Like many of the American musical theater greats, Cabaret is one of those shows that can suffer from style-creep, wherein an unwritten but generally agreed-upon aesthetic tradition grows into self-parody. For John Kander and Fred Ebb’s legendary pre-WWII Berlin-set romantic drama (based on the 1951 play I Am a Camera by John Van Druten and […]
Tag: Cabaret
Posted inMusic
Chicago’s 1920s nightlife incubated world-changing musical and social experiments
The Roaring Twenties have often been portrayed as a time of wealth, glamor, and social change. Technological advances, including more widespread electrification and increased use of automobiles, plus the growth of mass media such as radio and movies, drove a booming economy—though then as now the benefits were inequitably distributed. Inspired by movie stars and […]
Posted inColumns & Opinion
The fight for the future
Congresswoman Mary Miller’s apology is almost as bad as her original “Hitler was right” remark.
Posted inArts & Culture
Joel Grey (virtually) headlines PorchlightPalooza
The 88-year-old musical theater icon talks about staying home—and coming out.
Posted inArts & Culture
Desperate debauchery haunts this Cabaret
Encroaching fascism and gender fluidity make for a timely revival with Cowardly Scarecrow.
Posted inMusic
If you don’t know Megon McDonough, blame the maleness of Chicago’s 70s folk scene
Folk singer Megon McDonough made her 1972 debut LP while still in high school and in 1990 joined Christine Lavin’s Four Bitchin’ Babes.
Posted inBlogs
Cabaret star Charles Busch relives his youth in My Kinda 60s
The performer behind Die, Mommie, Die! abandons drag for nostalgia.
Posted inArts & Culture
Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies, Jacques Brel’s Lonesome Losers . . . , and nine more new stage shows
A one-woman show to buckle up for and an intimate, retro revue are among this week’s best bets.
Posted inArts & Culture
Chicago, Lady X: The Musical, and seven more new theater reviews
The hometown return of an iconic show and the tuneful reboot of a camp classic are among this week’s best bets.
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Steppenwolf’s The Flick, BoHo Theatre’s Fugitive Songs, and 13 more new stage shows
Fifteen new reviews of stage shows including limited runs of Cabaret and the one-man show Sancho: An Act of Remembrance.
Posted inBlogs
Ten notes on Cabaret, playing through Sunday at PrivateBank Theatre
The 2014 Roundabout Theatre revival concludes its local run this weekend.
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Bridget Everett and Ian Abramson, subtle comedy it ain’t
Cabaret comedian Bridget Everett flaunts over-the-top sultriness, while local eccentric Ian Abramson plays a vaudevillian angle.
Posted inMusic
An oral history of the Green Mill
The Green Mill has more stories than any tavern in town. Here are a few from the past three decades.
Posted inBlogs
Nightclubbing your way to hell: Marriott’s Cabaret
The Marriott Theatre delivers a knock-out version of the musical that puts you face-to-face with monstrous evil.
Posted inArts & Culture
Too Much Light at 25: An oral history
The Neo-Futurists reflect on a quarter century of their forever-running show, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.