歌厅1972

Source

Economic instability and social unrest following World War I gave way to a culture of escapism and decadence in Weimar Berlin. Though previously Berlin had not made much of a name for itself on the global stage, the Golden Twenties turned Berlin into the third largest city in the world, with a population of over 4 million. The 20s were a time of rich culture and sophisticated developments in art, architecture, music, fashion, and particularly film and live entertainment. Popular personas of the time included Marlene Dietrich and Lotte Lenya. The city became a haven for many writers and artists, thrill seekers who were drawn to the magnetic, taboo atmosphere— particularly of Berlin’s nightlife.

Many artists interacted and blended with the underground culture, nightlife and cabarets. Described in Voluptuous Panic: the Erotic World of Weimar Berlin as the “International sex-tourist Mecca of the Twenties and early Thirties,” Berlin was known for its sexual perversity and moral degeneracy. The nightlife scenes were famous for their erotic performances and abundance of cocaine and alcohol. As a result, many right-wing individuals viewed the culture of the time as socially disruptive and profane. One American writer of the time, Ben Hecht, described Berlin as the “prime breeding ground for evil.”

Despite the culture of decadence in the newly cosmopolitan Berlin, most of the population still faced poverty and unemployment in the aftermath of WWI. Prostitution rose as a means of survival for both women and men. In the 20s, this was normalized to a point where the German army granted approval to it soldiers to attend certain brothels, and even rationed coupon books for sexual services at establishments that had been inspected and cleared of sexually transmitted infections like syphilis and gonorrhea. Drug trafficking and the black market played a huge role in Berlin’s underground economy. Cocaine, heroin, and tranquilizers were easily accessible at the time.

Nightlife venues were abundant and diverse. They included girlculture venues, homosexual venues, lesbian venues, nudist venues, sex museums, transvestite venues, underworld venues, and Weimar Nazi venues.

Berlin Cabarets

Berlin Cabarets of the 1920’s were of a different variety than the ones that would later arise in the early 1930’s in response to the Depression, growing Nazi influence and social unrest. The twenties featured kick-lines of beautiful women who were shining with exuberance and personality: “Their faces were made up with an optimism that nipped all resistance to economic development in the bud, and the little cries of pleasure, issued in a precisely calculated rhythm, gave ever renewed praise to the splendors of existence in just such circumstances story ... exploiting with unflagging zeal the very boom they themselves were representing.” (Anton Kaes, Martin Jay, and Edward Dimendberg, The Weimar Republic Source Book)

After the Great Depression struck, the tone of Cabarets shifted significantly. Despite their well rehearsed smiles, performers began to represent deterioration and frenzy as opposed to blasé luxury: “Their smiles are those of a mark; their confidence a leftover from better days; their precision a mockery of the difficulties in which the very powers they call to mind now find themselves. Though they might continue to snake and wave as if nothing happened--the crisis to which so many factories have fallen victim has also silently liquidated this machinery of girls.” (ibid.) The dancers became more brash and provocative. Large theatres were censored by Nazis for content (both immoral and libelous), whereas nightclub stages and small cabarets maintained their erotic and subversive atmosphere and slid under the radar for a slightly longer period of time. (Lisa Appignanesi, The Cabaret)

Queer Culture

Berlin has a long and substantial history of queer culture. It was considered, from 1920s until the rise of the Nazi party, to be the gay capital of the European continent. Berlin’s status as a site of prominent cultural production was at odds with formal law; homosexuality was illegal in Germany from 1871 all the way until 1994 under the Strafgesetzbuch, or German penal code. The provision Paragraph 175 outlawed homosexual acts between men (as well as prostitution, bestiality, and underage sexual abuse). It was made more draconian during Hitler’s rein.

The burgeoning gay scene was the result of relatively tolerant policing policy that began in the late 19th century. Leopold von Meerscheidt-Hullessem, Berlin’s police commissioner in the 1880s, identified that the law was functionally unenforceable. The only way to convict someone was if they confessed, if it was a reported act of nonconsensual sexual violence, or if there was a witness who could testify in court. Rather than prioritize convictions, the police shifted their strategy to surveilling suspected individuals. The police tolerated a variety of gay public spaces—bars, cafés, and even gender non-conforming balls. Because Berliners were not penalized for frequenting these spaces a large and fairly open community emerged, one that did not exist in other European cities.

