Willkommen ladies and gentlemen:

Let me tell you the story of Cabaret, that unique and tantalizing art form that flourished in Berlin in the 20’s and 30’s; how it changed and survived during the war and later in the divided city and how its spirit is still expressed today in Berlin, truly one of the most vibrant and sublime cities in the world.






After World War I in the 20’s Berlin became the “go to” place in Europe for the arts, literature, music, film, architecture, and intellectual life. Here, small clubs and restaurants began to put on entertainment shows, which were lively with music dance, scantily clad girls, and always an emcee that commented on the politics and everyday life of the city. The emcee would talk and sing daring and risqué lyrics and patter. He was often effeminate but always charming and entertaining. Drinking and sex were an important part of the cabaret atmosphere. The music was hot, mostly German interpretations of American jazz, Argentine tangos, and Cuban rumbas mixed with German folk songs. There were new songs of the day written by some of Berlin’s best composers such as Friedrich Hollander, Ralph Benatzky, Wener R. Heymann and Mischa Spoliansky.
Performers were the unforgettable Margo Lion, Anita Berber, Rosa Valetti, Paul Graetz, and Marlene Dietrich.







“Life is beautiful. The girls are beautiful.
Even the orchestra is beautiful” (Cabaret 1972).


“There were nightclubs with telephones on each table, from which one could request a foxtrot or proposition guests at other tables. There were clubs with female impersonators, clubs featuring political satire, and clubs where people fornicated on the stage, in which pasttime the public asked to join. And did”(Nebenzal 6).

“I saw imported belly dancers from Turkey, from Egypt, sloe-eyed Armenians, Circassians, Sudanese, Egyptians: quivering, jiggling, driving the German clientele wild. For this was a period in which the Germans were besotted by exotica; Negro saxophone players from America, uniformed doormen from Senegal, mulatto chorus girls from Havana were all the rage”(Nebenzal 14).

By 1933 it was all over...




I love the city of Berlin with all its dark past and hidden secrets, as well its modern streamlined re-incarnation. To me, the artistic soul of Berlin is Cabaret, with its roots traced to the club scene of the 1920’s and early 30’s. During the early Weimar period, it was a time of tremendous sorrow and hardship for most Berliners. Cabaret provided an escape from their misery. They irony was that inside the cabaret, one could feel good and happy for a couple of hours; one could momentarily feel oblivious to the evil that was growing outside as the Nazis rose to power. Everything would soon change and the scene was over by 1933. Many of the great performers, composers, actors, and artists were Jewish and would flee the country or be killed.




The Nazis could not kill the German spirit. I believe that Berlin’s cabaret-type theatre offers a unique perspective on the human spirit and man’s ability to survive; no matter what trouble and misery people face. People will always adapt and keep living life and somehow find something good to enjoy. In my two trips there, I discovered that the Cabaret tradition has survived even today. It has reinvented itself.

What first grabbed my eye was the sheer decadence of the performances: a fantasy world filled with beautiful blonds with top hats, high heels, and fish net stockings who sang and danced with panache. But as I learned more, I realized it was a true art form and also a way of life. “You can leave all your troubles of the world at the door.” Marlene Dietrich in “The Blue Angel” was a glimpse into that era. She was the original femme fatale. I have done photo shoots in the style of cabaret as well as shot film footage in many contemporary Berlin cabaret clubs and theatres. Images of cabaret pierce into my mind and will stay with me. Berlin Cabaret is hot, sexy, and sublime. Enjoy!


Photos of Berlin and Cabaret Documentary by Alexander Roos

Marlene Dietrich in “The Blue Angel” - film still

Books:

Döblin, Alfred. Berlin Alexanderplatz: The Story of Franz Biberkopf. New York:Continuum,2004.

Jelavich, Peter. Berlin Cabaret “Studies in Cultural History.” Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993.

Isherwood, Christopher. The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin. New York: New Directions Book,1935.

Gordon, Mel. The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber: Weimar Berlin's Priestess of Depravity. Los Angeles: Feral Press, 2006.

Knud, Wolffram. TANZDIELELN UND VERGNÜGUNGSPÄLASTE. Germany: Edition Hentrich,1968.

Kaes, Anton. The Weimar Republic Sourcebook “Weimar and Now, No 3.” Berkeley: University of California Press,1994.

Kershaw, Ian. The Nazi Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation. New York: Oxford Press,2000.

McCormick, Richard W. Gender and Sexuality in Weimar Modernity: Film, Literature, and New Objectivity. New York: Palgrave,2002.

Munz, Lori,ed. Cabaret Berlin: Revue, Kabarett And Film Music Between The Wars.Germany:edel classics,2005.

Nebenzal, Harold.Café Berlin. Woodstock:The Overloook Press,1992.

Peukert, Detlev. The Weimar Republic. New York: Hill and Wang,1987.

Senelick, Laurence. Cabaret Performance: Europe, 1890-1920. Volume 1: Sketches, Songs, Monologues, Memoirs. New York:PAJ Books,1987.

Ward, Janet. Weimar Surfaces: Urban Visual Culture in 1920’s Germany:Weimar and Now.German Cultural Criticism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.

Roth, Joseph. What I Saw: Reports from Berlin 1920-1933. New York: W.W. Norton & Company,2003.

Film:

Fosse, Bob. Cabaret. Los Angeles: ABC Pictures and Warner Brothers, 2000.

Pabst, G.W. The Three Penny Opera. Berlin: German Films, 1931.

Ruttmann, Walter. Berlin: Symphony of a Great City. Germany, Fox-Europa Films. 1927

Von Sternberg, Josef. The Blue Angel. New York: Kino Video, 2001.

Music:

Benatzky, Ralph, and Heyman, Werner R.Cabaret Berlin. Germany: edel Classics, 2005.

Dietrich, Marlene. All Star Series, The Blue Angel. Denmark: Jezebel, 1991.

Hollaender, Freidrich. Cabaret Berlin. Germany: edel Classics, 2005

Liane & The Boheme bar Trio. Cabaret Songs of Berlin. New York: Omega Record Company,1995.

Lenya, Lotte et al., Die Dreigroschenoper Berlin 1930. Germany: Warner Music, 2002.

Lenya, Lotte et al., The Three Penny Opera. New York: Univeral Classics, 2000.

Les Annees Folles.German Cabaret in the Twenties. Pris: EPM, 2000.

Nelson, Rudolf. Cabaret Berlin. Germany: edel Classics, 2005

Spoliansky,Misha. Cabaret Berlin. Germany: edel Classics, 2005