Letter to the Editor: Musical with a message
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"Cabaret," a musical which is dear to my heart, is playing at the Actor's Guild. You should not miss this stunning performance, which ends this weekend. The acting and singing are phenomenal; rarely have I seen a cast so bonded.
My father, William Stewart, was a B-17 bomber pilot in WWII. He was fortunate to come home and spent the rest of his life researching the causes of that war. There were many books on Nazi Germany in our home detailing the experiences of not only German and other European Jews, but the many marginalized groups deemed "other" by the Nazis. Such an irony that in our own time, less than 100 years later, a far-right Israeli government has promulgated a more modern version of ethnic cleansing.
The insights for our own country in the present resonate loudly. Tolerance and decency are bedrock values, regardless of a person's religion or identity. Let us be vigilant in terms of "othering" fellow citizens. We can disagree without destroying another person's humanity.
I was an actor in my high school production of "Cabaret" and have watched untold theater and film versions of this play over the 50 years since that time. I don't know of another production where the interpretation has been so wildly varied, yet the message so fundamentally the same.
Kudos to everyone who brought this timely musical to life here in Parkersburg.
Barbara Stewart
Marietta