Wig worn by Joel Grey as the Emcee in <i>Cabaret</i>
date: label: date made
content: around 1987
name: label: wearer
content: Grey, Joel
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Joel Grey wore this wig as part of a costume portraying the Emcee (Master of Ceremonies) in the 1987-1989 national tour of the musical <i>Cabaret</i>. The brown wig is made of human hair attached to a net, and is parted down the middle and slicked back with hair gel.
label: Description (Brief)
content: 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>I Am a Camera</i>, which itself was based on Christopher Isherwood's 1939 memoir <i>Goodbye to Berlin</i>. <i>Cabaret</i> 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 <i>Cabaret</i> as a critically- lauded and popular film.
label: Description (Brief)
content: 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.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: LGBTQ
label: Subject
content: Musical Theater
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Barry and Fran Weissler
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1989.0375.03
label: accession number
content: 1989.0375
label: catalog number
content: 1989.0375.03
objectType: label: Object Name
content: wig
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: hair, human (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: netting (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (pins material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 14 in x 8 in; 35.56 cm x 20.32 cm
label: Measurements
content: down the part: 14 in; 35.56 cm
label: Measurements
content: from each sideburn: 8 in; 20.32 cm