Gay culture in 1920s and early 1930s Berlin is most often, and fairly, associated with cabaret culture. A number of cabaret queens, both from Germany and abroad, were gay. One example is Claire Waldoff. Waldoff was not from Berlin, but moved there before World War I and earned a reputation as a review singer. She recorded the song “There’s Only One Berlin” in 1932, and it was banned by the Nazi Party in 1933 for its political content. However, it was so well known at the time that most people who lived in the city that year would have been familiar with it. Waldoff was a well-known lesbian; she lived with her partner, and owned a gay-lesbian salon. Although she socialized with many straight club owners and cabaret performers as well, her relationship with another woman was known and accepted.

The liberal attitudes in Berlin were partially the result of advocacy pioneered by Magnus Hirschfeld. Hirschfeld was a German physician who advocated for gay and transgender rights decades before the timeline of Cabaret, and his work and revolutionized German thought about homosexuality. The Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee, or WhK (“The Scientific-Humanitarian Committee”) was founded by Hirschfeld in 1897. The mission of the WhK was to advocate for the decriminalization and social recognition of gay and transgender people. At its height, the WhK had roughly 500 members and branches in 25 cities across three countries. Hirschfeld went on to found the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (“Institute for Sexology”) in 1918 under the more liberal Weimar Republic. The institute advocated for widely available contraception, the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, women’s emancipation, and sex education. Hirschfeld coined the term “transsexualism”—while terminology has since evolved, it was an important beginning to the discussion of gender nonconformity and medical gender transition—and some of the institute staff were themselves transgender. The institute offered endocrinological and surgical services, including the first modern sexual reassignment surgeries. Hirschfeld also strongly advocated against the arrest of crossdressers, especially those involved in sex work. Documentation of much of Hirschfeld’s would be destroyed in Nazi book burnings, which included the Institute archives.

Outside of cabarets, there was also a sizeable gay literary culture. The 1920s and early 1930s, there were at least 25 different gay German periodicals. These publications were sold alongside other standard papers. They provided community news, listed events, and even listed personal advertisements.

From 公众号 Music Fans

但凡与风月场所扯上那么点关系的文艺作品，大多都离不开对当时社会某种意味深长的驳斥和批判。

《卡巴莱》便是这么一部将背景完全铺陈在灯红酒绿中的音乐剧。此剧英文名为Caberat，不止具有“歌厅”之意，还是一种融合音乐、舞蹈和表演的娱乐形式。卡巴莱这种演出是连续性的，通常在餐厅、酒馆、夜总会等地上演，风格艳丽炫目，欢乐盛大。如剧名暗示的一样，本剧中的许多曲目都是这种典型的卡巴莱风格，然而剧中讲述的故事，却映射着藏在这极致的歌舞升平之下，锋利而冷酷的现实社会。

百老汇话剧《我是一个相机》（1951年）

《卡巴莱》改编自约翰•范•德鲁顿1951年的话剧《我是一个相机》，由弗里德·埃布（Fred Ebb）作词，约翰·坎德（John Kander）作曲，于1966年11月在纽约百老汇首演。

百老汇音乐剧《卡巴莱》1966年OBC海报

法西斯掌权前夜的柏林繁华开放又暗流涌动的社会现状通过故事的推进层层展现在观众眼前：纳粹在德国正初步兴起，而柏林依旧沉浸在一片纸醉金迷之中。歌舞女郎莎莉•鲍尔斯与美国小说作家克利夫·布莱特肖的恋情是故事主线，而克里夫的房东施耐德小姐和她的追求者舒尔茨先生（一位卖水果的犹太老头）之间注定要失败的爱情则是另一条故事线索。

1998 Kennedy Center Honors表演：Wilkommen

Alan Cumming & Joel Grey as Emcee

（Joel Grey是1966年OBC和1972年电影版中Emcee扮演者）

而在身处其中，见证着所有悲欢离合的则是夜总会的主持“Emcee”。作为剧中男一，Emcee一直以一个旁观者的视角孤立于整个故事之外，他不是故事叙述的主体，却是用于体现全剧意旨中心的重要形象。他的曲目虽然看似都是Kit Kat Klub里的卡巴莱表演，并未嵌在故事之中，但却与故事本身有着千丝万缕的联系：在开场曲“Willkommen”里，他竭力劝各方来客留下，用尽各种方式推销：

“So- life is disappointing?

Forget it!

There're no troubles here!”

