I'm glad Bev seemed to like our production, particularly since the Music Circus production of "Cabaret" was no doubt still fresh in her mind (she reviewed that show for the Davis Enterprise as well). I also liked her use of the adjective 'bone-chilling' to describe Robert Coverdell's 'Tomorrow Belongs To Me.' I remember, from seeing DMTC's show in 2000, that that song can have a tremendous impact on the audience, but since I'm part of the ensemble singing the song together with Robert, I find it very hard to gauge its impact on the audience. The song should flash-freeze the bones, and I'm glad to read that it does!
Life is a 'Cabaret,' ol' chum!
Local company delivers a lively rendition of darkly ironic musical
Author: Bev Sykes
Enterprise drama critic
Between 1929 and 1933, Christopher Isherwood lived in Berlin, which formed the backdrop for chronicles he wrote on his return to London and published as "The Berlin Stories."
One such tale, that of writer Clifford Bradshaw and cabaret singer Sally Bowles, was dramatized by John Van Druten as the play, "I am a Camera," later made into a 1955 British film with Julie Harris and Laurence Harvey.
In 1966, John Kander and Fred Ebb won a Tony Award for their musical version of this material, which they called "Cabaret." The musical, of course, became an enormously popular film vehicle for Liza Minnelli and Joel Gray in 1972.
In 1993, director Sam Mendes revived the Kander/Ebb musical for his cabaret theater and gave it a darker, harder edge, emphasizing the decadence of the period. By the time the show moved to Broadway, where it enjoyed another successful run, the production — while still maintaining the darker feel — had lost a bit of the "edge" that it possessed in the smaller venue. The tunes were so familiar to the American public that it was difficult to keep patrons "down" for two hours.
The Davis Musical Theatre Company opened its 2005-06 season Friday with the Kander/Ebb version of "Cabaret." Set in Berlin in 1930, just before the Nazis come to power, the action takes place at the Kit Kat Club, a seedy nightclub where one goes to escape the reality of life.
"Leave your troubles outside," purrs the Emcee, played by Ryan Adame.
While not actually a part of the story, this master of ceremonies is the unifying character who brings all the action together, and Adame is perfect in the role. With a garish, white clownish face and lascivious manner, he commands attention.
Cliff is played by Ryan Favorite, last seen as Lun Tha in "The King and I." While we caught a hint of Favorite's talent in that earlier show, he truly shines in "Cabaret."
The character of Cliff has endured many permutations over the history of this story, being heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual, depending on the particular version or director. Director Steve Isaacson's Cliff is unquestionably heterosexual, and the chemistry between him and Sally (Jessica Hammon) is authentic and believable.
Hammon is a bubbly Sally, with a huge smile. Her British accent isn't always spot-on, but she inhabits the character and has a terrific voice, especially while belting out the title song. She needs to learn about stepping into the spotlight, however, as half of this big number was sung with her face in shadows.
DMTC veteran Mary Young delivers the kind of performance we've come to expect from her as Fraulein Schneider, who runs the boarding house where Cliff takes up residence. Fraulein Schneider has a larger role to play in the stage version of this story, and her romance with another boarder, Herr Schultz (William Hedge), is quite tender, especially in their lovely duet, "Married."
Hedge, making his DMTC debut, is very good as the old Jewish greengrocer whose heart belongs to his landlady. He gives her special bits of fruit as if they were diamonds.
Heather Sheridan, a boarder who has a lot of "gentleman callers," has some projection problems, but otherwise she does a good job.
Michael Manly, in his return to DMTC after a nine-year absence, is quite good as Ernst Ludwig, the German smuggler who befriends Cliff. Wendy Young makes a fetching gorilla (in "If You Could See Her Through My Eyes"), and Robert Coverdell sings a smashing rendition of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," the bone-chilling song that epitomizes the rise of the Nazi Party.
Michael Miiler choreographs the show, with lighting design by Isaacson and Dannette Vassar. Jeannie Henderson does her usual outstanding job of costume design; the gown for Sally's closing number is spectacular.
"Cabaret" is an entertaining evening of theater which — everyone hopes! — genuinely is the final DMTC show to be presented at the Varsity Theater.
Copyright, 2005, The Davis Enterprise. All Rights Reserved.
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