THE BASICS: CABARET, the award-winning musical by Kander and Ebb and Masteroff, directed by Kristin Bentley, presented by Second Generation Theatre, runs through June 26th, Thursdays – Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 and 8:00, Sundays at 2:00 at Shea’s Smith Theatre, 658 Main Street, Buffalo, enter through Shea’s Main Street ticket office. For tickets call 716-847-1410 or visit sheas.org/performances/cabaret or visit secondgenerationtheatre.com/project/cabaret
Runtime: 2-1/2 hours with one intermission. Full-service bar
THUMBNAIL SKETCH: 1930s Berlin was a liberal center of art, culture, and, to use the Nazi’s term – “decadence” – during the somewhat insular Weimar Republic indulging in the excesses of the Jazz Age. Meanwhile, in the rest of Germany, fascism was on the rise, fueled by “The Big Lie” that Jews (and others) were the root cause of the economic hardships following World War I. Now, coinciding with both Pride Month and the January 6th hearings in Washington, Second Generation Theatre (SGT) has been presenting a CABARET with messages that remain relevant. Director Kristin Bentley has defied the physical limitations of the theater space to create an intimate evening of magic.
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION: Where to begin? First of all, everything you may have read on social media is true. It’s the latest offering by a fairly young company that since their first offering (WILD PARTY) has never shied away from musicals that are dark, strange, weird, and wonderful.
This is much more explicit than the 1966 musical or the 1972 movie having been informed by a number of world events. Yes, the basic story is there, of young British ex-pat performer Sally Bowles singing in Berlin’s seedy Kit Kat Klub, who meets the ex-pat American writer Clifford Bradshaw, who lives in a rooming house presided over by Fraulien Schneider, who has a romantic relationship with Herr Schulz, an elderly Jewish fruit merchant, and who spats with Fraulein Kost who makes a living “entertaining” young sailors in her room, and the entire musical is presided over by the sexually ambiguous emcee.
In fact, during Pride Month, as we watch on television The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, the on-stage themes of violent fascism contrasting with sexual liberation ring about as true to our times as possible.
Fair warning: the conclusion of both Act I and Act II are shockers. Usually, the big concluding numbers of most musicals’ first and second acts end in wild applause. Here, the audience sat in stunned silence. And not an OKLAHOMA “What the hell was that?” silence, but more of an “OMG” silence. Or, to put it another way, usually Act I and II conclusions might have many in the audience saying “That was great. Say, why don’t we grab a drink?” but here, under Kristin Bentley’s excellent direction, you might be compelled to say “I NEED a drink.”
Right from the start Joe Russi (The Emcee) sets the tone for the evening. Aided and abetted by Primo Thomas’s set, Chris Cavanagh’s lights, Lise Harty’s costumes, and Mary McMahon Jakiels’ wigs, he is instantly engaging. You can’t take your eyes off of him. And you don’t need to, really, because he is much, much more involved in this version of CABARET than others you might have seen. I may be going out on a limb here, but to me he embodies the wounded on the inside, defiantly exuberant on the outside charisma of the late, great Judy Garland. He is fully committed to the role and, good news, we’ll see more of him next season as Dickon in THE SECRET GARDEN and Michael in TICK, TICK, BOOM.
Speaking of costumes and wigs and such, kudos to Stage Manager Emma English assisted by Amanda Borowski for a very smooth production.
Cassie Cameron (Sally Bowles) brings her serious acting chops to the role and helps elevate the artistic level of this musical, and the fact that she’s not primarily a singer is a historically accurate portrayal of the real-life Jean Ross, the original inspiration for Sally’s character.
But if you want big singing, that comes from Amy Jakiel (Fraulein Kost), who is a belter, and just as Cameron’s acting adds gravitas to the evening, Jakiel’s fabulous voice underpins several vocal lines. There is also a very cool bit of theater magic, it actually happens a few times, where an off stage left follow spot suddenly lights up one of the cast involved. Boom! It’s a startling effect. Very noir.
