Weimar Vibes: Taking in “Cabaret” and the Neue Galerie in the time of Trump

Several months into Donald Trump’s second term, a friend dragged me to Cabaret. The Broadway revival had begun during the Biden administration, when it felt like, perhaps, the center still might hold. Now the rough beast had returned, like the horror movie villain you think you’ve defeated: ominous music, tiny orange hand catching the door right before you can slam it shut. I was less than eager to spend several hours at a musical about rising fascism.

Nonetheless, I’m a good friend. We were there to see Orville . . .