Politics, it’s nothing to do with us! Life is a Cabaret old Chum!
Cabaret, opened this weekend, produced by Bainbridge Performing Arts, in the new Buxton Center on Bainbridge Island. The opening night audience, some in cabaret inspired clothing, was buzzing. Before the show started the BPS’s Executive Director Elizabeth Allum, came on stage to welcome us and say a few words. She ended by confiding to us that each actor was a Storm, and together, a Tornado. It proved an apt summation!
Cabaret takes place in the late Weimar Period in Berlin, Germany. It is set in 1929/1930 at the end of the Jazz age, as the Nazi’s are gaining power. The hedonistic life of the Cabaret is still going strong but outside, the economic depression, high unemployment and rising social and political unrest lead eventually to a collapse in Chancellor Hermann Muller’s grand coalition. Germany politically is on the edge and by 1933 Adolf Hitler had been appointed Chancellor.
When the play takes play, Germany had has its ups and downs but was prospering until the Wall Street crash of 1929. For the previous 20 years the Weimar constitution, with its attention to human rights, had made Berlin a major avant garde cultural center; bursting with writers, artists and scientists. Josephine Baker had just performed the wildly popular Charleston only three years earlier, and Cabaret night life was big!
In Berlin, during the Weimar period and before, homosexuality was very tolerated: Jung Wandervogel, (a branch of a young men’s hiking group ) was known for homosexuality in its ranks, and homosexuality was celebrated in Der Eigen magazine. Germany’s anti-gay law since 1871, Paragraph 175, was on the verge of being repealed. There were battles in the halls of government and in the streets, the worst fight yet, BlutMai, Bloody May, between the SA (Nazi Sturmabteilung) and the Communist Roter Frontkampferbund. Thirty people died, 200 are injured and 1200 are arrested.
Christopher Isherwood, an English writer, visited the Weimar republic, and Berlin in particular, in 1929 and wrote stories about his adventures there. The origins of Cabaret lie here. He socialized with such writers as W. H Auden and Stephen Spender and enjoyed Jazz in the Cabarets. He apparently was not overly concerned with the rise of Fascism in Germany, and stayed on to write his first novel.
Ishwood met and befriended a British flapper named Jean Ross, an aspiring film actress who sang in Cabarets for her living. Meanwhile poverty, unemployment, political demonstrations and street fighting between Nazis and Communists escalated. Isherwood and his fellow writers began to feel the situation in the country was too explosive and within a month of Hitler becoming Chancellor, Isherwood left the country. Hitler’s government soon closed the cabarets.
Cabaret, loosely based on both “I am a Camera,” John Van Druten’s play based on Isherwood’s stories, opened on Broadway in the fall of 1966 at the Broadhurst Theatre, directed by Harold Prince, who had acquired the rights to it. It ran for 1,166 performances, won many Tony awards, went on to be produced again and again, and taken on the road, and eventually inspired the 1972 film of the same name starring Liza Minnelli, directed by Bob Fosse, screenplay by Jay Allen.
In Bainbridge’s current production, the scenic design, by Erik Furuheim, evoked a run-down Cabaret in 1929 Berlin, the Kit Kat Klub stage is front and center with the band behind, matching multi-use balconies that doubled as outdoor areas, and stairways flanking that created spaces for observation by actors not in a scene, and for scenes set elsewhere. Scene changes were quickly expedited.
The direction, by Jessica Low, was clear and effective, pacing was great, blocking made sense, sightlines were only problematic once or twice. Her passion for this piece, and for the lives of these characters was evident. “As we watch the characters navigate their lives in this horrifying time period, Cabaret serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of complacency and indifference,” she said.
The musical direction of Shawna Avinger was excellent, as was the Cabaret Band. Every once in a while, the music and voices fought for attention, but mostly the balance was great. All the German accents were generally good, though sometimes dropped momentarily. Choreography by Annalisa Brinchmann was a pleasure as the 10-member dance troupe rose to the challenge of each number, coming out into the aisles at times! The talented group consists of Meagan Kirby, Colleen Gillon, Elizabeth Dangelo, Laura McFarlane, Jo Johnson, Phillippa Myler, Reed Viydo, Sriram Kanduri, Joey Chapman and Shane Petrus.
