Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 12)

gala2008 • theatre ARTS & CULTURE gala2008 FOR JOEL GREY, LIFE IS STILL A CABARET “Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome!” beckons the Master of Ceremomies at the Kit Kat Klub. The man decked in lavish lashes, ﬂamboyantly red lips and a powdery pink bowtie invites his audiences to forget their worries, promising that in his cabaret, “Life is beautiful; the girls are beautiful; even the orchestra is beautiful!” Throughout the musical, Cabaret, the Master of Ceremonies mocks the characters’ motives. His antics expose the decaying morals of the German public during the rise of Nazism. When Joel Grey accepted the role of the Emcee in 1966, he did not realize how depraved the character was. “I don’t think anyone did,” says Grey, who played the Emcee for both the play and the ﬁlm released in 1972. “He became something that nobody expected. He became a dark, dark, dark character, an embodiment of evil.” Grey’s performance as the Emcee set him apart as one of only eight people to have won both a Tony Award and an Academy Award for the same role. Audiences attending Gala2008 at Zoellner Arts Center on Oct. 11 are likely to hear Grey sing one of his favorite songs, “If You Could See Her,” from the second act of Cabaret. In this scene, the Emcee dances with a gorilla in a pink dress while elaborating on his lady’s charms. “It’s so successful in doing what it’s supposed to do,” he says. “It’s so pretty. It has a beautiful melody. It’s a smart way to talk about politics. It’s political all the way until you get to the last line.” He adds, “It’s also about the bestiality of man.” Grey, born Joel David Katz, debuted at 9, playing Pud in On Borrowed Time at the Cleveland Playhouse. When Grey was 16, Eddie Cantor introduced him on his television show, The Colgate Comedy Hour, which 12 lehigh alumni bulletin launched his career as an entertainer. Twenty years after his ﬁrst stage appearance, Grey debuted as a replacement on Broadway in the 1961 comedy Come Blow Your Horn. Grey has portrayed a wide array of characters, including George M. Cohan in George M.!, Amos Hart in the 1996 revival of Chicago, Charley VII in Goodtime Charlie, and Jacobowsky in The Grand Tour. “The criteria for me taking a role is that I think, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do Joel Grey (above) will join fellow Broadway legend Marvin Hamlisch for this,’” he says. Once he’s com- Zoellner Arts Center’s Gala2008 on Oct. 11. mitted to a part, he relies on his research and imagination to unwrap the “My pictures tend to be of something that character. remains beautiful and was something,” he says. “I take the information that I already know His work has been published in two books, and tap into my own responses.” Looking Hard at Unexamined Things and PicIn 2004, Grey became Oz’s wonderful wiztures I Had to Take. Images from the books ard in the Broadway hit, Wicked. have been displayed at the John Stevenson “I decided to play him as a failed guy who Gallery in New York, Staley-Wise Gallery in found himself being treated as a great god. He New York, and Gallerie im Einstein in Berlin. wasn’t prepared for that and was ﬂattered and Recently, the Whitney Museum of American very human,” Grey says. “It was human to acArt accepted some of his photographs into its cept that importance that people can give to a permanent collection. character or a person, which turns them into Grey will join fellow Broadway legend Mara god or a leader.” vin Hamlisch for Zoellner Arts Center’s In recent years, Grey has found another Gala2008 on Oct. 11. The duo, backed by a full way to express his artistic talents: photography. orchestra, will perform an evening of Broadway His camera frequently captures images of hits. For details, e-mail Gala2008@lehigh.edu or call (610) 758-3129. abandoned items which appear worn, rusted, —Becky Straw or used. PHOTO BY TIME & LIFE PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008

Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Alumni News Cover Story: In Galileo's Wake Technically Funny The Healing Game Looking for America The Last Word

Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008

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