Review: CABARET Dazzles and Intrigues at the Hobby Center

CABARET is still thrilling half a century after it was first seen. It has an excellent Kander and Ebb score, and the songs are favorites of musical theater. The show's commentary on politics in carefree pre-World War II Berlin serve as a chilling reminder about the juxtaposition of freedom and fascism. It's sexy, gritty, and holds up as one of the great musicals of the modern era. It's dark, but somehow entirely accessible.

The original Hal Prince production of CABARET debuted on Broadway in 1966, and a new Sam Mendes version in London opened at the Donmar Warehouse in 1996. This touring presentation of the show at Houston's Hobby Center celebrates the 50th year of the musical as well as the 20th year of its re-invention which is presented here. The current CABARET is a mix of the book and score of the original stage vision as well as the 1972 film version, and it plays out on simple set as if all the action takes place at a boarding house that doubles as a nightclub. Fans of the movie will notice different plots and additional songs, while those fond of the first Broadway incarnation will note missing numbers and new scenes establishing a more fluid sexuality for the leading man. For anybody who has seen CABARET on Broadway after 1998, they will be in familiar territory.

It's not easy to put on CABARET, because people have images of Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli in their heads going in. The legends like Alan Cumming from Broadway loom large over the collective memories of what the show should be and how it should sound. The tour Broadway Across America has brought into Houston is outstanding in how it handles expectations and shatters them in new and original ways. This is a great production of a thought-provoking show, and it brings the Roundabout Theatre Company experience out of New York City. This is not your mama's version of CABARET, and it's a good jolt of classical musical songs married to fresh new images conveyed through simple staging.

Randy Harrison heads up the cast as the Emcee, and some patrons will recognize him from the ground-breaking Showtime series QUEER AS FOLK. On that show he played a waifish young teen struggling with his sexuality, but here he is grown up and in charge. Randy has a muscular physique, a sly smile, and a surprisingly excellent tenor that finds the sweeter side of the melodies in his solos. He makes the Master of Ceremonies role his own, and pays homage to Grey and Cumming while doing a unique take on the iconic figure. He nails the balance between charming and sinister, and commands attention every second he takes center stage. He's worth the price of admission.

Andrea Goss gives Sally Bowles a touch of both Liza Minnelli and original Broadway star Jill Howarth by combining a big voice with sometimes cheeky delivery. She makes Sally a good bit more realistic than the movie version, yet displays enough vocal prowess to give the audience what they want in her song delivery. She's cute and bubbly, but there's a sadness there that spikes through nicely once the audience realizes the trap the singer is caught in by her own design.

Lee Aaron Rosen makes the most of leading man and love interest Clifford Bradshaw. He has a pleasing tenor and his all-American good looks fit the role perfectly. Ned Noyes is equally spot on for the role of Ernst, a friendly German with a smuggling operation that turns sinister by the second act. Shannon Cochran and Mark Nelson are standouts as the charmingly sweet older couple that spark a romance during the show. They both are heartbreaking in their delivery of Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz, and their numbers are some of the high points of the production. Alison Ewing is also a standout as Fraulein Kost, especially when she gets to sing the German version of the marriage song and deliver the chilling "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" to close out Act One.

The set is a sparse three doors to represent the boarding house and a band just above to provide the nightclub ambiance. This is a stripped down production that often feels appropriately Brechtian in its execution and simplicity. Razzle dazzle may come in some lighting cues, but it's the actors and dancers that create most of the special effects on their own. The dancing is on point throughout, and the singing and music are well executed. This is a cast that knows their stuff, and they look great doing it. Technically the show is a nice combination of period costumes and abstract settings that work together to make '30s Berlin nightlife exist in a dreamscape.

This production of CABARET is well worth the visit to the Kit Kat Klub, and the experience is a thrilling ride through a familiar score reimagined for our times. A super strong cast fill out a sparse set, and audiences should be blown back by the experience. It's sexy, a little trashy, fun, but it has a dark side that will make you think long after leaving the building. It's a reminder of what can happen to an entire country, of how quickly the winds can change from one extreme to the other. The warning it sounded in 1966 is as relevant to 2016, and this production is a gorgeous meditation on that. Bleibe, reste, and stay because in here life is beautiful.

CABARET runs through March 27th at the Hobby Center. Tickets can be purchased here.