CABARET

By John Kander and Fred Ebb. Book by Joe Masteroff.
Directed by Freddie Ashley.
(Artistic Director | Actor's Express - ATL)

This Tony Award-winning musical details the lives of an aspiring novelist and a wannabe starlet looking for love in 1920’s Berlin under the rising shadow of Nazism. For opening night (Nov. 3), you can use the promo code DATENIGHT when purchasing two tickets to get one for 1/2 price.  

Nov. 3, 8-11 @ 8:00pm, Nov. 5 & 12 @ 2:30pm
Fine Arts Theatre
Tickets: $16, $12 for Students

Special Thanks to House Electic of Athens, GA for the Support of Cabaret and UGA Theatre. 

DIRECTOR'S NOTES

Cabaret premiered on Broadway in 1966 and was seen as revolutionary in its dramatic structure and staging, utilizing Brechtian elements of alienation in a popular format. It was the second major collaboration between composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb and was directed by Harold Prince. A colossal hit, it ran for three years and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. An Oscar-winning film version premiered in 1972 and the show was revived on Broadway in 1987, 1998 and 2014.

Part of Cabaret’s power is how it so poignantly captures the last gasp of a great era and paints a foreboding picture of the gathering storm of Nazism. The dreamscape of sexual liberty that Cliff encounters gives way to a nightmare of fascism that gathers power not suddenly in a dramatic coup, but slowly through legitimate political channels. There is a cautionary tale here, to be sure, about the dangers of looking the other way when authoritarians are breathing down your neck.

Cabaret pulses with life as urgently as it did when it premiered half a century ago. With its dynamic characters, exhilarating score, and powerful storytelling, it seduces audiences today into a world of beauty, sex, passion, and individualism – and then jolts us with the warning that it can all be taken away in an instant – Freddie Ashley, Artistic Director of Actor's Express Atlanta.