The costume designer Justine Pogue, and her team created/obtained costumes appropriate of the time, some wonderfully risqué creations, and occasionally stunning ones, like the white dress worn by Frau Schneider, and the fur coat and red dress donned by Sally. Lighting was moody, stark and effective, and the Sound, fiercely sudden, as when a thrown brick broke a window. Kudos to Rob Falk and Matt Hadlock. The new theatre, with its lighting and sound systems is, I suspect, a joy.
The Emcee was played by Bo Mellinger, who first appeared to the audience via stockinged leg and high heeled red shoe, through parted curtains, as the drummer hit a classic rim shot!His blue eye shadow makeup created a wonderful mask, almost clown-like, adding to his natural expressiveness. He played the role with vivacity, vulnerability and conviction. He is a narrator, shill, comedian, burlesque dancer, and later, a ticket taker on the train. Either script driven or directorial, I don’t know which, his final scene, and the culmination of the play, took my breath away, representing well what can come from the choices we make. The lighting here was particularly effective too!
Talena Laine played Sally Bowles with an explosive mix of naivete, devil-may-care attitude and a dash of hysteria. Her singing voice is strong and so suited to the role. I did note that from time to time she rushed her lines when emotionality was high, and we lost them. Cliff Bradshaw(Chris Clark), the would-be writer from America, seeking new experiences, sometimes awkward, naïve in his own way, but once awakened, was willing to fight and speak up. Personally, I wish I could have seen a deeper drive in him.
Together Cliff and Sally had some great timing, both comic and dramatic. Ultimately, they drive each other toward choices that tear them apart. Everyone has to make a choice. Their choosing is in some ways a proxy for ours. One of the most memorable moments in the show is Sally’s agonized, twitchy rendition of Cabaret in Act 2, expressing the barely concealed pain she felt in the choice to turn away.
The characters of Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz were played by Michelle Lorenz Odell and Adam Othman. Herr Schultz, kind, and generous in trusting his neighbor and countrymen, while Fraulein Schneider was practical and irritated, and a survivor. Michelle has a particularly powerful singing voice well suited to this character.
Max was played by Ed Courtway, a mostly silent, lurking figure of power, owner of the Cabaret. Kendra Truett plays the tough, weary Fraulein Kost, and Max Lopuszynski the energetic cheery, practical, helpful Ernst Ludwig. Both characters embrace the Nazi cause. It happens subtly with her, we see it when start as she sings a song in German. Ernst is already involved when he befriends Cliff on the train and offers to help him financially. Their choices make sense to them, and I believed that.
They have a lovely moment together when Fraulein Kost wants Ernst to stay at the engagement party for Frau Schneider and Herr Schultz, and she starts to sing him a Nazi anthem, Tomorrow Belongs To Me. They are soon singing it together and the Cabaret cast of dancers/singers falls in with them, turning into a grim reminder of what is to come.
Get your tickets soon, this show closes May 12th and is already going fast!
Cabaret, Bainbridge Performing Arts (BPA), Buxton Center, 200 Madison Avenue N, Winslow,
Thurs, Fri, Sat evenings. 7:30, Sun matinée 3 pm. til May 12th Bainbridge Island, WA. 98110
Box Office (206) 842-8569 www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org
Tickets: https://bainbridgeperformingarts.thundertix.com/events/208293
Parking in theatre lot, then street parking for overflow
Content Advisory
This production contains the following:
Adult Themes: The show contains mature themes including sexual content and references.
Strong Language: There is the use of strong language and slurs that some may find offensive.
Nudity: This production does include some nudity.
Alcohol and Drug Use: Depictions of alcoholism and drug abuse are present in the storyline.
Violence and Abuse: The show includes scenes of violence, abuse, and domestic violence.
Sexual Content: Sexual references and suggestive scenes and choreography are part of the narrative.
Anti-Semitism and Racism: As the plot involves the rise of the Nazi party, there are themes of anti-Semitism, racism, and Nazi symbolism.
Sensitive Topics: The show contains sensitive topics, such as abortion.
Political Extremism: Depictions of political extremism and the rise of the Nazi party.
Flashing Lights and Loud Noises: The production includes flashing lights and loud noises that could be disturbing or may trigger seizures for people with
photosensitive epilepsy.