"Willkommen" -- There are only a few days left to answer the Emcee's call to "come to the Cabaret" at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, director Rick Dildine's vibrantly topical rendition of the Joe Masteroff [book], John Kander [music], and Fred Ebb [lyrics] 1996 musical set in the seedy Kit Kat Klub in pre-War Berlin, as Hitler's Nazi Party was coming into power.
Don't expect a replication of previous incarnations of the multi-award-winning show; Dildine's Emcee [Pierre Marais] narrates the story with a combination of glitz, glamor, and grit, his enigmatic persona, powerful singing, and energetic dancing bringing the character to energetic life, as he assures the audience that "everything is beautiful" within the confines of the Klub, conscripting us to leave the discomfort of the outside world behind. And we are beguiled to do so for the 2+ hours of the production, even with his frequent reminders that serious threats to our well-being await us when we leave.
The fact that ASF is in company with many theaters at home and abroad in mounting this musical demonstrates how resonant its social commentary and themes are for 2023 audiences. When we ignore dangerous threats to our well-being, or intentionally avoid them or pretend they don't exist, or fail to recognize the political turmoil surrounding us, and distract ourselves with temporary pleasure, a rude awakening is bound to follow.
An ambiguous romantic relationship develops between writer/teacher Cliff Bradshaw [Max Wolkowitz] and Klub chanteuse Sally Bowles [Crystal Kellogg], and gets complicated by Sally's friend Ernst Ludwig's [Andrew Foote] persuading Cliff to be a go-between in nefarious Nazi activities.
Cliff's landlady Fraulein Schneider [Stacia Fernandez] is being wooed by Jewish fruit-vendor Herr Schultz [Donald Corren], while she tolerates another of her boarders, Fraulein Kost's [Carlyn Connolly], nightly assignations with assorted sailors. Both are put to the test as a matter of survival for Fraulein Schneider: she exchanges the moral high ground against Kost because she needs the rent money, and she sacrifices a dangerous marriage with a Jewish man in order to sustain a modicum of security in a dangerous world.
Played on Jeff Behm's evocative flexible set, enhanced by Alexa Behm's brilliant costume designs, and dynamic choreography by Christopher Windom, the impressive ensemble performers are guided by the Emcee through their interweaving plot-lines and numerous songs and dances, with music provided by Musical Director Joel Jones and a fine on-stage band.
Ms. Fernandez and Mr. Corren give sensitive attention to an older couple's ill-fated romance, as we track them in song from "So What" to "It Couldn't Please Me More" to "Married" [with a potent counterpoint provided by Ms. Connolly as the Chanteuse] to the inevitable "What Would You Do?" -- perhaps the most truthful performances in this production.
Sally's and Cliff's conflicted relationship is handled with conviction by Ms. Kellogg and Mr. Wolkowitz, and we watch them deteriorate from "Perfectly Marvelous" to "Maybe This Time" to Sally's devastating recognition of the impact of her actions in the title song, "Cabaret" -- a powerful choice.
There are so many lessons to be learned at the Cabaret, which could be seen as a kind of "Safe Place" for society's outsiders. -- Yet, it is Mr. Marais' Emcee, a chameleon who holds it all together, who gives permission for the players and the audience to indulge and forget, and provides the most sardonic commentary on life outside the numbing comfort of the Klub with "Two Ladies", "Money", "If You Could See Her", and most especially "Tomorrow Belongs to Me' and "I Don't Care Much". A masterful performance.
Come to the Cabaret -- you won't regret it.
