Some sad news that I've only just discovered: Jay Presson Allen, the screenwriter of many fine adaptations, including The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Cabaret, died on the 1st of May.
Cabaret in particular is a masterpiece of adaptation: it changes quite a lot of the original musical whilst keeping very much to its theme (and the best of the songs), and thus becoming a lot less stagey and quite tremendously watchable. The adaptation by Jay Presson Allen is defintely one of the reasons why this works; it puts forth the correct, disturbing mood for the material. It's the benchmark for how to adapt a musical to film, a genre that's never quite been done correctly; only the best writers, like Allen and the late, great Ernest Lehman, working with the best directors really got it.
I'll leave this with Sally Bowles…
Does it really matter as long as you're having fun?
F L I C K E R I N G / F R A M E 