The Screenplay Needed Some Big Changes
Eventually, thanks to Cy Feuer, Fosse got the job and sat down with Jay Presson Allen, the screenwriter, to work on the picture. However, this relationship began to deteriorate over time. As the days and weeks went by and production drew closer, Fosse was less and less satisfied with the script. Eventually, he called in Hugh Wheeler to do some rewrites.
Michael York in ‘Cabaret,’ 1972. Photo by Abc / Allied Artists / Kobal / Shutterstock
Wheeler was an actual friend of Christopher Isherwood, the original author of The Berlin Stories, and he decided to go right back to the original source material in order to try and make the film feel more authentic and true to its roots. Originally, the character of Brian Roberts was a heterosexual man, but Wheeler made him bisexual to honor Isherwood’s open homosexuality.