Cabaret @ the Johnson Theatre

Based on the play by John Van Druten and Stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander and Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Cabaret will be performed in the Robert E. Johnson Theatre.

Plot:

Cabaret takes place from 1929-1930, a time when Berlin, in the midst of a post-World War I economic depression, is transitioning from a center of underground, avant-garde cultural epicenter to the beginnings of Hitler’s totalitarian regime and the rise of the Nazi Party. Into this world enters Clifford Bradshaw, a struggling American writer looking for inspiration for his next novel. On his first night in Berlin, Cliff wanders into the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy nightclub overseen by the strange, omniscient and gender-bendingMaster of Ceremonies, “the Emcee.” Here, Cliff meets Sally Bowles, a vivacious, talented cabaret performer, and an utterly lost soul. Sally and Cliff begin a relationship, which blossoms unexpectedly into a dream-like romance. As time passes, however, the situation in Berlin changes from exciting and vital to ominous and violent; Ernst, Cliff’s first German friend, turns out to be an up-and-coming member of the Nazi Party, and Herr Schultz, a fellow boarder at Fraulein Schneider’s guest house (and Schneider’s fiancee), is the victim of an Anti-Semitic hate crime. When he finds out that Sally is pregnant, Cliff decides that they must leave for America at once, before things get any worse. Sally, afraid, confused, and unsure that she’ll ever really be able to trade the sexy, illicit cabaret lifestyle for motherhood, gets an abortion, and tells Cliff that he must leave without her. With a distinctly Brechtian dose of provocation and a score featuring songs that have become classics of the American Musical Theater, Cabaret is a fierce, meaty musical that pushes the boundaries of the form and literally holds “the mirror up to nature.”

Tickets:

MSU Students get in free with MSU ID
Tickets are $20

Call 270.809.4421 for tickets.

Performances April 25-27 at 7:30 p.m. and April 28 at 2:30 p.m.

Cabaret is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC.

Join us as we celebrate 100 years of Theatre at Murray State.