Saturday Sparkle this week comes from Cabaret and the song If you could see her through my eyes. Sometimes music can capture a moment in time and history, which makes you shiver every time you hear the lyrics. Together with Miss Saigon, Cabaret and its subject matter make me remember how lucky I am.
Adapted from the 1939 book, Good Bye Berlin, by Christopher Isherwood, Cabaret debuted on Broadway in 1966 and found international fame with the film in 1972, which started the legendary Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowels. This film was the first film I remember being told that I was too young to watch.
A good few years ago now, as I'm now age-appropriate, I saw Cabaret on stage in Edinburgh and was completely moved by it. One of the stand out songs for me from this musical is "If you could see her through my eyes". When Emcee sings it in the musical, he is, of course, talking about the underlying tension for anyone who was Jewish in Germany in 1939. He is trying to get people who he is singing to, to be more open-minded and not fall into the prejudices being portrayed by Nazi Germany. John Kaber and Fred Ebb created a number, which was funny and brutally honest at the same time.
The powerfulness of the message is still very prevalent for today and for all of us. We don't realise that sometimes we are picking up prejudices that have developed because of something we have read or seen on the TV. To keep an open mind about life, for me, is being open to everything and everybody, and to give everyone a chance to find their place in the world that works for them.
Keep those minds open this Saturday sparkle.
To listen to the song - here's a clip from the film:
If you could see her through my eyes
Performed by Joel Gray
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