Life is a 'Cabaret'? Really?

The Hypocrites, in association with Chicago DCA Theater, present the Tony Award-winning Cabaret, running now through May 23^rd at the Storefront Theater.  Set in the decadence of a seedy night club in Weimar Berlin, Cabaret questions if life can still be a Cabaret as Nazism envelops the Fatherland.  For those who read my reviews often, you might pick up on the fact that I'm not really a fan of musicals.  However, I have to say that I love Cabaret.  It might be my love of garters and German musical instruments speaking, but I walk into every production of Cabaret rooting for it to be great.

Unfortunately the Hypocrites production of Cabaret was a bit hit or miss for my taste.  This production just lagged.  Were two intermissions really necessary?  Also, the Hypocrites pride themselves on presenting a dark twist to the show.  I don't know if they accomplished a new dark twist or not.  After Rob Marshall's revival of Cabaret on Broadway back in the late 90's, it's kind of hard to reinvent the wheel after it's been on a luxury car.  If before the 90's, everything was a pale homage to Joel Grey.  After the 90's, everything was a pale homage to that revival.  The similarities between this production and the Rob Marshall production were far too many to call this revolutionary.

Casting wise, The Hypocrites chose to cast a female as the Emcee.  I want to begin by saying that although I thought Jessie Fisher did a great job, I disagree with the casting of a female in the role.  Harold Prince once said in addressing Joel Grey's well known androgynous portrayal, that the Emcee was sexless because the Emcee represented the id in all of us.   This is probably best illustrated in Joel Grey's movie portrayal.   The Emcee should be the darkest part of the audience. By making the Emcee a distinct person, you are forced to be invested in him or her like Sally or Cliff.  And if that's then the case, then the Emcee is kind of underdeveloped. 

The cast on a whole was good, but one stand out of note is Kyle Erkonen as the "Boy."  Mr. Erkonen did a great job, considering his age and the gravity of the play.  His performance of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" was by far my favorite part of the play as he hauntingly foreshadows the oncoming Nazi occupation. So, if anything, check out this production for the well done rendition of this little known song.

For ticket information, check out www.dcatheater.org.