Most successful musicals have what I've come to call a “transcendent moment” – that point where the audience's hearts grow full, eyes grow moist, and throats grow lumps, as the characters onstage experience an epiphany, achieve a goal, or “find their way.” Even that paean to rudeness, "The Book of Mormon," has such a transcendent moment – but not "Cabaret." It's hard-edged and dry-eyed from beginning to end, and thankfully Mr. Matthews and his cohorts have resisted the urge to soften it at all. We're living in a hard-edged time right now, and this "Cabaret" – alas – fits extraordinarily well.
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