Shirt worn by Joel Grey as the Emcee in Cabaret: Museum Object and Cultural History
Shirt worn by Joel Grey as the Emcee in Cabaret: date made: before 1972. wearer: Grey, Joel. Object Name: shirt.
The object in the museum catalogue
Joel Grey wore this shirt as part of a costume to portray the Emcee (Master of Ceremonies) in both the 1972 film and 1987-1989 national tour of the musical Cabaret. The white cotton shirt has three metal buttons down the front and two metal snaps on each sleeve, and the entire front closes with velcro.
The musical Cabaret premiered on Broadway in 1966. With music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Joe Masteroff, the show was an adaptation of John Van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera, which itself was based on Christopher Isherwood's 1939 memoir Goodbye to Berlin. Cabaret is the story of love triangle centered around Berlin's Kit Kat Klub amidst the decadence, corruption, and political intrigue of the Weimar Republic era. The musical was celebrated for its originality, but was also controversial for its moral ambiguity, frank sensuality, and mature themes, including homosexuality, abortion, anti-semitism, and the rise of the Nazi party. In 1972, director Bob Fosse adapted Cabaret as a critically- lauded and popular film.
For his performances as the impish, leering Emcee in both the stage and film productions, Grey won the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Broadway Musical in 1967 and Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1972.
Materials, dates and provenance
- date made: before 1972
- wearer: Grey, Joel
- Object Name: shirt
- Physical Description: cotton (overall material)
- Physical Description: metal (buttons material)
- Physical Description: velcro (front closure material)
- Measurements: overall: 29 in x 16 in; 73.66 cm x 40.64 cm
- Subject: Movie
- Subject: Music
- Subject: Musical Theater
- ID Number: 1989.0374.06
- accession number: 1989.0374
- catalog number: 1989.0374.06
- Credit Line: Joel Grey
- Data Source: National Museum of American History
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.
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