By Joel Applegate
Cabaret is one of those musicals whose songs over the years have spontaneously looped themselves into my brain from the first time I ever had the pleasure of seeing the movie in 1972. The Ziegfeld Theater Company’s fearless production of the original musical Cabaret is something old and new fans of the show should not miss.
From the strong opening “Wilkommen” to the unnerving finale, the cast’s energy never lets up. The lead performances are vibrating with truth and skill.
The actor playing the Emcee owned the part without homage to any other previous actors in the role. Athletic and completely non-compromising, Joshua Samuel Robinson gave us a charismatic, raspy, powerful, committed performance – a butch pan-sexual you don’t want to mess with.
As Fraulein Schneider, Carol Madsen is clearly a veteran performer. She belts and whispers in her great voice, each moment of her performance sparkling with clarity. Madsen is key to what is different between the filmed and staged Cabaret. What struck me was that this show is as much hers as it is the Emcee’s, with its relevance to racism and sweet elder romance.
In the stage show Sally is not the lead character – that really belongs to the Emcee – but we still get all of those great songs. Kelly Tansey’s Sally has a beautiful voice with great control. This actor took to heart Sally’s realization that she herself is “mysterious and fascinating.” Tansey handles one of the show’s hits, “Maybe This Time” with brash defiance and smart staging. I felt in that moment that I really was at the Kit Kat Klub, the smoke (fake) rising into the heated spotlights. Also featured is Hailey Weeks, voicing an equally strong performance as Fraulein Kost.
I regretted the Chorus didn’t have more to do in the second half, but they know their stuff when they get the chance. “Kick Line”, with choreography by Talese Hunt, is a naughty treat and they shine on the booming “Mein Herr.”
Director and scene designer Trent Cox made many smart choices. One was having the Emcee hang around in some scenes as an omniscient observer. As a set, the design worked very well; the Kit Kat Klub surrounds the world and not the other way around. And the costumer, Kelsey Nichols, overcame some challenging requirements in the second act.
A song that most people who have seen only the movie version of Cabaret missed, but will really enjoy, is “It Couldn’t Please Me More” with Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schulz (Kevin Ireland.) I was delighted all the way through. Madsen and Ireland were beautifully simpatico with each other in both their numbers, with “Married” supplying the sweetest moment in the show.
One of the most conflicting conundrums in musical theater is “Tomorrow Belongs to Me.” I was oddly disturbed by this beautiful tune at the end of Act I. It contains the power of propaganda masking a hideous secret. Half the audience couldn’t bring themselves to applaud as the intermission curtain fell. Neither could I. Don’t tell me this show is no longer relevant. It becomes timeless in that it warns of ever-evolving threats to self-expression and democracy.
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How many meanings does the word savage have? Political – Musical – Social. It’s all thoughtfully embodied in this production of Cabaret. I am not looking for agreement here, but I had a funny thought that Cabaret does not celebrate night club music – that’s not how this ends. It ends in an eternal and – one prays not – prescient warning.
You’d best see this before the Kit Kat Klub gets shut down on July 23rd.
{Bonus: The historic Egyptian Theatre is really a fun place to check out.}
Note: Cabaret is not a children’s show and may not even be for tweens or teens. Please be aware that the content is adult in nature.
Ziegfeld Theater Company presents Cabaret by Christopher Isherwood, with Music by John Kander and Lyrics by Fred Ebb
The Ziegfeld Theater Company at the Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main Street, Park City, Utah, 84060
June 30-July 23, 2017, Recurring: Recurring weekly on Sunday, Thursday-Saturday, Thu-Sat 8:00 PM, Sun 6:00 PM
Tickets: Thursday $35 / $43 / $55; Friday-Sunday $39 / $49 / $65, Tickets sold at the door 30 minutes prior to the show are $5.00 more. Ticket sales are non-refundable.
Contact (Box office inPark City): 435-649-9371 Ziegfeld Theater Company: 855-ZIG-ARTS / 855-944-2787, Phone hours: Mon-Sat, 10 AM – 6:30 PM
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