Broadway hit opens tonight at Centennial Hall

Historical images of World War II include those of war, genocide and Nazi Germany.

However, for Jon Peterson, World War II symbolizes song, sleaze and the undying humanity associated with "Cabaret."

"Cabaret" (directed by Oscar-winning "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes) is the story of an English singer (Sally Bowles, played by former Miss America Kate Shindle) and an American writer who meet at the Kit Kat Klub in Berlin, Germany during World War II. Peterson plays the seductive and pansexual Emcee, both enticing outsiders into the club and leading the tangle of show girls inside.

"It's a very decadent world, like the underworld. The Emcee was almost like a little devil, like the innocent person dropping in," Peterson said. "He was everything - the good, the bad and the ugly, everything you like and hate about yourself."