歌厅

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.

1.男孩高歌那一场戏简直绝了，镜头运用出神入化，从男孩的头部开始下移，纳粹的标识赫然揭露，接着横移展示在场的观众，伴随着从清扬的歌声到令人毛骨悚然的纳粹激昂高歌的转变，在场的观众开始狂热。

2.歌厅链接起来的两条线并进，并利用舞台的歌舞表演恰如其分的表达。

3.故事以德国纳粹像癌细胞一样开始扩散的背景。

费利兹与兰道尔的戏剧化的爱情线。

“all is equal fire… equal passion in me.”

“I did think it was the money，at first.But not now.Now I know you love me.I know you are an honest man who would never lie to me.”

“I’m a jaw.”

…

“I’m a jaw.”

布莱恩与莎莉纠缠不清的爱与距离.

香烟，伟大的堕落套路；地铁下的尖叫；萨莉对不为所动的布莱恩的诱惑，得知布莱恩三次与女人的不愉快经验；萨莉因父亲简短的信不愉快后的脆弱。

“The poor man，he tries to love mePerhaps he even thinks he does… but the real truth is that he just does’s care.”

“Maybe I am just nothing.Nothing.”

三人的游戏实际上只是一个人的游戏。

萨莉了解她自己吗？

一个诡异的想象画面极好的回答了这个问题。

她选择了不让baby出生。因为… 她不会真的为爱所牺牲。她想象不到。

To me and the baby… 那儿其实就已经预示了布莱恩与萨莉的结局。

纳粹隐线的暗涌，歌舞片已不再是才子佳人式的浪漫童话。

它一定是一部伟大的作品。

0. Sally 的第一个歌舞桥段 Sally 在影片第 10 分钟首次单独表演时演唱的是 Mein Herr。这时她还不是太熟识 Brian。但是这首歌的歌词表达的却是影片结尾时 Sally 的心理。 歌词：//www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/cabaret/meinherr.htm 节选： Bye-Bye, Mein Lieber Herr. 再见了，我亲爱的先生。 Farewell, mein Lieber Herr. 再会吧，我亲爱的先生。 It was a fine affair, 这是段美好的感情， But now it's over. 但已经结束。 And though I used to care, 虽然我曾在意， I need the open air. 但我需要开放的空间。 You're better off without me, 没有我你会更好过， Mein Herr. 我的先生。 Don't dab your eye, mein Herr, 不要擦拭你的泪水我的先生， Or wonder why, Mein Herr. 也不要问为什么我的先生， I've always said that I was a rover. 我总说我是个流浪者， You mustn't knit your brow, 你不该皱眉头， You should have known by now 你该知道了 You'd every cause to doubt me, 你不必怀疑我， Mein, Herr. 我的先生。 The continent of Europe is so wide, 欧洲的大陆多么广阔， Mein Herr. 我的先生。 Not only up and down, but side to side, 向四面八方， Mein Herr. 我的先生。 I couldn't ever cross it if I tried, 我不能跨越它， Mein Herr. 我的先生。 1. Sally 的父亲 Sally 向 Brian 介绍她父亲的时候，说他「跑遍全球去处理重大国家事件」，接着叹了一口气。Brian 于是说：「那你肯定很少见到他了」。这时 Sally 马上停下来并且惊讶地望着 Brian：「你在说什么？我们经常见面的。他没法忍受和我分开，一有时间就带我去度假。」后来在伯爵的饭桌上介绍自己父亲时也说：「我们有最好的（most marvelous）关系，他随时都可以离开工作冲到我这里来。」 然而，从 Sally 准备和他父亲见面的那幕我们可以看见，她不仅洗去了手上的指甲油（a nun's hand），整个妆容也和平时完全不一样，同时表现出了极度的期待。一切都表明她和父亲极少见面，正是这种见面的珍贵才导致了父亲失约后 Sally 的崩溃。 Sally 在指责他父亲时说：「刚好只有十个词」。她指的应该是发电报时，以十个词为一个单位计费，而她父亲每次都在一个计费单位内发来电报，一个词也不多说。 2. Sally 的介绍词 Cabaret 的主持人在介绍 Sally 的时候用语是：so beautiful, so talented... 后来 Sally 因为父亲失约哭泣时，Brian 安慰她时也说："You're a perfectly marvelous girl, and beautiful, and talented." 而 marvelous 也是 Sally 很爱用的一个词。 最开始 Sally 介绍自己时说 "I am a most strange and extraordinary person"。Brian 求婚后，Sally 也形容 Brian 为 "You are a most strange and extraordinary person"。在参加了 Fritz 的婚礼后，他们趴在草丛中，Sally 同样如此形容即将诞生的婴儿 “It'll be a most strange and extraordinary baby, won't it?" 但是 Brian 没有回答，心事重重地望着远处。 3. 蕾迪普蒂 Lya De Putti Sally 说自己最喜欢的演员是蕾迪普蒂，她的发型也和蕾迪普蒂很相似。

