Cabaret: The New Broadway Cast Recording (1998 Broadway Revival) [Cast Recording]

Cabaret (Related Recordings), Alan Cumming, Ron Rifkin, Mary Louise Wilson, Fred Ebb, Natasha Richardson, John Kander | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 30, 1998)
• Original Release Date: June 30, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: RCA Victor Broadway
• ASIN: B000007QGL
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,210 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #3 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Musicals > Revivals
  • #24 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Cabaret

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new spin on a classic musical, July 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Cabaret: The New Broadway Cast Recording (1998 Broadway Revival) (Audio CD)

The current Broadway revival of Kander and Ebb's 1966 musical CABARET is not entirely faithful to the original production. Some changes are based on Bob Fosse's 1972 film version, while others date from more recent revivals. Gone are the songs: "Meeskite", "Why Should I Wake Up?" and "The Telephone Song" and the film's "Money Money" has replaced the original show's "Money Song" - but we gain from the addition of "Mein Herr" and "Maybe This Time" from the film score, and "I Don't Care Much" cut from the original show during previews.

Natasha Richardson handles Sally's songs well - but not too well: You never lose sight of the fact that Sally is a second rate singer in a tacky Cabaret. John Benjamin Hickey isn't given a lot to do on the recording: Aside from a few lines of dialogue he shares but one duet with Ms.Richardson. Pity, as he seems to exhibit a fine singing voice.

The real star of the disc is Tony winner Alan Cumming as the Emcee: Comic and terrifying all at once. While Joel Grey presented a leering Emcee, Cumming is much darker: more decadent - Listen to him relish the word "beautiful" not once but three times in a row during the opening number..

Lotte Lenya brought such depth to the characterization of Frau Schneider, that others have paled in her wake, but Mary Louise Wilson gives the character a quiet dignity and resists any temptation to mimic her celebrated predecessor.

RCA Victor has again done an outstanding cast recording capturing the look and sound of one of Broadway's biggest hits. The accompanying booklet offers several color shots of the production and all the lyrics - but, unfortunately, no synopsis to provide the uninitiated with any kind of story link. It's the only flaw in an otherwise first rate package.

Columbia's classic original cast album (recently reissued on CD by Sony in their Columbia Broadway series) remains definitive - but this new darker more abr! asive production has yielder a very fine CD that crackles with theatrical excitement.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Cast Recording, June 21, 2000

By 

C. M. Chen (CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cabaret: The New Broadway Cast Recording (1998 Broadway Revival) (Audio CD)

I had heard a lot about Cabaret but until I discovered that Natasha Richardson and Alan Cummings had the starring roles, I never really felt tempted to hear it or really wondered what the production was all about. Now, to my despair, I have heard it but will continue to wonder what it is truly all about.

I have never seen a production of Cabaret being performed, to my utter regret. Especially now, after hearing this wonderful recording, I wish that I had had the opportunity. Richardson and Cummings display such tremendous talent on the recording alone that it makes the listener wish to view their performance on stage.

Cummings's Emcee is joyous and dark. He is, as another reviewer wrote, clearly decadent. But his decadence does not transgress the garishly cheerful atmosphere of the Kit Kat Klub. "Wilkommen" is without a doubt one of the most memorable tracks on this album and serves the dual purpose of welcoming both the visitors to the club as well as the listener who can only visualize, through the voice of the Emcee, what is taking place. "Wilkommen" provides a terrific introduction to a place where you can truly forget your troubles for a while.

Richardson, in her role as Sally Bowles, gives a stirring performance of a second rate performer. Sally Bowles is not a great singer and Richardson never lets us forget it. And yet, we can't help but be moved by the sense of hope she carries about her that is most aptly conveyed in the selection, "Maybe". Sally Bowles may not be a great singer but the listener comes to realize very quickly that it takes the talent of a great one in order to portray the role of a bad one.

Back in April, I heard Susan Egan perform her version of "Maybe" in a concert at UCLA and though I was impressed, I must confess that Richardson's performance of it far surpassed Egan's. While they both reveal Sally's vulnerability, I felt that Richardson's performance was more authentic and this might have been because she didn't have to feign her British accent.

This is a terrific cast recording and one that is to be remembered. There are moments of extreme joy and darkness. And through it all Richardson and Cummings let us forget our troubles because we can't help but sympathize with theirs.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mmm. Only one thing I can find faultworthy., August 29, 2005

By 

Seamus Daileigh "Seamus Daileigh" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cabaret: The New Broadway Cast Recording (1998 Broadway Revival) (Audio CD)

To start things off, Cabaret is my favorite musical of all time. I adore the original with Jill Haworth and Joel Grey most of all, but this one is very good as well.

Natasha Richardson does a fair job as Sally Bowles. She lacks emotion in places, however. I think she may have attempted the "dead fish" mental breakdown method during the title song, as opposed to Jill Haworth's screaming collapse, but I prefer the original. Hey, as long as it's not Liza Minelli's total misunderstanding of what she's supposed to be doing, I'm cool.
Alas, I'm not good with names, so I can't recall the names of the actors portraying Frau Schneider, Herr Schultz, Fraulein Kost, or Cliff Bradshaw, but they're all damned good ones. No complaints here.
The orchestrations are fantastic. I'd love to see them on the original recording. To hear Haworth growl through Don't Tell Mama with the orchestrations of that song from this revival would make me a very happy person, as would being able to here her sing Mein Herr or Maybe This Time in any way shape or form at all. Oh well.

My only problem with this show came in the form of a person who won a Tony for it. That's right, folks: I hated Alan Cumming's Emcee. I really did. Joel Grey's original performance was marvelously creepy, sinister, and relatively subdued. Cumming was over the top. Much too far over the top. He sounded like Danny DeVito in some places. He was relying too much on the Emcee's sexual excess for the role and not enough on his terrifying Nazism. Oh well again. Just one person's opinion.

Unfortunately, the frequent presence of the Emcee made this recording impossible for me to listen to. Everyone else seems to like him, so find out for yourself.

It's still good.