WHO
IS THE BEST ON STAGE CABARET PERFORMER? WHO
WAS OR IS THE BEST SALLY BOWLES?
Brookes
Shield
Consequently, this new kind of lavished productions has redefined the character of cabaret and imposed and dictated upon truthfully honest cabaret artists in the United States new rules "governing" makeup, wardrobe, choreography, decor, stage set, stage lighting techniques, musical arrangements, acting style, accents, sensuality-sexuality physiognomic projection and contours, the list is endless. Fortunately, we still have a great number of authentic artists who prefer to perform in a cozy and charming small boites and clubs which convey an ambiance of intimacy and romance. Amid all these new musical and theatrical changes and distortions, it has become quasi impossible to define the cache and persona of an AUTHENTIC AMERICAN CABARET "ARTISTE"!!
Gina
Gershon .
Therefore, comparing one American cabaret artist with another is like the French say "Chercher midi a quatorzes heures!", meaning verbatim "looking right now for a time which has already elapsed hours ago or searching for a time yet to come! In other words, this is an impossibility. Please excuse my French! Bigger is better in America! The difference is enormous, like day and night. The American modern cabaret world has lost its romanticism, lyricism and intimacy. And these luxurious and extravagant American cabaret (Broadway) productions killed the mystique, the risqué, the delightful macabre-film-noire, cabaret noire genre of the early era of Montmartre and Rue Le Pic .
In my humble opinion, and contrary to the common belief, a CABARET SINGER IS MORE SOPHISTICATED AND TRUTHFUL THAN AN OPERA PRIMA DONNNNNNNNA!! For, cabaret is the sincere echo and vibes of human drama, tragedy, mishaps, truthfulness, adventures, expectations, escapades, dreams, fantasies, visions, the sacred and the damned, the sublime and the grotesque of each single second of our lives. The cabaret singer is more than an artist singing romantic songs on stage, leaning against a piano or just sitting on a chair at one corner of the stage dramatically choreographed and positioned. A cabaret singer is a healer, a therapist, a raconteur, a story-teller, a philosopher, a challenger, a confident, a friend, a poet, and a part of the night with all its secrets, magic, mysteries, lights and shadows. So if you want to decide or select which American cabaret artiste is better than another, you probably should take into consideration all of the above and rethink priorities and visions in your life. Honestly, we don't know WHO IS THE BEST SALLY BOWLES? WHO IS THE BEST CABARET STAR IN AMERICA?! However, those magnificent artistes who made their mark on the American and World Cabaret are difficult to forget. Among the most illustrious and classiest stars who positively influenced and enriched the American Cabaret were or still are:
Marlene Dietrich Julie Wilson
Anita O'Day Maragret Whiting