by Brian J. Porter, Emcee in Cabaret
With Joel Grey and most recently Alan Cummings fingerprints all over the iconic role of the Emcee in Cabaret I had my hands full in creating my own take on this landmark role. Oddly I am front and center for most of the musical numbers but never really interact with the main characters—it’s clear my role is symbolic representing the decadence of Berlin Café society but one can’t play a symbol. I’m a showman in a very decadent era and since there was a lot of decadence in the air I’m sure the MC had to really work hard to be more outrageous than anyone else. Before there was such a thing he was a performance artist (think Lady Gaga) and sought to shock with outrageous costumes, makeup (on a man!), cross dressing, even dancing with a guerilla at one point. Knowing he was prepared to break a lot of boundaries allowed me (with guidance from my director of course) to be boundless in my performances as well.
