“Life is a cabaret, buddy!”: How the legendary musical appeared, and why it became fatal for Liza Minnelli
“Life is a cabaret, buddy!”: How the legendary musical appeared, and why it became fatal for Liza Minnelli

Video: “Life is a cabaret, buddy!”: How the legendary musical appeared, and why it became fatal for Liza Minnelli

Video: “Life is a cabaret, buddy!”: How the legendary musical appeared, and why it became fatal for Liza Minnelli
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Liza Minnelli in the musical Cabaret, 1972
Liza Minnelli in the musical Cabaret, 1972

50 years ago, on November 20, 1966, Broadway premiered musical "Cabaret", which was destined to become one of the most famous and successful musicals and an Oscar-winning film included in the list of the most valuable paintings must be passed on to future generations. The adaptation of the musical brought the leading role to the performer Liza Minnelli world popularity and at the same time became for her a fatal starting point, which led to irreversible consequences.

Still from the film Cabaret, 1972
Still from the film Cabaret, 1972

The literary basis of "Cabaret" was the stories from "Berlin Stories" by K. Isherwood about life in Germany in the early 1930s. and the play "I am the camera" by D. van Druten, where the central conflict was the love relationship of an American writer and a Berlin cabaret singer. The action in the musical takes place against the backdrop of the Nazis coming to power. The young writer falls in love with the cabaret artist Sally Bowles and offers to go with him to Paris, but she decides to stay.

Liza Minnelli in the musical Cabaret, 1972
Liza Minnelli in the musical Cabaret, 1972

The musical Cabaret, directed by renowned Broadway director Harold Prince, premiered at the Broadhurst Theater on November 20, 1966. The production was an incredible success with 1165 performances and won 8 Tony awards, including Best musical". Liza Minnelli auditioned for the role of the main character 14 times, but the role went to actress Jill Hayworth. Nevertheless, Liza Minnelli included the song "Cabaret" in the program of her performances in a nightclub, and after 5 years she received a long-awaited offer to play this role in a film production.

Still from the film Cabaret, 1972
Still from the film Cabaret, 1972

The film of the same name was directed by Bob Fosse, who previously worked on Broadway productions as a choreographer and dancer. He himself considered himself a failed artist who creates his paintings with the help of a movie camera. The film "Cabaret", one of the best films in the history of world cinema, has become just such a work of art. Bob Foss managed to shoot not just an entertainment musical, but a real anti-fascist drama.

Liza Minnelli in the musical Cabaret, 1972
Liza Minnelli in the musical Cabaret, 1972

The production of the film was carried out by ABC, whose management wanted to see famous actors in the main roles, but the producer insisted on inviting rising movie stars Liza Minnelli and Michael York. And he was right - they brought the film a real success.

Still from the film Cabaret, 1972
Still from the film Cabaret, 1972

After filming the film version of the musical, Bob Foss and Liza Minnelli became friends and maintained this relationship until the end of their days. However, this friendship had a downside: they say that it was the director who made the actress addicted to drugs. Liza Minnelli was 26 years old when the musical was released in 1972 and unexpectedly made her a global star. Critics published rave reviews: "The songs, dances, plasticity, naturalness of Liza Minnelli cannot be compared with anything and it is impossible to describe - you have to see what kind of actress she is" from God."

Liza Minnelli in the musical Cabaret, 1972
Liza Minnelli in the musical Cabaret, 1972

The Bob Fosse musical won 8 Oscars, 7 top awards from the British Academy of Film and Television, 3 Golden Globes and grossed more than 42 million dollars at the box office. New proposals fell on Liza Minnelli one after another. She acted in films and had romances with the richest and noblest gentlemen. In 1974, she married the famous director Jack Haley, at their wedding there were 700 guests. The actress was surrounded by crowds of fans and imaginary friends, most of whom were attracted exclusively by her fame and money. In the wake of popularity and success, Liza Minnelli fell into such an addiction to alcohol and drugs that it soon became a serious problem for her.

Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli

Shooting in the film "New York, New York" ended in a huge scandal: the wife of director Martin Scorsese filed for divorce, stating that he was spending huge amounts of money to buy drugs for himself and his mistress Liza Minnelli. At the end of 1977, the actress was already forced to cancel performances due to problems with cocaine. The next year she rallied and went for treatment. She managed to overcome her addiction and return to normal life and work.

Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli

Meanwhile, the musical Cabaret continued its triumphant march: in 1986 it was staged on the French stage and, after an international tour, received Moliere as the best musical performance. In 1987, the revamped Broadway production premiered at the Imperial Theater. In 1993 and 1998. Sam Mendes' new musical in London and on Broadway had 2377 performances. And in 2003, the Smithsonian Institution included Cabaret among the 8 films that need to be preserved for future generations.

One of the modern productions of the musical Cabaret, 2015. Photo by D. Markus
One of the modern productions of the musical Cabaret, 2015. Photo by D. Markus

The role in the film by Bob Foss remained the most striking role Liza Minnelli: 10 facts about the legendary star "Cabaret"

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