Review: CABARET at The Studio Theatre

Here is my comment for The Studio Theatre’s (320 W 7th St, in Little Rock) production of CABARET..... Wow! Das war heftig! The end. No, just joking. I do have a few more words for this production. If you have never seen CABARET like me, stop reading this article now, “leave your troubles outside” and just go see the show! I am completely serious about this. You have from now through August 6th to see the sexiness and the drama that unfolds at the CABARET, but get your tickets online, and don’t bring the kids. Shows are already selling out fast! You will exclaim ‘verdammt’ if you miss it.  

You’re still reading? Ok, fine. So, I had no idea what I was getting into when I went to see this stunning production. I knew a few of the actors, the wonderful Director Sheridan Posey, and I saw a few pictures, but other than that.....nothing. It looked like a big, fabulous party, and I thought this was going to be fun—and it is. However, there is so much more to it. With Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, Book by Joe Masteroff, and based on I AM A CAMERA by John Van Druten and GOODBYE TO BERLIN by Christopher Isherwood, CABARET begins at the point where the partying life in Germany is coming to an end and the Nazi party is starting to pose a threat.  

When you walk into the theatre, you are transported to the Kit Kat immediately. The actors mingle with the audience and check on us before the show starts. Once it does officially begin, the amazing Emcee (Queen Anthony James Gerard) opens the show singing “Willkommen” and presents the beautiful Cabaret dancers and their star Sally Bowles (Moriah Patterson). Shortly thereafter Cliff (Michael Wilson Goodbar) from America meets German Ernst Ludwig (Carson Horton) on a train, and they become fast friends. Ernst tells Cliff to get a room at Fraulein Schneider’s (Kathryn Pryor) boarding house and also visit the Kit Kat Club. Once at the club, Cliff meets Sally, more songs are sung, and Sally moves in with Cliff. In between the scenes, the Emcee sings at the club. Other boarding house residents come into the story, including the Jewish fruit shop owner Herr Schultz (Bob Bidewell) who woos Fraulein Schneider, and Fraulein Kost (Katie Choate) who entertains sailor who give her money. Honestly, that is all the synopsis I want to give, because this show takes a lot of twists and turns, and I don’t want to ruin it for you....so just go see the show.  

I will, however, talk about the performers. For this show, I have several starry heart eyes to pass out. First off, Moriah Patterson has been doing choreography for a big majority of the Central Arkansas shows and beyond for a while now, and then she took on a directing job over at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse while, I guess, rehearsing for CABARET. Patterson champions an array of emotions as she goes from seductive nightclub singer to the many hardships that face her, and I loved how she interacted with Goodbar’s Cliff. And if having a starring role wasn’t enough, she was also the Choreographer for this show as well. Patterson is absolutely amazing, and Broadway World loves following her around to see what she creates. 

Because the story is woven by American writer Cliff, he interacts with everyone, and it is fun to watch how Goodbar responds to the rest of the cast's craziness.  

Bidewell’s Schultz and Pryor’s Schneider were so sweet with each other. You can’t help but root for them. Their number “It Couldn’t Please Me More” touched me, and when Schneider turned down Schultz (spoiler...sorry), it broke my heart.  

I also enjoyed Pryor’s Schneider paired with Katie Choate’s Fraulein Kost. Their little bickering back and forth was funny, but Kost turning on Schneider really upset me (another spoiler...sorry). 

Carson Horton’s Ernst Ludwig surprised me when it turned out that he was the bad guy. Horton did so well keeping everything light and slightly goofy until the big reveal. I’m not happy with him at the moment. And then when Fraulein Kost joined him with the Nazi pride song, I just about lost it. Horton may be my newest favorite bad guy for the moment, but I’m still not happy about it. 

The biggest fangirling I have going on for this show goes to Queen Anthony James Gerard as the Emcee. What a performance!!! Queen dominated the stage every time Queen was on it. The makeup...the costumes....the singing and dancing and emotional turmoil that the character went through was all astounding. You can’t take your eyes off Queen when she takes the stage. I loved the little jump after every number was finished, and I was in shock and almost in tears at the very end when we found out the Emcee’s fate. Brava! You are a star! 

As always, I do love a live band. Every time I looked their way, they were having as much fun as the other performers. Under the guidance of Music Director John Willis, the beautiful orchestra consists of: Conductor & Keyboard I-Hunter Mabery; Keyboard II- Tanner Oglesby; Bass-Daniel Malek; Drums-Cadence Garbett; Guitar/Banjo-Matt Stone; Reed 1-Stephen Colby; Reed 2-Harris Hogue; Trumpet-Jamie Joheim; and Evan Smith-Trombone. 

Broadway World recognizes that it takes an army to put on a production as wonderful as this one. Production/Creative Crew consists of: Director- Sheridan Posey; Music Director-John Willis; Conductor-Hunter Mabery; Choreographer-Moriah Patterson; Scenic & Props Design-Drew Posey; Lighting Design-Justin A. Pike; Costume Design-Leah Christenson; Run Crew-Louis Deltheil, Jackson Evans, Adelyn Eiler, Aaron Wallace; Asst. Costumer/Crew Head-Emily McCarver; Stage Manager-Avery Girouard; Asst. Stage Manager-Kara Kelly; Sound Engineer-Greg Warner; Lightboard operator-Kara Kelly; Production Photos-Erica Gregory; Trailer Videography-Johnnie Brannon; Executive Director-Kayla J Jenkins; Dialect Coach-Carson Horton; Dialect Assistant-Brooklyn Courtney-Moore; Foreign Language Consultant-Mikahla Crawford; and Artistic Director-Justin A. Pike. 

I can’t end a Studio Theatre review without showing some love to Bartender James Linker for his newest creation. This show’s tasty beverage is entitled Das Herr Schlushy and consists of tropical/fruit punch, pineapple soda, lemon-lime soda, cran-pineapple juice, and is topped off with jellybeans. They also have candy cigarettes for purchase that benefit their fundraising efforts.  

Again, thank you to Photographer Erica Gregory for the use of these wonderful photos. Erica loves capturing your stories, so if you have something special going on, check out her website at https://www.ericagregoryphoto.com, and see how she can help capture the magic of your life. 

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