John Kander, Fred Ebb – Cabaret

Recorded November 27, 1966 at CBS 30th Street Studios, New York.
Original album: KOL 6640/KOS 3040 released 11/30/66
1st CD release: CK 3040 released 10/86

"Cabaret" opened Sunday, November 20, 1966, at the Broadhurst Theatre; moved March 7, 1967, to the Imperial Theatre (1,166 performances)

As was often the case at one time, before "Cabaret" opened, Tommy Valando, the music publisher, privately circulated a 2-LP album containing performances of the songs composed by John Kander and Fred Ebb for the musical. By the time the show reached Broadway, some of these songs had been dropped to be replaced by others, making the publisher's demo a much sought-after collectors' item. For the 1998 Remastered CD-reissue, four of these unused songs are included, courtesy of Kander and Ebb.

The first recording of "Cabaret" (based upon John Van Druten's play "I Am a Camera" and stories by Christopher Isherwood) was the Original Broadway Cast album released in 1966, with some of the songs heavily edited and several cut to save space, and others (especially "Telephone Song") taken at a faster tempo.

Columbia/Legacy's 1998 CD reissue of the Original Broadway Cast recording of "Cabaret" contains eight previously unreleased demo records -- several of which are "intros" to a full-fledged song -- plus extensive liner notes featuring the original playbill, rare photos, and an essay by Ken Mandelbaum.

The 1968 "Original London Cast album" (CBS) featuring Judi Dench as Sally Bowles and Barry Dennen as Emcee was released in the UK and reissued on the CBS Embassy label in 1973.

The 1972 movie soundtrack (MCA Records) with Liza Minnelli is perhaps the best-known of the recordings, although the movie "Cabaret" is much re-written and eliminates all but six of the original songs from the stage production.

Both the Original London Cast Album (1986 London Revival) (First Night Records) featuring Kelly Hunter as Sally Bowles, Vivienne Martin as Fräulein Schneider and Wayne Sleep as Emcee and The New Broadway Cast Recording (1998 Broadway Revival) (RCA Victor) featuring Alan Cumming as Emcee and Natasha Richardson as Sally Bowles have been released.

The 2-disc 1997 Studio Cast Recording (First Complete Recording) contains more or less the entire score, including songs written for the movie or for later productions, and many incidentals and instrumentals not usually recorded. This recording features Jonathan Pryce as the Emcee, Maria Friedman as Sally, Gregg Edelman as Cliff, Judi Dench as Fräulein Schneider, and Fred Ebb as Herr Schultz. A completely remastered 2006 release of this recording is now available on Jay Records CDJAY2 1311 (USA).

The 2007 London Lyric Theatre Original Cast Recording (BK Records) (UK) features Anna Maxwell Martin, Sheila Hancock and James Dreyfus as Emcee.

In addition to the above recordings, cast albums for the French, Spanish, Greek, Israeli, Italian, Austrian, Dutch, and German productions have been released.