Everything about the revival of “Cabaret” is pitch perfect and with the re-election of trump, a Hitler wannabe to the American presidency, the message is ever so timely.
Upon arrival, the audience is creatively whisked back in time to set the mood for the show. For 75 to 60 minutes before showtime, we were treated to both an upstairs bar and a 3-course meal with a bottle of Moet champagne — for my sister, I still don’t drink. During the meal, there were fun tableside calls with the stars of the show, who remain in character for the chats. The gal on the other end of the line with me was Mimi Scardulla, who plays Texas. She flirtatiously commented on my tattoos and asked me to describe each one. She even noticed that I had missed one and asked about it. The calls are a nice touch that create an instant intimacy between the cast and the VIP members of the audience, who are seated around the stage. Mimi later brought me on stage do a shimmy with her and the rest of cast, which was mad fun.
For those of you, like me, that have never “Cabaret” the play or the movie, the play is based on the works of novelist Christopher Isherwood, who spent time living in Weimer Germany during the late 1920’s. Isherwood, who was bisexual, lived with the British actress Jean Ross and felt he could more freely express and explore his sexuality in Berlin. But he and his contemporaries were forced to flee Germany in 1932, when the Nazi Party were on the brink of seizing power. He first penned a short story called “Sally Bowles” about his relationship with Jean then wrote the novel “Goodbye to Berlin”, which memorialized his time in Berlin. In 1951, the play “I Am A Camera” was made of the novel with “Cabaret” the musical following in 1966.
For the musical, the story centers almost solely around the novelist Clifford Bradshaw’s’ —played in his version by Calvin Leon Smith —relationship with Sally Bowles and the doomed love story between Fräulein Schneider, an older Germany woman, who owns the boarding house Brian and Sally reside in and Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit vendor. Both of these relationships are deeply and negatively impacted by the impending Nazi takeover. In 1972, the musical made it to the screen with Liza Minelli winning an Oscar as the vapid Sally Bowles, who just wants life to be “a cabaret.” Seeing the play and realizing the full context of this song after a lifetime of hearing it, was chilling. I had so many friends I have had to cut out of my life, who like Sally, want to put their heads in the sand and have life just be a party while our country is falling into a hate-filled, cesspool with a criminally insane, wannabe dictator and his crazed henchpeople readying to take the helm. I could totally relate to Clifford’s reaction to Sally’s consistent vapidness and lack of integrity.
I literally had a full-bodied cry at the intermission with the thought that we, here in America, were ten days away from an election that would decide whether we would continue to live in a democracy or become a fascist dictatorship. In the final scene before the intermission, we learn during the engagement party of Schuulz and Schnieder that Ernst Ludwig, their supposed friend, is a Nazi and there are tons of Nazis in their mist had me thinking of MAGA trump supporters and how so many once decent folks are now a part of the racist, fascist, misogynistic, xenophobic, trump cult. I wept for the Jewish community in Nazi Germany, who had no idea of the terror that Hitler would bring and the parallel with the horrors that a second trump term would bring. Unfortunately, those tears were later justified.
I missed seeing this revival with Eddie Redmayne as the MC. But I am glad that I did. Because Adam Lambert‘s vocal chops are one-of-a-kind and not to be missed. He was totally incredible and Tony-worthy and I can’t imagine that Eddie was better. I hope Adam does more Broadway shows in the future. Because I will never miss an opportunity to see him live again. During our performance, Paige Smallwood, the understudy to Auli’i Cravalho, played Sally. She was so incredible that I also can’t imagine what Auli’i brings that is more than her understudy, who left it all on that circular stage. She might want to rethink being out too often because Paige killed it.
The production design is bare bones with the lighting doing most of the work to create the ambience of a 1930’s Germany club in the early days of Hitler’s and the Nazi’s takeover of Germany.
Both me and my sister were completely blown away by this show. She has seen every version of “Cabaret” including the first one and said that she felt this was the best. I highly, highly recommend this show and also suggest that you splurge and buy the premium seats for the full Kit Kat Club experience.