Lya De Putti

4. Landauer 小姐的第一堂英语课 在第一堂英语课中，Fritz 在 Landauer 小姐面前偷偷藏起了自己有补丁的袖子，就和他隐藏自己的犹太身份一样。 Landauer 小姐说 "phlegm" 这个单词时发音是 "plegm"。被 Brian 纠正以后她困惑地问：「既然 g 不发音为什么还在那里？」Brian 也无法回答。这是由于德语的单词拼写和读写非常一致，而英语则有很多无法解释的现象。甚至还有人专门造了一个词说明这点： Ghoti是一个为表现英语拼写的不规则性而被人为创造出来的单词。这个单词与“fish”（英语发音：/ˈfɪʃ/，意为“鱼”）一词发音相同，被认为是fish的另一种拼写形式。“ghoti”一词包括三个音位： “gh”，发/f/音，与“tough”（英语发音：/tʌf/）、“enough”（英语发音：/ɪˈnʌf/）等词中的“gh”相同； “o”，发/ɪ/音，与“women”（英语发音：/ˈwɪmɪn/）中的“o”相同； “ti”，发/ʃ/音，与“mention”（英语发音：/ˈmɛnʃən/）、“action”（英语发音：/ˈækʃən/）等词中的“ti”相同。 大部分英语使用者见到这一单词会认为其发音与“goaty”（英语发音：/ˈɡoʊtɪ/）相同，因此这一单词常被人用于说明英语发音和拼写之间的不规则关系，也常被用作支持英语拼写改革的证据。 //zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti 5. Landauer 小姐向 Sally 的咨询 Landauer 小姐因为 Sally 有很多性经验向她咨询性和爱情有关的问题。在 Landauer 小姐困惑这到底是爱还是被 Fritz 的身体迷惑了时，Sally 不假思索地回答：「只要你们开心，这又有什么关系呢？」Landauer 小姐说 Fritz 向自己求婚，但是有太多现实障碍无法跨越后，Sally 又回答：「既然这样，你最好把整件事忘掉吧。」这和 Sally 后来对 Brian 的做法是一致的。 6. 和伯爵的关系 Sally 第一次见到伯爵时找他要烟，说出了第一次见到 Brian 时一模一样的话：「伟大的颓废」。这也符合 Sally 最开始那首歌中所唱的 "Man by man"。 镜头切到伯爵的豪车后，Sally 和主持人开始唱一首歌颂金钱的歌，Money, Money。随后三人结伴出行，主持人和两个女郎在唱 Two Ladies，讲述的是一位男人和两位女人的生活。初看时也许会以为歌中对应的关系为 Sally 与两位男性。但事实上两个女郎隐喻的是 Brian 与 Sally。 7. 纳粹 片中有多个歌舞桥段直接与纳粹有关，最开始酒店老板被纳粹殴打时反复切换的画面是一个没有人声的，主持人不断拍打女郎的舞蹈。之后在 Landauer 的宠物犬遇害时又出现了模仿纳粹姿势的无名舞蹈。还有一段主持人与猩猩舞蹈的桥段，最后主持人说：「如果你们能通过我的眼睛看到她，她看起来一点也不像犹太人。」接着是 Fritz 推开隐喻牢笼的大门去坦白犹太身份的镜头。 Brian 与伯爵在露天餐厅吃饭时，一位希特勒青年团的团员唱起 Tomorrow Belongs to Me 这首歌，引起很多人共鸣。这时 Brian 问伯爵：「你现在还认为可以控制他们（纳粹）吗？」之后伯爵把 Brian 送回公寓，并且向司机发了脾气，接着以自己「要去阿根廷」为借口取消了去非洲的计划。这是由于纳粹反对同性恋，伯爵察觉到风向不得不和 Brian 断绝关系。Brian 对纳粹的厌恶一定程度上也与此有关。 最后一段歌舞桥段 Finale 与开头的桥段 Willkommen 几乎完全一致。讽刺的是，围绕着 cabaret 发生过这么多事情以后，主持人仍然说着相同的台词：「我们这里没有烦恼。」在影片开始时，歌厅里仅仅出现了一个纳粹党员就被老板赶出，但是在结尾时，通过墙壁的反射，可以看到座位上已经有很多纳粹入座。

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。

//v.qq.com/x/page/m0606fq7hhn.html

“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。