C A B A R E T
Ithaca College - Scene Design II
Paper Project
Written by Joe Masteroff
C O N C E P T
Cabaret is a window into Germany on the brink of the Nazi party’s rise to power. Cliff, an American writer arrives in Germany and falls in love with Kit Kat Klub singer, Sally Fields. A tumultuous relationship ensues. The play culminates in the termination of their relationship and Cliff’s departure. During all of this, the Nazi Party begins to pervade the lives and relationships of the characters of the piece. In this paper project, I was most attracted to the musical’s recurring theme of being in a dream as well as the art of the Weimar republic. Using abstracted collages of Lyonel Feinenger’s work, I created irising dream like portals that transitioned into broken and intimidating fragments.
R E S E A R C H
In my research I was particularly drawn to the work of Lyonel Feinenger, a German-American expressionist painter. His oeuvre features both hazy, dream-like colors and textures as well as geometrical shapes and angles, a compliment to Cliff's dream like trance within an abruptly transforming reality.