David Stern
A musical that speaks to our moment in history
‘Cabaret’ portrays the decadence of the late 1920s and early 1930s, perhaps it was easy to forget political events — and Germans were caught in the spell of ‘making their country great again.’
Cabaret, a landmark musical when it opened in 1966, will reveal its potency once again when it opens Friday, March 13 at the Bellows Falls Opera House. This decadent entertainment depicts the rise of the Third Reich as seen through the veil of a seedy nightclub.
As the dancers cavort before us, we become distracted, laughing, titillated by the exuberant depravity. Caught up in the 1920s version of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, we laugh along with the expanding nationalism and hatred.