“Money makes the world go ’round, the world go round the world go round.

Money makes the world go round it makes the world go round.

A mark a yen a buck or a pound, a buck or a pound

Is all that makes the world go round

It makes the world go round.”

As Fred Ebb wrote in the song “Money” in Kander & Ebb’s landmark musical CABARET.

 

It’s not from laziness or simplicity that Fred chose that phrase and uses it over and over again in this song.  Having money, too much or not enough, is a regular presence in our lives.  Always has been and always will be.  It’s an issue that is repeated over and over ad nauseam.  Money, the necessity of having it, the greed at wanting too much, the hardships when you don’t have enough, all the glorious things you can think of to do when you have even just a little extra etc… is a constant issue in our lives as humans.

We wake up to it on the news, read it in the papers, our government has constant problems with managing it, social organizations have a hard time raising it, families don’t have enough to send their children to school to get an education so that they can maybe eek out enough money to live on with their family…

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone just walked into your life and said “I’ll wipe out your nations debt, subsidize your community organizations, hospitals, churches, schools and give each of you a few million dollars.  If you do me one little favor”?

That sounds like a pretty sweet deal – right?  Would you really need to hear the conditions if there were any?  If there were, you’d probably find some way to manage it so you could live worry free of money.

What would you do?  What wouldn’t you do?  Is there a possibility for negotiation, if you had any problem with what is asked of you?

What if you were asked to kill someone?  Just one person, one insignificant person?  What if no one knew who killed this person? What if this person was considered inconsequential maybe even a blemish on your town or country?

Would any of that justify considering the deed of murder for money?

Sounds like a heavy question but not so difficult to consider given how scarce and hard money is to come by.

These are the underpinning questions asked in THE VISIT a new musical by Terrence McNally and John Kander & Fred Ebb.  Starting performances on Broadway March 26th.

It stars theatre legend Chita Rivera who plays the wealthiest woman in the world who has the means of saving a town that has been struck down and crippled by poverty and bad luck.  She only asks of them for revenge on someone who has betrayed her.  Roger Rees plays this blemish on their society, the man not worthy of a second glance… is his life worth it?

Come see this wildly entertaining musical.  It’s worth the price of admission.  Trust me.

 

THE VISIT!

BTW: I’m in it too. 🙂

 

“You be good… and I’ll try.”

 

Jason