To paraphrase a line from the title song of Cabaret , "what good is sitting alone in your room
." when you can enjoy a fabulous evening in Berlin's Kit Kat Club? The Milwaukee Repertory Theater finally has opened the most-anticipated show of Milwaukee's fall theater season. The production represents a number of "firsts": first musical on the Quadracci Powerhouse stage, first production by new artistic director Mark Clements, largest cast ever to perform on this stage and first-time collaboration with one of the city's other performing arts organizations, the Milwaukee Ballet.
At first, the audience is drawn into the world of the decadent Kit Kat Club, a seedy cabaret in 1929 Berlin. The opening number features a gaudily dressed emcee that in this production -- descends from a chandelier. "Willkommen," he sings. The Emcee takes us into Berlin's sexually charged underworld. His purpose, he says, is to provide entertainment a break from daily worries. The fantasy is heightened by telephones at each table. Club members can "ring up" each other to invite them over for a drink, a dance or whatever.
Cabaret began as a Broadway musical in 1966 and has seen a number of revivals in subsequent years. Most people will remember the 1972 film starring Liza Minnelli as songstress Sally Bowles and Joel Grey as the emcee. While this production won't erase memories of Grey (more on this later), it introduces the stunning talents of Kelley Faulkner. She is Sally in all her glory: hard-as-nails one minute, young and vulnerable the next. As Sally, she has a way of charming men into doing exactly what she wants. This ability comes in handy with the arrival of an American novelist, Clifford Bradshaw (Geoffrey Hemingway). Bradshaw is deliberately underplayed to give Sally the spotlight, literally.
Faulkner has a voice powerful enough to bring down the house, although the audience doesn't see full evidence of this until her poignant rendition of the title song in Act II.
Thankfully, musicals are a specialty of the new artistic director, Mark Clements. He demonstrates his finesse throughout the evening. For instance, he does an excellent job of subtly blurring the characters and scenes. For instance, the Kit Kat "boys" double as sailors on leave, as well as soldiers. Scenes also dissolve from one location to another. The result is a dreamlike effect that underscores the characters' denial. Many of the German characters ignore the Nazis as one more political party. Sally believes her carefree lifestyle will go on forever. Cliff resists thinking about much less talking about his bisexuality.
Clements vowed to focus more attention on the musical's older couple, and he does. As Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz, Linda Stephens and Jonathan Gillard Daly make a sweetly matched pair. She is a rooming-house owner; he has a fruit shop on the corner. Their old-fashioned, slow-paced romance is one of the show's highlights. It is a nice counterpoint to the "impulsive" nature of relationships at the Kit Kat Club.
Stephens, who has the larger part of the two characters, is particularly mesmerizing. She easily captures the audience's hearts in a nicely done version of, "So what?" Although not one of the show's strongest numbers, "So what?" stands out as a clue to this character's perspective on life.
After several more scenes involving Fraulein Schneider (including some very funny stand-offs with one of her female tenants), Schneider is at the center of an engagement party. The show's humor ends suddenly when a friend and political insider points out that her upcoming marriage to Herr Schultz is "unadvisable." She faces a heart-wrenching decision. Should she risk all that she owns for the sake of happiness? She doesn't care that Schultz is Jewish. Even Schultz points out that being Jewish doesn't make him less of a German. He cannot imagine that anyone would see him otherwise (more denial). Despite his cajoling, Schneider lets her fears win out. Frustrated and deflated after calling off the marriage, she sings that she is "not at war with anybody."
Back at the Kit Kat Club, the chorus "boys" and "girls" continue to add spice to the evening's entertainment. Choreographer Michael Pink, who is also artistic director of the Milwaukee Ballet, adds some eye-popping dance moves. Fans of the late choreographer Bob Fosse will be pleased.
(In general, the production's sexuality simmers rather than boils. However, make no mistake: this is not a show for children. Parents who ignore this advice may have a lot of explaining to do on the way home.)
One disappointment is a strained performance by actor Lee Ernst. Known as one of the state's finest actors, Ernst has the capability to meet any acting challenges. He plays the pivotal role of the Emcee (the character performed by Joel Grey). But on opening night, Ernst seemed unable to muster the necessary mix of joie de vivre and uber-decadence that the Emcee demands. It doesn't help that the theater not designed for musicals has no follow spots to help conjure a dark, smoky atmosphere in the Kit Kat Club. Throughout the show, everything appears to be drenched in bright sunlight.
Quibbles aside, Cabaret is a brassy, sassy delight in the first half and a sobering historical reminder in the second. The sets and the costumes, in particular - are amazing. However, they don't overshadow the show's final, disturbing tableaux. It reminds us of the horrific influence the Nazis brought to that part of the world.
