Berlin in the late 1920s and early 1930s was a hotbed of exploration and experimentation. Communists and socialists were strong, and at the same time sexual freedom was at an apex. Clubs abounded to present and/or satisfy nearly every sexual fantasy. Suppliers of these services were often young people (and their families!) who had lost their savings either in WWI or in the hyperinflation of the early 1920s. Others were simply young people who loved the sense of freedom and exploration.
It was against this backdrop that Christopher Isherwood visited and revisited Berlin and wrote his stories and short novel that led, eventually, to the musical "Cabaret". Any performance of Cabaret that does not capture both the ecstatic freedom and the depressing near-slavery of this era misses the mark. To see what I mean, take some time to look at the documentary "Berlin - Metropolis of Vice" (broken into three parts for posting on YouTube) below [h/t Paige Miller, our director/producer].
In our upcoming performance, one of my roles is Max, the creepy owner of the Kit-Kat club, a small seedy nightclub where anything is possible and for sale.
The second part of the documentary explicitly mentions Isherwood. And the third part shows the puritan-like views of the Nazis and the impact of their rise to power in the early 1930s.
Now put all this to music, singing, dancing, and acting; then throw in a substantial secondary love plot involving a Jew, and you have "Cabaret".