Review: Santa Fe Playhouse To Present CABARET

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Imagine my surprise and delight to view this musical through the fresh vision presented by Director Anna Hogan, cast and crew. Let’s begin with the basics, compliments of the Cabaret program:

“Cabaret is a musical set in the final days of the Weimar Republic in 1930s Berlin, focusing on the decadent nightlife of the Kit Kat Klub as the Nazi Party rises to power. An American writer, Cliff Bradshaw, and British singer Sally Bowles fall in love amid this growing political turmoil, while Fräulein Schneider and Herr Schultz navigate their own romance and increasing threats to their Jewish heritage. The story serves as a cautionary tale about rising fascism, the dangers of political apathy, and how people choose to ignore the looming threat of a war.”

The action opens with a very frail and beaten down looking Emcee (Jeffrey Barba). He has obviously been through or is going through something, but what? He takes us from his weathered doorway (Alleyway? Prison? Camp?) back in time – having prior knowledge of the show, staging Cabaret as a memory play gave it a whole new perspective.

Barba springs to life and introduces us to the Kit Kat Klub in all its seediness, decadence and desperation – the ensemble captures the hedonism of Weimar Germany, mere moments before the nazi uprising. He introduces us to the boys, the girls, the orchestra and the star of the club. Sally Bowles (Rachel Biggs). Biggs brings both humor and sadness to her role – Sally is becoming aware that her time both at the club and in this era of decadence may be ending – her strong vocals and presence sets the tone for the action to come.

She soon meets Cliff Bradshaw (Bradley Lewis), an American who is invited to the Kit Kat Klub on his first night in Berlin by Ernst (Jensen Klodnicki), a German he meets on the train. Sally pegs him immediately as her Mr. Right (more realistically, her Mr. Right Now) and proceeds to make her move. She is soon ensconced in his room at Fraulein Schneider’s (Karen Gruber Ryan) boarding house. Ryan gives a strong performance as the put upon older single woman trying to stay afloat during difficult times. Her plot line involves a romance with Herr Schultz (Paul Kerrigan) which is both touching and heartbreaking, as they come to the grim realization that a Christian/Jewish couple has no future in this Germany.

The Schneider/Schultz and Bowles/Bradshaw romances are interspersed with numbers at the Kit Kat Klub, featuring innovative and exciting choreography by Laura Orozco Garrett. Fair warning – the Kit Kat Club is a SEEDY NIGHTCLUB IN WEIMAR GERMANY – if a variety of couplings and sexual references are going to offend you, maybe this isn’t your show. We had to giggle at the pearl clutching going on around us – apparently there are still people out there who didn’t see the Fosse version on film!

While the musical numbers were all extremely tight, the spoken scenes could have used more momentum overall – sometimes this gets tighter over the course of the run, which may be the case here.  Some of the scenes were slower and more ponderous than they could have been.

Props to all the performers on their astute command of the German dialect – especially to Karen Gruber Ryan for taking on a second role as dialect coach. The ensemble is engaged with strong vocals and dance moves throughout the show. Kudos as well to Music Director/Conductor Gretchen Amstutz and her orchestra – it’s wonderful to have a live band for this show.

Cabaret’s technical accomplishment is a standout unto itself, especially the fantastic set design by Daniel Hogan and lighting design by Ben Rawson. The multi-level stage is awash in gorgeous light; both stage and lighting become increasingly more menacing and dark as the show progresses. The costumes seem a bit all over the map, highlights are some beautifully hand painted pieces by Costume Designer Dylan Hawkinson, but an unfortunate fur coat and gorilla costume, and a strange wig for Fraulein Schneider were not the best. The venue itself lends to the decadence and period of the show perfectly – make sure to look up and around every once in a while.

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