Impactful, Well-Performed ‘Cabaret’ Opens at The Old Globe
The dichotomy of Cabaret is always in the clash between the insidious underbelly of near-Nazi Berlin and the cheery revelry onstage in the Emcee’s Kit Kat Klub. Such is the case with the Old Globe’s version, performed on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage through October 6.
Joanna A. Jones as Sally Bowles and Alan Chandler as Clifford Bradshaw in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
While this production is by Asolo Repertory Theatre under the direction of Josh Rhodes, Cabaret is a well known musical that is oft produced. The Joe Masteroff book, paired with music by John Kander and Fred Ebb, introduces the audiences to a nightclub in 1931 Berlin where British performer Sally Bowles and her fellow performers entice and seduce their willing audience.
Featuring periodic songs from the nightclub set (including “Mein Herr,” “Don’t Tell Mama,” and “Two Ladies”) interspersed between scenes featuring Sally, struggling American novelist Cliff, his aging landlady Fraulein Schneider, and her fruit shop beau, Herr Schultz, it takes awhile for the plot to materialize, a slow burn designed to leave audiences increasingly uncomfortable as the Nazis grow closer and closer to wresting power.
Director/choreographer Josh Rhodes, understanding that burn, finds ways to alternate between menace, merry, malaise and melancholy.
The cast of Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
In his capable hands, the disconcerting storyline is played out on an art deco-fronted stage, which uses a second story, a textured back wall, and depth to its advantage. Scenic designer Tijana Bjelajac has some neat tricks up her sleeve, including a midstage curtain for which the audience is able to see both front and back and some disconcerting effects that serve as a stirring reminder of the loss to come.
Lincoln Clauss plays the Emcee and has the audience hanging on every word, breath, and pause. Polar opposite to his effervescent host is Alan Chandler’s Clifford Bradshaw in an earnest, naive portrayal that truly aches. Sally Bowles is in the hands of Hamilton alum Joanna A. Jones, a triple threat who effectively captures the performer’s manipulations and charisma.
Bruce Sabath as Herr Schultz and Kelly Lester as Fräulein Schneider in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
At the show’s emotional center are Kelly Lester and Bruce Sabath as Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz; their relationship, initially sweet and untouched by the opinions of others, ultimately feels the strain of the encroaching political turmoil and, as always, this shift is heartbreaking.
Alex Gibson also does a stellar job as the boyish and sweet Ernst Ludwig, making the character’s eventual unveiling even more sinister as a reminder of what is to come.
The cast also includes Christian Douglass (Max), Yoni Haller (Herman), Brandon Halvorsen (Victor), Leeds Hill (Hans), Karma Jenkins (Texas), Celeste Lanuza (Frenchie), Trina Mills (Helga), Natalia Nieves-Melchor (Lulu), Michael Seltzer (Bobby), Amy Smith (Rosie), and swings/understudies Emily Bordley, Christine Hewitt, Kaitlyn Mayse, John Rosen, and John Viso.
The production’s wide array of period appropriate costumes are designed by Alejo Vietti and well fitted to all performers. In particular, their opening number blacks are striking in their well-balanced variance.
The cast of Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Lights and sound are also both additive to the production, and I was particularly drawn to the intentional spotlighting, ambient, and stage fixture effects used throughout the show. These elements are under the design of Cory Pattack and Paul Vaillancourt (Lighting) and Haley Parcher (Sound) as well as Music Director Robert Meffe.
All in all, this solid production of Cabaret is worth catching in its run at The Old Globe through October 8.