Cabaret
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Cabaret: A West End Icon
"Cabaret" first dazzled the West End at the Palace Theatre on February 28, 1968, launching a legacy that spans decades with revivals in 1986, 1993, and a transformative 2021 run at the Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre). With music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Joe Masteroff, this musical—rooted in Christopher Isherwood’s tales—has won 10 Olivier Awards across its incarnations. From Judi Dench’s debut Sally Bowles to Eddie Redmayne’s 2021 Emcee, its tale of Weimar Berlin’s decadence and doom remains a Theatreland titan. As of March 23, 2025, its latest run thrives, cementing its enduring allure.
From Broadway to London
Born on Broadway in 1966 with Hal Prince’s direction, "Cabaret" crossed to the West End in 1968, directed by Prince with Gillian Lynne’s choreography. Based on John Van Druten’s play I Am a Camera and Isherwood’s Goodbye to Berlin, it debuted with Dench, Barry Dennen as the Emcee, and Lila Kedrova as Fräulein Schneider, running nearly a year. Revivals followed: 1986 at the Strand Theatre with Wayne Sleep, 1993 at the Donmar Warehouse with Sam Mendes directing Jane Horrocks, and 2021’s immersive Kit Kat Club, helmed by Rebecca Frecknall, turning the Playhouse into a 1930s nightclub.
A Berlin Tale of Love and Loss
In 1929 Berlin, American writer Cliff Bradshaw arrives as the Kit Kat Club pulses with hedonism, led by the enigmatic Emcee. He meets Sally Bowles, a British singer whose carefree charm masks fragility, sparking a romance amid rising Nazism. Meanwhile, boardinghouse owner Fräulein Schneider and Jewish fruit-seller Herr Schultz face their own doomed love as swastikas loom. Songs like “Willkommen,” “Mein Herr,” “Money,” and “Cabaret” shift from seductive to chilling, mirroring Berlin’s descent. The 2021 revival adds “I Don’t Care Much,” deepening the darkness.
A West End Evolution
The 1968 run set the tone, but 1986’s Strand revival (256 shows) with Kelly Hunter’s Sally leaned darker. Mendes’ 1993 Donmar staging—starring Alan Cumming’s iconic Emcee—won four Oliviers, including Best Musical Revival, for its stark intimacy over 24 weeks. The 2021 Kit Kat Club run, opening December 12 after delays, redefined the show with Redmayne, Jessie Buckley, and a 360-degree design by Tom Scutt, snagging seven Oliviers, including Best Musical Revival, in 2022. Over 1,000 shows in, it’s still packing houses in 2025, with Fra Fee and Rhea Norwood now leading.
A Lasting Legacy
By March 23, 2025, "Cabaret"’s West End journey—from Palace to Kit Kat Club—spans over 2,500 performances across its runs, plus tours and a 1972 film with Liza Minnelli. Its 10 Oliviers reflect its grip on audiences, tackling love, identity, and tyranny with unflinching style. The 2021 cast recording and global stagings keep it vital, a rare musical that evolves yet stays true to its Weimar soul. In Theatreland’s glittering sprawl, "Cabaret" remains a seductive, searing beacon—life’s a cabaret, old chum, and London can’t look away.