AMG Review of Cabaret [1998 Broadway Cast]

Sarah Erlewine
All Music Guide

While #Cabaret (written by the legendary Kander and Ebb team, who also gave us #Chicago) has always been on of the darkest and most potent musicals, this 1998 renaissance directed by Sam Mendes digs deeper and cuts harder than previous incarnations. Even seedier than the original and movie versions (made famous by Liza Minelli in the lead role of Sally Bowles, a nightclub chanteuse), #Cabaret explores the German nightlife in 1930s Nazi Germany. The focus is on three separate couples and a troupe of nightclub performers, led by one devastating and compelling emcee. The music is enchanting and uninhibited, and the score features several classics, including "Don't Tell Mama," "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," "Money" and the titular "Cabaret." The Tony award-winning cast in this 1998 version is invigorating, featuring performances by the astonishing Alan Cumming as the emcee and Natasha Richardson as a much more vulnerable Sally Bowles than the Minelli version. A definite must.