SINCE its Broadway premiere in 1966 and the 1972 musical film starring Liza Minnelli, above, and Michael York, Cabaret has won a staggering number of stage and screen awards including eight Oscars, seven Baftas and 13 Tony's.
The story is based upon the novella Goodbye to Berlin from Christopher Isherwood's 1945 book The Berlin Stories, which were set in Berlin in 1931, just as Adolf Hitler was moving to power. With music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, the 1966 Broadway production quickly became a hit. The first West End production opened on February 1968 at the Palace Theatre with Judi Dench as Sally and Peter Sallis as Herr Schultz.
In 1993 Sam Mendes directed a new production of the show for the Donmar Warehouse in London's West End starring Jane Horrocks as Sally.
The character of the Emcee was transformed from an asexual, edgy character dressed in a tuxedo to a highly sexualized character who wore suspenders. The score was entirely reorchestrated, with all the instruments now being played by the cabaret girls and boys.
The most recent West End production of 2012 starred Will Young as Emcee and Michelle Ryan as Sally Bowles. The show's third Broadway revival opened this year with Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall reprising their respective roles as director and co-director/choreographer.
Jenny Lee