他将口中的Cabaret描绘成一个极乐至美的地方，烦恼灰飞烟灭，只有漂亮姑娘小伙香艳的肉体与肆意言欢的生活。可当困境作为常态，人们只能走进歌厅忘记烦恼时，社会危机已悄然出现。

2014年百老汇复排版中 Alan Cumming as Emcee

尺度极为大胆的“Two Ladies”中，Emcee反反复复强调“两个女人”，但实际上二人只有一个是真正的女性——当时的柏林思想前卫，盛行的同性恋风气在官方的“第147条”的压制下只能被迫掩于地下，表演中处处透露着的放荡情欲才暗示着最真实的现状；之后“Money”的荒诞演绎，揭露的是风行整个资本主义世界的拜金主义。

1998年百老汇复排版中Alan Cumming as Emcee

但如果说前面的曲目反映的问题都只是在20世纪30年代资本主义社会语境下的共同弊病， 那么“If You Could See Her”则直接指向了纳粹种族主义的荒谬思想。Emcee牵着的大猩猩被暗喻成了劣等的犹太人，歌词里反复强调的“假如你能用我的双眼看她，你们将会改变对她的看法”正切合了前面房东与水果店老板由于种族原因终究走不到一起的悲剧结局;

作为将全剧推向情绪顶峰的“I Don't CareMuch”不只体现了Sally的绝望心境，并且也是绝大部分底层百姓在面临纳粹即将到来的大范围侵袭时最深刻写照：衣衫单薄、屋顶塌陷，岌岌可危的生活让他们无暇顾及太多曾经拥有的美好。此处骤变的曲风与Emcee换上的闪亮耳坠和礼服，更像是一种对旧日荣华的追悼。直至“Finale”中令人震惊的结局，Emcee这个角色给我们呈现的，超脱了故事本身的维度，但在众多歌曲的演绎中，Emcee这个本应独立于故事的个体，个人特性也在不断展现，最后甚至变成了本剧中，最具有象征性的存在。

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“I Don't Care Much” by Alan Cumming（1993伦敦复排版）

Jane Horrocks as Sally，Adam Godley as Cliff

这样的剧作设计，可以说是相当惊艳，而Alan Cumming无疑是能将这个角色诠释得最生动的演员之一：他是1993年伦敦复排版和1998年百老汇复排版中的Emcee, 15年后，又参与了2014年百老汇复排版的演出。外媒有评论他的Emcee“既风骚又咄咄逼人，让人难以想象他是如何把这两种特质完美糅合的”。而15年后，他所呈现的Emcee是一个似乎更加轻佻又更加绝望的角色，以至于最后一幕皮衣褪下只剩囚服时，Cumming脸上的笑容都写着歇斯底里的癫狂。

相较之下，女一号Sally Bowles,作为故事的主要参与者，体现的更多的则是私人化的情感表达。风云际会，大时代下的小人物虽被裹挟在历史潮流中但仍心怀梦想，歌舞女郎与旅德小说家相爱但最后又以其重返歌厅作为结束。

2014年百老汇复排版中由Emma Stone饰演Sally

Sally Bowles的悲剧来源于她不断的逃避，而歌厅始终被她当作一个庇护所，当面临她长期难以承受的压力，无论是来自家庭的亦或是社会的，她自然而然地转向自己习惯的环境，继续活在自己的幻梦中。她并不是天真愚蠢的金发娇娃，所有的伤痛和苦难无力倾吐，只能被化作一句故作轻松的“Life is a cabarat”——对于当时的底层民众来说，也许这是唯一慰藉自己的方法。而Cliff和Sally之间难以逾越的阶层与观念差异决定了他们之间命运走向的全然不同。就像Sally说的：

"Isn't it funny -It always ends this way?

Even when I do finally love someone quite terriblyfor the first time,

butit'sstillnot quiteenough."

