"Why Should I Wake Up?" - from Cabaret.
"Why Should I Wake Up?" - from Cabaret.
#1"Why Should I Wake Up?" - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/2/08 at 11:21pm
Does anyone else think it's a shame this song is always cut from all major productions of CABARET these days? It's a really beautiful song. And Cliff could use some more singing in the revised versions of the show.
Any other fans of this song? "Why Should I Wake Up?" was replaced by "Don't Go" in the 87 revival. It's a good song too, But the former is still better.
Updated On: 7/2/08 at 11:21 PM
#2re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/2/08 at 11:31pm
no.
i like how cliff doesn't sing. and i think the song is one of kander's worst and least accessible melodies.
#2re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/2/08 at 11:33pm*Shocked* It's pointless to have Cliff sing a verse in PERFECTLY MARVELOUS. Then not have him sing again.
husk_charmer
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#3re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/2/08 at 11:35pm
I lvoe this song, and it fit's a lot of the show's theme nicely.
Several times during the show, Cliff aludes to these adventures as being a dream. Most notably, this song and the finale. In this song he acknowledges it, and tells us why He refuses to go along with it. It lets Cliff be less passive, less withdrawn, and since Cliff is our gateway and our eyes into this world, it allows us to become more involved in the piece as well.
http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#4re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 12:04am
I like the song, but as Cliff has gotten more bi/gay as the show and movie have evolved him over the years, it kinda makes less sense.
#5re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 12:10amI agree - I've always thought it was one of the prettiest songs in the show and have been disappointed when it's been cut. I understand book-wise why it is sometimes, but it's one of the songs I'll often hit repeat on when it comes up on my ipod.
Hi, Shirley Temple Pudding.
#6re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 12:20amLove this song!! I think it fits perfectly into the show. Both the original, Bert Convy, and Brent Barrett (on his Kander & Ebb CD), with the great Ruthie Henshall, give excellent renditions of the song.
fiyero8132
Broadway Star Joined: 4/27/05
#7re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 1:37am
I couldn't agree more! I think it may be one of Kander/Ebb's most beautiful songs.
On the other hand, I find it doesn't work in the context of the show. Just my opinion.
Does anyone else think it would make more sense if the Emcee sang it? This song is about evading reality. Emcee anyone?
#8re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 1:46amI like both "Why Should I Wake Up?" and "Don't Go". I'd never be able to pick which one to use. Maybe they could alternate every night.
bk
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/03
#9re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 1:46amWhen it came time to do the Brent Barrett Kander and Ebb album, this was the one song I insisted be on it - I wouldn't have done the album without it. It's a GREAT tune (I can't imagine anyone thinking it an inaccessible melody, but, you know, nothing surprises me anymore) - one of Kander's most beautiful melodies, and Fred's lyric is perfect. I despised the Prince revival for replacing it, and I was not happy that the Mendes revival cut it. You know, Cabaret didn't need fixing.
#10re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 1:48am
Cabaret has been revised SO DAMN much. I would love if Encores! did it in it's original 1966 form for their Summer Stars.
Updated On: 7/3/08 at 01:48 AM
#11re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 4:00amWith Ruthie Henshall as Sally!
LadyRosecoe
Broadway Star Joined: 8/4/07
#13re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 4:40am
Sorry Jewishboy, Jane Krakowski is doing Sally, Ruthie can play the role after the show transfers to the West End after a successful Broadway run that will follow Krakowski's brilliant turn in the proposed Summer Stars show that Ljay created 
(And I do love Ruthie with a passion).
And yes, I know Sally is British in the stage version, but someone said one time that Krakowski would make such a great Sally because you would never be sure what she is lying about...she could even be lying about her British-ness.
Either way, add me to the list of "Why Should I Wake Up?" fans.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#14re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 8:48amThis and "What Would You Do?" are the whole point of Cabaret. The fact that it is always cut and that "Maybe this Time" which sounds more like 60s nightclub than 30s Berlin is always put in just to make the dumb audience happy is a real shame.
#15re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 8:51amI prefer "Why Should I Wake Up?" because it seems to fit in with the style of the show. "Don't Go" is kind of Sondheim-esque and just comes out of nowhere, but really I'm not a big fan of either song and think "Maybe This Time" fits better into that scene.
