. The highest praise goes to Alan Cumming who deservedly won a Tony award for his new take on the role of the Emcee. Joel Grey's great interpretation (both on the stage and in the movie) gave us a puppet-like character in a tuxedo. Cumming created a whole new personality for this revival. His Emcee is far sleazier, humoresque and sexualized, with a vulgar make up and less clothing. He gives a truly inspiring performance on this recording; since his voice alone manages to capture all these things and leaves no doubt that his Tony was well deserved. Natasha Richardson makes a vivid Sally, yet a bit more in the borders of what this character should be (not sheer talent as shown by Minelli in the movie). She and Cumming make a wonderful driving force for this show, supported by the rest of the wonderful cast.
The CD is another one of RCA Victor's lush releases with the production photos, a libretto, reviews and accompanying production notes. The sound on the recording is excellent.
Whether this is another recording for your `Cabaret' collection or you simply want to get a single `Cabaret' recording, this is the one to choose. Alan Cumming's interpretation of the Emcee is worth the price of the entire disk. A must have for `Cabaret' fans.
Free Music Review: "Cabaret" revival
Hit: 3 Stars
We are actually performing this show at TMCC (Truckee Meadows Community College, Reno NV) next month, so I purchased this CD for reference. For those only familiar with the Liza Minelli movie, the play itself is very different. There are some good songs by Kander and Ebb and Alan Cumming does a wonderful job as the Emcee. Natasha Richardson cannot vocally compare to Liza Minelli; however, on stage, perhaps this served her well to better embody a Sally Bowles who sings in a tawdry Berlin cabaret. For the most part, although I am performing in it, it is not a show I would care to see, and I am not so fond of the music that I'll listen to the CD after the show is over. As a matter of fact, our music director asked us to stop listening to it since it is different from the actually score we have.Free Music Review: Alan Cummings can ruin anything!
Hit: 3 Stars
I am NOT an Alan Cummings fan, everything I have seen him do has grated on my nerves like chalk on a blackboard. Aside from him, terrific interpretation, realistic, and the other performances, Richardson imparticularly, are first rate. Never mind Richardsons less than Minelliesque singing voice, she acts the part dead on, she IS what Sally Bowles would have been.