User:Notdexterslab/sandbox/If You Could See Her
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| "If You Could See Her (The Gorilla Song)" | |
|---|---|
| Musical number from Cabaret | |
| Written | 1967 |
| Released | November 20, 1966 |
| Genre | Show tune |
| Composer(s) | John Kander |
| Lyricist(s) | Fred Ebb |
"If You Could See Her (The Gorilla Song)" is a show tune from the 1967 Broadway musical Cabaret and its 1972 film adaptation. In both, it is performed by Joel Gray,[1] who originated the role of the Emcee on Broadway. Performed in the middle of the show's second act,[a] it highlights the wide-spread acceptance of antisemitism in Weimar-era Germany as the Nazi party rose to power.
Background
[edit]The song is performed by the Emcee of the Kit Kat Klub, a Berlin cabaret venue in the late 1930s. He begins to dance with a love interest – another performer dressed in a gorilla costume wearing a dress – while he asks the audience to be open-minded and not judge who someone loves because of their appearance.
In the final lyric of the song, it's revealed the gorilla is meant to be a stand-in for a Jewish person.[2][3] After a pause, the orchestra performs an upbeat, fast-tempo coda as the two performers leave the stage.
Reception
[edit]Scholars and critics highlight the song's "campy" nature as a means of engaging the audience in the musical's antifascist messaging.[4]
Changes to lyrics
[edit]Following criticism in the show's first years, the final lyric was changed from "she doesn't look Jewish at all" to "she isn't a meeskite[b] at all."[3]
The original line was reinstated by director Bob Fosse in the 1972 film, and is also included in modern productions of the musical.[2][5]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Benjamin & Rosenblatt 2024, p. 31.
- ^ a b c Filichia, Peter (November 13, 2012). "That Controversial Cabaret Lyric Change". The Official Masterworks Broadway Site (Blog). Retrieved December 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Grey, Joel (November 24, 2024). "I Starred in 'Cabaret.' We Need to Heed Its Warning". Opinion. The New York Times. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
- ^ Haidar 2024, p. 1.
- ^ a b McLaughlin, Katie (February 13, 2013). "Life is (still) a 'Cabaret'". Entertainment. CNN. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
Sources
[edit]- Benjamin, Ruth; Rosenblatt, Arthur (October 17, 2024). Movie Song Catalog: Performers and Supporting Crew for the Songs Sung in 1460 Musical and Nonmusical Films, 1928-1988. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8769-1.
- Haidar, Maya Mehr (July 3, 2024). "Satirical Intermedialities in "Springtime for Hitler" (1967) and "If You Could See Her" (1972): a Comparative Study". Syn-Thèses: 11–23 Pages. doi:10.26262/ST.V0I15.10072.
- Kander, John; Ebb, Fred (1999). The Complete Cabaret Collection (Songbook): Vocal Selections (Author's ed.). Hal Leonard. ISBN 978-1-4584-5040-1. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- Belletto, Steven (2008). "Cabaret and Antifascist Aesthetics". Criticism. 50 (4). Wayne State University Press: 609–630. ISSN 0011-1589. JSTOR 23130878. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
- Geller, Jay (2018). ""If you could see her through my eyes …": Semitic Simiantics". Bestiarium Judaicum: Unnatural Histories of the Jews. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-7559-5. JSTOR j.ctt1xhr6f6.8. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
- Hoffman, Warren (2020). "Exit Music". The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-1-9788-0738-9. JSTOR jj.8916139.12. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
- Leve, J. (2009). Kander and Ebb. Yale Broadway Masters Series. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-15594-5. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
- Mizejewski, Linda (1992). "(NAZI) LIFE IS A CABARET: SALLY BOWLES AND BROADWAY MUSICAL". Divine Decadence: Fascism, Female Spectacle, and the Makings of Sally Bowles. Princeton University Press. JSTOR j.ctt7zvgks.9. Retrieved December 7, 2024.