Cabaret @ The Hanna Theatre 10/07/11
Reviewed by Laura Kennelly
Great Lakes Theater’s Cabaret, a musical playing in rotation with Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, glories in dark story lines and the pessimism of author Christopher Isherwood (stories drawn from his own adventures in pre-World War II Germany shape the plot). But the inevitable, tragic ending to Isherwood’s carefree and youthful romp through 1930s Berlin doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of this musical (and that it doesn’t disconcertingly suggests our time may not be that different). It’s a stylish, intelligent, and fast-moving quick dance/march through history as interpreted by the considerable talents of director Victoria Bussert, music director Matthew Webb, choreographer Gregory Daniels, and scenic designer Jeff Herrmann.
Neil Brookshire as Clifford Bradshaw (an Isherwood stand-in whose viewpoint controls the story) and Jodi Dominick as his gal pal Sally Bowles convincingly show how complicit their seemingly hapless characters are in a shared and self-destructive pursuit of pleasure. Dominick, in a blood-red gown, gives an affecting, more-beaten-than-defiant, rasping version of the title song that makes Liza Minnelli’s film version sound like a solo from Glee.
The doomed love between Herr Schultz (John Woodson) and Fraulein Schneider (Laura Perrotta) beautifully illustrates how well these two fine actors can touch hearts and make loss seem palpable. But ah, the numerous Kit-Kat Klub scenes, fueled by a small musical ensemble, lovely and vulgar dancers, great costumes, and a properly decadent Master of Ceremonies (Eduardo Placer) all provide a guilty pleasure as the audience in the theatre becomes, in effect, the 1930s audience–all too ready for a spot of fun. And it is fun.
Yes, even though it’s a musical tragedy (as opposed to sunnier versions of life seen in musical comedies), it’s still a great ride almost all the way to the end (and you can blame history if you don’t like the way it turns out).
Cabaret runs through Thu 10/27 at the Hanna Theatre at Playhouse Square.
[Photo: Actors Laura Perrotta (as Fraulein Schneider) and John Woodson (as Herr Schultz) take center stage in Great Lakes Theater’s production of Cabaret at the Hanna Theatre. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni.)]
Laura Kennelly is a freelance arts journalist, a member of the Music Critics Association of North America, and an associate editor of BACH, a scholarly journal devoted to J. S. Bach and his circle.
Listening to and learning more about music has been a life-long passion. She knows there’s no better place to do that than the Cleveland area.