Cabaret - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[maureen]

Some people assert the Emcee is a personification of Bob Fosse himself. Though the Emcee is bisexual, Fosse was straight behind the scenes and his heterosexual promiscuity was satirized in the semi-autobiographical All That Jazz (1979) starring Roy Scheider. But Fosse admitted to being attracted to men in interviews; he just never acted on it. Joel Grey, on the other hand, came out as gay in his memoir. He was also briefly married and fathered a child, Jennifer Grey, who starred in Dirty Dancing (1987) and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986).

[kylie]

In interviews Joel Grey stated Bob Fosse gravitated towards Cabaret (1972), a non-traditional musical, because he wished to transition his career towards directing non-musical shows and films. At one point, Fosse lobbied to severely truncate the musical numbers, but the film's producers intervened.

[addison]

Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey would have major roles in adaptations of The Wizard of Oz. Liza Minnelli (whose mother Judy Garland played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939)) played Dorothy in the animated film Journey Back to Oz (1972). While Joel Grey played the wizard in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True (1995) as well as the Broadway musical adaptation of Wicked.

[gerald]

In a 1972 interview with Dick Cavett, Liza Minnelli said that she learned Sally Bowles was a real person, so she put personal ads in newspapers in a futile attempt to meet her. Presumably Minnelli was unaware at the time that Sally Bowles wasn't her real name as the character was based on Jean Ross.

[fred]

There is continued speculation about the identity of the singer of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me." Bob Fosse's biography states that the song was recorded for the film by Broadway actor-singer called Mark Lambert. This actor is said to have refused to bleach his hair blond so a German extra (the "Nazi youth") stood in for him on camera.

[kylie]

Joel Grey stated in interviews that Anthony Newley was almost cast for the Emcee role in Cabaret (1972). Newley was a singer, actor, and songwriter who co-wrote the lyrics and music for Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971).