Watch: John Kander Celebrates Cabaret Anniversary at the August Wilson Theatre

Broadway's Cabaret welcomed a very special guest to the August Wilson Theatre November 20 to celebrate the musical's 58th anniversary. See Bebe Neuwirth, starring as Fraulein Schneider in the Tony-nominated revival, welcome 97-year-old composer John Kander to the stage above.

”What John Kander and his partner Fred Ebb, and collaborators Joe Masteroff and Hal Prince created with Cabaret is a sublime work of art that makes the world crystal clear," said Neuwirth onstage following the performance. "Cabaret takes place at a specific time in history, but its themes—love, good standing against evil, survival—those themes are timeless. And as the show has been performed over the decades, it is always relevant. And the music, John and Fred’s phenomenal score, is always transcendent.”

Cabaret opened its first Broadway production at the Broadhurst Theatre November 20, 1966, going on to win eight 1967 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Featured Actor in a Musical for original Emcee Joel Grey.

The current revival, the musical's fourth on the Main Stem, opened April 21 with Gayle Rankin and Eddie Redmayne starring. Read the reviews here. The production currently stars Adam Lambert and Auli'i Cravalho, who joined as The Emcee and Sally Bowles, respectively, September 16.

The current cast also includes Calvin Leon Smith as Clifford Bradshaw, Michelle Aravena as Fraulein Kost and Fritzie, Neuwirth as Fraulein Schneider, Steven Skybell as Herr Schultz, and Henry Gottfried as Ernst Ludwig. Rebecca Frecknall directs.

As in the production's West End run, the theatre has been transformed into an in-the-round Kit Kat Club. Ticket holders receive a "club entry time" before their show date so that everyone's able to take in the pre-show, which can even include a full dinner at some ticket levels. The prologue company, a group of 12 dancers and musicians, welcome theatregoers with a pre-show performance beginning approximately 75 minutes prior to curtain time.

Based on Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin and John Van Druten's dramatization of it, I Am a Camera, Cabaret is set in Weimar-era Berlin as American writer Clifford Bradshaw arrives to work on his novel and soak up the debaucherous nightlife. He meets English cabaret performer Sally Bowles and a complex relationship develops, all as the Nazis ascend to power and the spectre of World War II and all its horrors loom on the horizon.

The creative team also includes choreographer Julia Cheng; club, set, and costume designer Tom Scutt; lighting designer Isabella Byrd; sound designer Nick Lidster (for Autograph); and music supervisor and director Jennifer Whyte. Hair and wig design are by Sam Cox, and Guy Common is handling makeup design. Prologue composition and music direction are by Angus MacRae, with Jordan Fein serving as prologue director. Casting is by Bernard Telsey and Kristian Charbonier, and Thomas Recktenwald serves as production stage manager.