I saw a stage production of “Cabaret” over the weekend. As most everyone knows, this is a story set in Berlin in the early 1930s as the Nazis were coming to power. It shows how the poison of that ideology infected society causing one character to choose between the love she felt for one character and her need to continue her life in Berlin. She asks the question “What Would You Do?” Since the man she loved was Jewish, she felt she had to reject him. The man felt that no harm would come to him because he was German. The emcee was evidently bisexual or gay, and at first seemed to laugh off the Nazis…until they came for him. I am probably giving short shrift to the story of Sally Bowles and Cliff Bradshaw which further reflected the crumbling of German society.
The musical was first produced in 1966 and has had several revivals as well as a motion picture. I was struck at the parallels between what was happening in Germany and what is occurring now. One could simply replace the word “Jewish” with “minorities” or “immigrants” and the story would be the same.
Just as Hitler and Nazis denigrated Jews with the foulest of names, so too does Trump refer to immigrants as “infesting” America and coming from “shitholes” in an effort to dehumanize these people trying to better their lives as immigrants have always done. He has no compunction in separating families and, following the script of “Cabaret”, is apparently trying to strip away citizenship already earned. The sight of Nazis feeling empowered to openly march and spread their putrid views and incitement to violence further reflects this parallel.
I love musicals. But it is rare that one can cause me to sadly reflect on what is happening but may also drive me to speak more forcefully about what is happening. Even though “Cabaret” (as well as its literary antecedents) was produced over 50 years ago, it is more relevant than ever.