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A Deception

 


I have a secret. I deceived my mother. Okay, it was like 50 years ago and she is gone now, but still . . . 

I was generally a good boy. I did as I was told. My family lived a pretty strait-laced, middle-class, fairly conservative life. We were a G-rated family, well, until my older siblings broke the mold, but at this time, I was still in the mold.

My friend Rich and I made a plan. Rich had asked me if I wanted to see Cabaret. He said he didn’t think much of Liza Minnelli, but he wouldn’t mind seeing her take her clothes off. We were like 13 years old and sex was ever-present on our minds as much as it was absent in our households. Cabaret was not rated R. It was rated PG. The ratings system has changed since that time. There was no PG-13; there was just the choice of G, PG, and R (X was not an official rating). Apparently the makers of Cabaret satisfied the ratings commission enough to escape an R rating, so it was PG.  

There was therefore no law or rule against us 13-year-olds seeing it. But I knew my mother would not allow it.  So, we said we were going to see Plaza Suite at the Capitol Theater. We were dropped off in front of the Capitol Theater, and as soon as the car pulled away, we went around the corner to the Elsinore Theater to see Cabaret. The film was certainly risqué (which was why we were there). There was no actual nudity, but the screen was oozing with more sex than either Rich or I had seen in our short lives. My mother would have been horrified. In fact, I was terrified she would find out (that had to add to the excitement).

Beyond the sexual inuendo, the film was a piece of art. I am not sure how prepared or accepting we were for the artistry of it, but that didn’t matter to us. Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli were amazing, and deserved their Oscars. The depiction of the rise of power of the NAZIs is dark and visceral. The point was well-made that there was no place in that new Germany for people who were different.

Years later I had the opportunity to play Cliff in our local theatre company’s production of Cabaret. Cliff is ostensibly the male lead, but in reality, there is only one lead and that is Sally Bowles. The stage version and the film version are completely different, but in either setting, Sally is the star.

So, Mama, wherever you are, I am sorry we deceived you. Though with the benefit of hindsight I think if she were still here, she would not be as shocked as all that. 

 Star Liner


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