Beyond the Nest Reviews Blackfriars' Cabaret
- by Carol White Llewellyn, Editor of Beyond the Nest
The Musical Cabaret, with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Joe Masteroff, began as a 1939 novel called Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood. In 1951, it was transformed into a play called I am Camera, and in 1966, it opened as a musical in Boston, then went on to Broadway. The work easily stands the test of time.
In Blackfriars’ production of Cabaret we are transported into the seedy Kit Kat Club Cabaret in Berlin, Germany just as Hitler is rising to power in 1929. The cabaret is a haven of decadence for the LGBTQ community and those on the fringe of society, who would have difficulty finding a welcoming home elsewhere.
The Emcee and the cast open the show with the song “Wilkommen,” which is as exuberant as it is disquieting, for we know that soon, anyone who is a stranger or considered “other” will no longer be “welcome” in Germany. Drew Jensen gives a strong performance as the Club's Emcee, who is simultaneously strong yet vulnerable, and oozes androgynous sensuality.
Enter writer Clifford Bradshaw (Philip Detrick), who has come to Berlin seeking inspiration for his next novel. Detrick’s Cliff is intelligent, reserved, and a bit naïve. His tight budget prevents him from sampling the smorgasbord of decadence Berlin has to offer, but he manages to find his way to the Kit Kat Club, where he encounters the brash and effervescent Sally Bowles. Sally (Jess Ruby) is an English Chanteuse with a vibrant voice, whose dreams of stardom are a far cry from reality, which becomes apparent in her song, “Don’t Tell Mama.”
When the nightclub owner, with whom Sally is having an affair, sees her flirtations with Cliff, he kicks her out of both the show, and the club where she has been living. Having few friends and nowhere to go, she persuades Cliff to let her to move in with him, over the objections of his landlady, Fraulein Schneider (Mary Krickmire), whose practical side wins in the question of money over moral objections.
What begins as a semi-platonic relationship between Sally and Cliff becomes more.
Fraulein is seeing Herr Schultz (Donald Scheffrin), the local fruit vendor. These two characters share lovely, poignant scenes in the show as they finally acknowledge their love for each other. Krickmire and Scheffrin portray the characters with touching authenticity, and as the two characters contemplate marriage, Natasha Youngman as Chanteuse gives us a beautiful rendition of “Heiraten,” ("Married") in German.
Ernst Ludwig (Jason Rugg), who befriended Bradshaw upon his arrival in Berlin, has employed the struggling writer in his “import” business. Things heat up when it is revealed that Ludwig is actually a Nazi who has hoodwinked the unwitting Bradshaw into smuggling for the Nazis. Brynn Tyszka, Blackfriars’ Artistic Director and Director for this production deftly orchestrates one of the most chilling scenes in the show in which Ludwig and the luscious and lascivious Fraulein Kost (Sammi Cohen)--another tenant in Fraulein Schneider’s building--crash the engagement party of Fraulein Schneider and her newly-betrothed sweetheart, Herr Schultz. Kost purposely blurts out to Ludwig that Mrs. Shneider’s new fiancé is a Jew, sendng the Nazi into a frenzy. She persuades him to stay, calming him with what has become an alt-right anthem, “Tomorrow Belongs to Me.” The beauty of her singing and the words to the song, juxtaposed with what we know of history, are a chilling harbinger of what is to come.
As the show progresses and the influence of the Nazi party mounts, creating schisms in the fabric of society and of the community, the formerly care-free decadence of the Kit Kat Club gives way to a darkness creepiing across Germany that includes violence, antisemitism and the unraveling of relationships. The Kit Kat Club is closed and its former patrons and performers move on, or are "moved off," bearing physical and emotional scars.
Blackfriars’ Cabaret is a powerful, compelling production, with a dynamic, multi-talented cast, many of whom are undoubtedly favorites with Blackfriars' audiences. You cannot leave this performance without being moved by the experience of this show and its monumental message.
As always, those “behind the scene” at Blackfriars—their skilled tech experts who provide lighting, costume design, sets, choreography, the music more—have done a stellar job.
Cabaret can be seen at Blackfriars through May 26, although some performances are already sold out, so reserve your tickets quickly! Tickets run between $36 and $40.
A note from Blackfriars: “this script contains sexual innuendo and allusion to the Holocaust and other mature topics that may be sensitive for some viewers.”
Photos by Ron Heerkens/Goat Factory Media, used courtesy of Blackfriars Theatre.