In childhood, I didn't connect "Cabaret" with "Follies"--but that's all I can think about now. Both shows use a "stage" in an odd way; a performer does a novelty number, and it's entertainment, but it's also a comment on the psychology of various characters.
Additionally, both shows are interested in the Divided Self. In "Follies," Phyllis famously turns herself into two (warring) people: juicy Lucy and dressy Jessie, who can't quite "combine." Something like this occurs in "Cabaret," when Cliff agrees to make room for Sally. It's like Cliff is taking on "two ladies."
I've thought and thought about what this means. "Two Ladies" is partly just about thumbing your nose at the rules: It can be fun to be in a throuple, and it can be fun to arrange an unorthodox pseudo-marriage with a bisexual stranger. But I also think that "Two Ladies" has a more sinister meaning. Cliff may be unaware, but by opening his arms to Sally, he is making space for "two ladies": the manic, ditzy performer, and also the steely, ruthless survivor. Cliff doesn't really understand that there is more to Sally than the act she puts on.
Three is a tricky number: It can easily become two versus one. That's the threat that seems to hum along underneath Ebb's giddy song, which only *seems* to be about masturbation. "Twosies beats onesis...but nothing beats threes!"
Tipping my hat to this brilliant gay writer at the end of Pride Month. I wish I could have been around for the Hal Prince version of "Cabaret."
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