2014年百老汇复排版剧照Emma Stone（as Sally）& Bill Heck （as Cliff）

其实细想，Cliff和Sally的爱情，更像是一场短暂的幻梦，美好但注定要分崩离析，Cliff先从梦中惊醒，但Sally依旧沉睡其中佯装不醒，所有与歌厅缔结关系的一切，都是黑暗到来前最后一丝顽强的抵抗。

这段故事如果反应的是末日狂欢，那么另一条故事线中，房东和水果店老板的际遇才是真真实实的纳粹阴云下爱情的悲惨写照：两人兴趣相投，心意相通，连一个菠萝都能燃起爱的火花，婚约都订下最后也只能被硬生生毁掉。在这个故事里，双方人物性格极其相似，隐忍、谨慎，小心翼翼，就连对唱也带着一种克制的情绪，与Cliff和Sally形成了鲜明的对比，平凡却更加真实，更加压抑。

2014年百老汇复排版剧照Linda Emond & Danny Burstein

如此一来，《卡巴莱》实际上是个深刻的悲剧，“起起落落落落落落”恐怕是个贴切的形容词，每次看都令人心尖一颤。但好在其中还有绝妙的讽刺和香艳的歌舞段落，揪心的情绪能稍微地被缓解。同样是黑色吊带袜蕾丝短裙，Sally Bowles呈现出的放荡的纯真和芝加哥里的Roxie竟莫名地有些相似。而Sally显然拥有除了美艳外更多的特质：1973年电影版中LisaMinnelli赋予她黑猫一样的诡黠又缱绻，而石头姐用标志性的大白牙咧嘴笑突出了她小兽一样的懵懂和放肆。

1973年电影版莎莉·鲍尔斯的扮演者Liza Minnelli

Sally是令人心碎的，歌厅自身却是纵情享乐的桃色场所。2014年复排版里乐队自成一景，大大的粉红霓虹灯框成方形挂在舞台上方，营造出迷幻的氛围。Emcee小哥烟熏红唇一样不落，双马尾的小姑娘眼神诱惑，场上场下都很暧昧。而这种暧昧感，即使是在剧情急转直下的时候，还没有消失，只是渐渐变得压抑又悲凉，最后Emcee斩钉截铁地说：“We have no troubles here!”随后带着红袖章的纳粹们走上舞台，黑压压的Cabaratdancers站在后面。歌厅的宏大梦幻，在这一刻土崩瓦解。

人们在末日来到之前纸醉金迷的狂欢心态，再回头想想似乎也不无道理：人生就是一场秀。时代早晚都要终结，没有能力反抗的我们，为什么不先享受一番呢?但这一切终究有些不对劲。可换个角度来看，这个故事本身试图抛出的可能并不是特定的价值观，而是某个值得深思的哲学命题吧。

9.0分。以歌厅女明星的生活展开纳粹在德国的兴起岁月，德国逐步被纳粹舆论控制；作品介于胡闹与严肃之间，以在歌厅胡闹避世来严肃讨论纳粹，从一开始纳粹被赶出场内到后来满座似乎皆为纳粹，男主的言行即是导演对此的观点。最牛逼的还是那段乡村少年唱起由最初的温和到后来气势汹汹的“党歌”，完全出乎意料。歌舞段落很棒且不生硬，小丑最讨喜。

Sally 最后选择离开Bri应该是因为发现自己无法理解Bri了吧。在野餐时，Sally发现Bri不愿意和她说自己在想什么，而且对话时心不在焉。Sally认为Bri不再爱她了。所以，她在解释堕胎原因时，所说的担心失去梦想，担心生活的琐碎会磨平激情，这些可能也的确是理由，但让她真正下决心离开的，应该是她最后那句没有说出口的before：before you don't love me.

但我觉得Bri之所以有那样的表现，是因为德国社会当时的情况已经越来越严重，纳粹已经越来越声势浩大，因此他变得越来越忧虑，并不是因为不爱Sally。他还爱着Sally，因此才会在Sally堕胎之后那么生气。

那，他们两分开只是因为误会吗？如果两个人沟通清楚，结局会不一样吗？

天真的人说：只要他俩明白彼此依然相爱，那就没有任何问题了啊。

悲观的人说：即便这样，Sally其实毫不关心让Bri忧虑不已的纳粹问题，他们是不一样的人。随着时局动荡，只想过好自己生活，很想成为一名演员的Sally，与极度厌恶法西斯和纳粹，坚持原则的Bri，身处逐渐疯狂的德国纳粹狂潮之中，注定无法永远幸福地生活在一起。

乐观的人说：但只要他俩爱着彼此，那么这样的不同也不会让彼此分离，而是能够不断磨合坚持下去。这样的乱世之中他们也能够互相理解。而这种理解，这份感情，将成为支撑他们在乱世中生活下去的凭依，将成为乱世之中most beautiful，most marvelous, most extraordinary的东西。.

我不知道该讨论纳粹，还是讨论爱情。