#16re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 8:53amBut it sounds nothing like anything else in the score. It was thrown into the movie because Fred Ebb and Liza really liked it. There's the whole notion of Fosse wanting a song in that spot for her, but K&E could have easily written a completely new one.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#17re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 10:28am
Part of the problem with Cabaret is that Act 1 is sooo long.
The problem with the song is it's placement in the show. I really think it should be bumped up to after "Perfectly Marvelous" and be a solo interior monologue for Cliff.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
LadyRosecoe
Broadway Star Joined: 8/4/07
#18re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 1:03pm
I think Maybe This Time is one of my top three favorite songs from any show. I don't know how anyone could think that it doesn't belong in the show or is not accessible into the score that features a nightclub and tragic characters with broken dreams. It finally lets us take a peek into a perhaps more intimate side of Sally that we never really see because we're mostly viewing her from Cliff's perspective or through the lens of the Cabaret, which is almost always distorted to show a grim truth underneath anyway.
It's intriguing, we see her solipsism from a romantic side infused with cynicism and doubt, as opposed to her normally careless and fun-loving flirtation. Plus, it works in the setting and the song fits the sound of show the: dark, decadent, brassy.
As for "Why Should I Wake Up?" I like the song because it does flow nicely and is a great nod to The Berlin Stories where Isherwood definitely narrates from this perpetual half-amused, half-curious state that goes hand in hand with the lyrics to this song. That said, I think the show survives well without it and the issue of placement and time as well is another factor. As for Cliff being non-singing, I can't buy that because he is in Perfectly Marvelous and I could kind of make a mental excuse for him to have zero songs if he didn't sing a note, but him doing so makes me torn on whether he should have this song or not.
dcl7777
Swing Joined: 5/4/06
#19re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 2:36pm
"Part of the problem with Cabaret is that Act 1 is sooo long. "
Because it comprises original two act.Maybe it should go back to two?
"The problem with the song is it's placement in the show. I really think it should be bumped up to after "Perfectly Marvelous" and be a solo interior monologue for Cliff."
I agree it should be a solo,or at least shouldn't be sung to Sally.But after "Perfectly Marvelous" is too early.Despite the sweet melody,the song has some ominous aura which somehow indicate the sad ending of the relationship between Cliff and Sally,Berlin,etc.He was "lonely again" eventually,and it's sooner than he thought.So this song shoulden't be sang so early,I think the original place is perfert,but the sence the song in isn't.
And everyone who love the song should run to find the OLC,Kevin Colson give the best perform of this song,IMO.The way he mixed sober,cynicism with poignancy,pity and regret is really sublime.
#20re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 4:08pm
I don't understand the beginning of that last post - it is a two act show - but the first act runs around 1 hour and half and the second is like a half hour/45 minutes. I just directed the show and the biggest complaint from the audience was having to sit for so long. I mean first of all, I told them to all shut up because you sit down in a theater to watch movies that are longer, but secondly it has to be structured that way for dramatic reasons- the break for intermission needs to come after the Tomorrow Belongs to Me Reprise.
Also, I think Maybe This Time fits perfectly into the score like someone else said. Maybe because it's been placed in our memories as being part of the show because of the movie - and I think it was effective in the 98 revival when placed into that scene instead of Don't Go. It's Don't Go from Sally's point of view.
#21re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 4:33pmThe first act of Cabaret is so long because it was originally three acts. I think the original first act ended after the first "Tomorrow Belongs to Me." The second act ended where the first ends today and the third act ended as the show ends today. This idea of three acts was disgarded in Boston and the show retained the typical two act format of most musicals.
#22re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 7:00pmAh thanks. That cleared that up.
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#23re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 7:04pm
Think of all the songs from the show cut from the movie.
By the way, I agree the song is very good but many good songs are cut from shows for one reason or another.
Poster Emeritus
Updated On: 7/3/08 at 07:04 PM
#24re: 'Why Should I Wake Up?' - from Cabaret.
Posted: 7/3/08 at 7:49pm
I adore this song. "Don't Go" is quite awful.
Brent Barrett does a gorgeous duet of "Why Should I Wake Up?" with Ruthie Henshall on his Kander and Ebb album. Quite wonderful.
