Life Is a Cabaret! Look Back at the Kander and Ebb Classic on Its 54th Anniversary

Cabaret, with a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb, a book by Joe Masteroff, and direction by Harold Prince, opened November 20, 1966, at the Broadhurst Theatre. Starring Jill Haworth as Sally Bowles, Joel Grey as the Emcee, Bert Convy as Cliff, Lotte Lenya as Fraulein Schneider, Jack Gilford as Herr Schultz, and Peg Murray as Fraulein Kost, the show ultimately ran for 1,165 performances, winning eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Based on stories by Christopher Isherwood and an earlier stage adaptation, I Am a Camera by John Van Druten, the show was adapted for film by Bob Fosse and starred Liza Minnelli, with Joel Grey reprising his performance; both stars took home Academy Awards.

After a 1987 revival that ran for 261 performances (with Grey again returning to the role of Emcee), the show was revived to spectacular effect by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, running 2,377 performances and earning stars Alan Cumming and Natasha Richardson Tony Awards. That revival returned, again with Cumming, in 2014, starring Michelle Williams as Sally Bowles.

In honor of Cabaret's anniversary, flip through photos from its various stage iterations below!