Also known more for acting than singing is Dan Urtz (Clifford Bradshaw) who has a fine baritone, but also a marvelous ability to do scene work with the other actors. They say that the key to acting is listening to the other characters, and Urtz is uncanny in his ability to do that in the most subtle and believable way.
The cast is rounded out by Steve Jakiel (Herr Schultz), Pamela Rose Mangus (Fraulein Schneider), Steve Brachmann (Ernst Ludwig), along with “the Kit Kat Klub girls and boys” Alex Anthony Garcia, Kevin Cusi, Kris Bartolomeo, Stevie Jackson, Sofia Matlasz, Melinda Capeles, Matt Rittler, Natasha McCandless, and Kristen-Marie Lopez.
Choreographed by Kelly Copps within the limitations of the small stage, the hoofing seemed pretty realistic for what would have been The Kit Kat Klub, getting by with a lot of sexual innuendo and hi-jinx. But one dancer stood out, in a good way, and that was Melinda Capeles, who has what I call “the Broadway snap” – that ability to change positions seamlessly. And, just as Cassie Cameron and Amy Jakiel raise the bar with, respectively their acting and singing, Capeles does with her dancing.
Of course, none of this would have worked without the excellent Music Direction by Allan Paglia and his six-piece orchestra playing music inspired by THE THREE PENNY OPERA. From the opening drumbeat, we are transported back to Brecht and Weill’s 1928 Berlin. For musicians and bios of all the cast and production team, click here.
For rehearsal photos and a video trailer, read Liberty Darr’s earlier preview in Buffalo Rising here.
In conclusion, provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!
SIDE NOTES:
Speaking of Brecht, inspired by German theologian Emil Gustav Friedrich Martin Niemöller’s more famous poem, Brecht wrote about the Nazis:
First of all, they came to take the gypsies
and I was happy because they pilfered.
Then they came to take the Jews and I said nothing,
because they were unpleasant to me.
Then they came to take homosexuals,
and I was relieved, because they were annoying me.
Then they came to take the Communists,
and I said nothing because I was not a Communist.
One day they came to take me,
and there was nobody left to protest.
You might remember that poem after you see this CABARET.
Also, before you go, you might read SGT co-founder and CABARET dramaturg Arin Lee Dandes’ “The History Behind CABARET….” for her excellent geo-political context. Find that here.
I was curious as to the history of the musical itself.
The 1966 musical CABARET was produced by Hal Prince who hired playwright Joe Masteroff to write the musical’s book adapting the 1951 Broadway play I AM A CAMERA by John Van Druten which was in turn adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s 1939 novel “Goodbye to Berlin.” In 1967 the musical CABARET won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
That was 1967.
In 1976, 7 years after the Stonewall Riots and the start of Gay Liberation, as it was called at that time, then 72-year-old writer Christopher Isherwood came out in his book “Christopher And His Kind.” There he related his honest personal sexual history of his time in Berlin, a history that he had covered up for over thirty years. Because of that book, today Isherwood is considered an important voice in the Gay Rights movement.
Today, informed by Isherwood’s revelations, what we are seeing on stage is much closer to the 1993 Sam Mendes-produced London revival of CABARET, of course noting that over the intervening years, going back and forth between London and Broadway, there have been five other revivals. My point is that this is not your grandfather’s CABARET. It is a fitting show for Pride Month.
Isherwood’s character Sally Bowles, the expatriate singer, was modeled on the real-life Jean Ross, who roomed with Isherwood in Berlin. Apparently, Ross was not a good singer but was a crowd favorite at nightclubs with her fingernails painted green and her defiant “I don’t give a damn what you think” or what we would call today an “F-U” attitude.
Fun fact: While in Hollywood, Christopher Isherwood befriended Truman Capote, whose “Breakfast At Tiffanys” character Holly Golightly was inspired partly by Isherwood’s Sally Bowles. Both the characters Holly and Sally live for a while with a young writer, the narrator of their stories, which involve rather pedestrian days contrasted with the young ladies’ more promiscuous nights at clubs.
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!
The post Everything you’ve heard is true. Joe Russi bursts on stage in Second Generation’s CABARET at the Smith. Right for our times, but time is running out (five shows left) appeared first on Buffalo Rising.