Theatre Arlington presents Cabaret

Book by Joe Masteroff

Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood

Music by John Kander

Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Directed by Sharon Kaye Miller and Steven D. Morris

Music Directed by Vonda K. Bowling

Choreography by Lori Woods

Stage Manager Maria Leon Hickox

Asst Stage Manager Michael Green

Scenic/Lighting Design Bryan Stevenson

Sound Design Ryan Simon

Costume Design Karen Potter

Properties Design Robin Dotson

KitKat Club Orchestra

Piano/Conductor Vonda K. Bowling

Trumpet Carlos Strudwick

Reeds Christian Gonzalez

Bass Sal Bollinger

Bass Andrew Goins

Drums/Percussion Michael Ptacin

Drums/Percussion Ashley Westgate

Cast

Seth Paden

Presley Duyck

Micah JL Brooks

Deborah Brown

Steven D. Morris

Andrew Nicolas

Alexandra Zeto

KitKat Girls

Tilda Grace

Kynzi Gumm

Donovan Marie Lawson

Candice Proctor

Arianna Reed

Jayden Russell

Ensemble

Steven Rios

Karl Martin

Landry Beckley

Nick McGeoy

Jalen Xavier

Kimberly Turner

Efren Parades

My thoughts on Cabaret…. a 1930’s story through a 1960’s lens

For those of us who have seen nothing but the 1996 revival version of Cabaret for the past 28 years, Theatre Arlington’s production of the original musical is puzzling at first. You sit there thinking, “That never happened” or “Where is this and that and there’s not a song here.” However, once you settle in to this slightly gentler, slower paced Cabaret, you will appreciate its difference and its power. The original emphasizes the story over provocative staging and of course no one had the images from the Bob Fosse film in their head in 1966.

Directors Sharon Kaye Miller and Steven D. Morris are faithful to the original staging of the musical, but the stage design is modernized a bit by Bryan Stevenson, who also provides the lighting. Two moveable staircases lead to an upper-level bridge. There is a cold, metallic look to the structure that foreshadows the horrid events looming in the near future as the Weimar Republic ends and the Nazis come to power.

There’s no coldness coming from Music Director’s Vonda K. Bowling’s red hot band that keeps the Kit Kat Club jumping and backs up all the ballads beautifully as well. This was the first time in a long while that I observed many people in the audience staying until the very end of the exit music to show their appreciation to the band. Why does this not happen more often? Do you really have to get out of the theater that fast just to sit in your car waiting your turn in the parking lot?

Also red hot in this production are the Kit Kat Club girls who execute Choreographer Lori Woods’s fast moving dance steps flawlessly in their skimpy period perfect costumes from Karen Potter. As the Emcee says, “the girls are beautiful.” and those beautiful girls include Tilda Grace, Kynzi Gumm, Donovan Marie Lawson, Candice Proctor, Arianna Reed, and Jayden Russell. By the way, that’s Tilda Grace in the ape costume.

In the supporting role of Ernst Ludwig, Andrew Nicolas is scarily good as the smuggler aiding the cause of the Third Reich. To watch Nicolas’s Ludwig change from jovial friend to swastika brandishing Nazi singing “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” and threatening people he once cared about is chilling and a skillful piece of acting.

Encouraging Ernst Ludwig to join in that Nazi anthem, is Alexandra Zeto as Fraulein Kost. Until that moment, Fraulein Kost has been a mostly semi-comic character, desperate for money and trying to keep her landlady from seeing all the sailors or “nephews” that she entertains in her room. Zeto is excellent in the role, whether sparring with Fraulein Schneider or brazenly belting the salute to the fuehrer.

A major difference in the original 1966 Cabaret is the greatly expanded roles of Herr Schultz and Fraulein Schneider, played here by Steven D. Morris and Deborah Brown. We get much more of their backstories and care about the characters more deeply than in the later version.

Morris is heartbreaking as the gentlemanly Jewish fruit dealer, who believes that the Nazi threat will pass and that he is a German himself. Morris brings real charm to the song “Meeskite” and to his scenes with his fiancé and landlady Fraulein Schneider.

What a treasure Deborah Brown is as Fraulein Schneider. Her gorgeous voice brings so much to her solos “So What?" and “What Would You Do?” She is both delightfully funny and quietly moving as the German landlady who loses a last chance at love because she cannot marry a Jewish man. Brown projects warmth and evokes pity as the character.

Another greatly expanded role in the 1966 version is Clifford Bradshaw. Bradshaw is a young American novelist who movies to Berlin to find inspiration for a new novel and instead finds a decaying society and doomed romance. Micah JL Brooks is an impressive Cliff. I admired how he initially made Cliff wide eyed with wonder at the decadence of Berlin and then transitioned to a more serious character as he recognizes the danger around him. Brooks’s Cliff also has a winning rapport with Sally and his growing love for her feels genuine. Brooks is blessed with a wonderfully deep, resonant voice that, as Sally would say, is “perfectly marvelous.” (Every time I hear Brooks speak, the frustrated casting director in me wants to see him do Henry V)

Sally Bowles. It’s tough to play a role that will forever be identified with an icon, but Presley Duyck is up to the challenge. The 1996 Cabaret is much closer to the source material and demands that the acting be as excellent as the singing. Presley Duyck as Sally acts her gin swilling, live for today, butt off here. It’s as if you can look into her mind and see the naive girl underneath the street wise facade. Duyck builds the character from the frivolously enticing performer begging us comically to “Don’t Tell Mama” to an almost frightening, life is spiraling out of control, version of the title song. This is a Sally Bowles you won’t forget. My one regret is that this Cabaret does not include the song “Maybe This Time” which is such a great, character defining song for Sally and is the kind of song Duyck would have brought the house down with.

Seth Paden is the Emcee. Although made famous by Joel Grey, it has come to be more closely identified with Alan Cumming’s antics in the revival, a sort of teasing, pansexual ringmaster, taunting the other characters as well as the audience. Paden’s Emcee is a lithe and limber malevolent spirit, a harbinger of the doom that lies ahead. He’s a sort of devilish catalyst, a wicked black cat that may show up anywhere. The fun and frolic are a guise because his Emcee knows where it’s all leading. Paden has an incredible rock star voice that is both thrilling and seductive, perfect for this role. That voice, those moves, and that delicious covert maliciousness sets Paden’s Emcee apart from all the rest.

Rounding out the cast is a terrific ensemble. They play multiple parts during the musical and act, sing, and dance like the pros they are. The ensemble includes Steven Rios, Karl Martin (Martin has a terrific solo in “Tomorrow Belongs to Me”), Landry Beckley, Nick McGeoy, Efren Parades, Jalen Xavier, and Kimberly Turner.

Directors Sharon Kaye Miller and Steven D. Morris and Music Director Vonda K. Bowling pay homage here to Kander and Ebb and Harold Prince and do it splendidly. This Cabaret is both gritty and glitzy. It is a rare chance to see the musical as it was originally intended to be staged and not to be missed by anyone who loves musical theater. “Come taste the wine, come hear the band" at Theatre Arlington. You must see this Cabaret, old chum!

Photography by Jacob Oderberg