Anonymous jewishcowgirl 6w

I don’t think that drawing parallels between two of the oldest forms of ethnically based hate and how they manifest in the places that most publicly embrace and uphold that hate is like downplaying or sidestepping one in favor of the other, and even tho I dislike Billy porter I feel like a lot of the pushback for this comment is more hating him than what he said

4

Anonymous jewishcowgirl 6w

And on a real technicality, cabaret isn’t about the holocaust it’s set during the nazi’s rise to power, and iirc set many years before the most Nazi germany specific antisemitism. The current production aims to tie it back to current American politics and already sought to draw parallels between now and then, from the casting to the costuming. Billy porter sucks at speaking but I don’t think his end goal was Jewish erasure I think it was a continuation the point the production already makes

4

Anonymous jewishcowgirl 6w

He said “blacks have replaced the Jews”. Suggesting he doesn’t believe Jews face discrimination anymore. That the play is now about black people. Which it isn’t. It’s about ww2 in Germany. The original play is about that, him trying to make it about something else entirely is disrespectful. He should respect the role and play he’s in, not making it about himself.

2

Anonymous OP 6w

Yes that’s what I’m saying the show isn’t about ww2 or the holocaust it’s about the nazis rise to power. The poorly worded point he’s making still works with the actual setting of the show. This is giving “I’ve never seen cabaret” more than actually honoring the show

1

Anonymous OP 6w

The play is not “now about black people” it’s that one actor in a show with a rotating cast pointed out a (fairly easy to make) similarity between the country it’s set it and the country the show is currently being performed in. It doesn’t change the meaning of the show, just connects it back to something the audience witnesses when they leave the theater

1

Anonymous jewishcowgirl 6w

The play mentions Jews, antisemitism, and the Holocaust multiple times.. making it about American racism is not what the original play was about. The original play was about Nazism in Germany. He even has an American accent and his singing style isn’t compatible with the play at all

1

Anonymous jewishcowgirl 6w

He said in an interview that “blacks have replaced Jews” he’s making it about black people in America when that’s not what the play is about.

1

Anonymous OP 6w

Antisemitism is the most prominent theme of the show yes, but the newer castings for cliff sally the emcee and some of the KitKat girls already suggest a connection back to American racism and audience familiarity with it. I don’t like Billy porter, I think he’s annoying, but his terrible worded point still fits into what the CURRENT PRODUCTION HES IN is trying to say about THE COUNTRY ITS BEING PERFORMED IN

1

Anonymous jewishcowgirl 6w

Even if that’s where it’s performed, that’s not what it’s about. Even in the Ukrainian version they still copied German accents. It’s about Germany, not modern day

1

Anonymous OP 6w

Hi I’ve seen cabaret 3 fucking times it’s my second favorite show I’m aware what it’s about, but ur literally mistaken as to what time it’s set in. It’s not set during ww2, it’s not set during the holocaust, it’s specifically set BEFORE, and has a focus on the rise of the nazis. The current production literally has the emcee as the personification of nazism infecting Berlin like only the 97 revival sets the show actively in the holocaust

2

Anonymous OP 6w

Yes because a black man playing the emcee of an underground club’s cabaret show needs to be explained in some way. There’s already Americans in the show and the emcee is more of a concept than a person in this show but porters emcee is (supposed to be) an American expat who ran to Berlin to get away from Jim Crow, only to watch Berlin/germany succumb to to their own bigotry (antisemitism). The other emcees are white, their presence in berlin can just be bc they’re German.

2

Anonymous jewishcowgirl 6w

But he’s just making up a new character with a new backstory. Not even respecting the original material or standard singing styles.

1

Anonymous OP 6w

Like I’m sorry but in a show where they deliver the raw ass “he’s NOT a German” when referring to a Jew in late act 1 they can’t also have a visibly black person being referred to and treated as a German and accepted as such like it doesn’t work

2

Anonymous jewishcowgirl 6w

There were black people in Europe during the Holocaust… they could’ve specified how black people were treated during the Holocaust without making him American.

0

Anonymous OP 6w

It’s not a new character, it’s new interpretation of a character that has never been given any backstory. The emcee being Jewish in the 97 revival and Jewish + gay in more recent one (I think 15?) are the same kind of character change as what porter has done. Like point blank

2

Anonymous OP 6w

How can u be upset at backstory changes while also demanding script/plot changes to make porters emcee make more sense TO YOU

2

Anonymous jewishcowgirl 6w

Yes bc Jews and lgbt were killed in the Holocaust… just like black peoples were killed in the Holocaust.. making him American still doesn’t fit

1

Anonymous jewishcowgirl 6w

Not to me. The play is set in Germany. It should be about black Germans if that’s who plays emcee. Making him American doesn’t make sense to the play. His singing style doesn’t make sense to the play

1

Anonymous OP 6w

The emcee as a character is an insert for whatever the director feels is most important to highlight at the time, in this production it’s shifted from personification of nazism (eddy and Orville) horrified bystander (Adam and Marty sometimes) and the older productions tend to be more active participant, which requires the accent

3

Anonymous OP 6w

Ur actually pissing me off like I’ve explained how the role has changed and how the backstory differs based on casting and all of this is really just giving “I have never and will never see this show but I love to be upset ab things”. I agree his comment was poorly worded and I agree he should’ve said something about how it was received but straight up most of what ur pushing back against is just pushing against the current production, not just porter

3