Liars and Saints

 Fred Ebb's brilliant "Cabaret" has an unusual "I Want" song; Sally Bowles is performing. She is not actually sharing her inner monologue. But the lyrics do shed light on her emotional life. We're aware, right away, that she is in a tug-of-war; she is stuck between her superego and her id. Please, sir, if you run into my mother... Don't reveal my indiscretion... Just leave well enough alone... Hush up! Don't tell Mama. Shush up! Don't tell Mama. Let's trust one another: Keep this from my mother. Though my dance is not against the law.... A part of Sally does want to be a functioning, responsible adult. (If this weren't the case, her big number might be called, "Mama Can Go Fuck Herself.") We see Sally flirting with the idea of healthy living--leading a guy on, considering parenthood, making concrete plans--but, ultimately, self-sabotage is too much fun. When Sally torpedoes her love affair, she does it in an especially thoughtle...

"Cabaret" seems to be a template for "Moulin Rouge": An American writer travels to Europe and meets a sexy, slightly nutty performer (and complications ensue). But, to me, the thing that makes "Cabaret" special is its B plot (and I think I recall that this is largely absent from the bizarre movie adaptation). As the writer pursues Sally Bowles downstage, we're also aware of upstage intrigue--with the aging landlady, Fraulein Schneider. Schneider has a small crush on her friend, Herr Schultz. When threats arise by way of the morality police, the two Berliners agree to marry. This is the romantic climax of the show ("How the world can change, it can change like  that ....due to one little word,  married.... "), but happiness dies quickly; a vengeful neighbor alerts Nazi authorities to the fact that Herr Schultz is Jewish. Schneider cuts off the engagement, because she does not want to die, and she doesn't want to be imprisoned. Assailed for...