A whistle blast and the driving pulse of a locomotive deliver American writer Cliff Bradshaw to Berlin on New Year's Eve, 1929. As he settles in to write his first novel, the city seduces the young writer, drawing him into the decadent world of English Cabaret singer Sally Bowles, his no-nonsense German landlady, Fraulein Schneider, and her naive Jewish gentleman friend, Herr Schultz. Cliff foresees the impending horror but his friends either deny the inevitable or accept it blindly. Since he can neither help his friends nor change history, a battered and bruised Cliff flees Berlin as it falls around him. Strong response to these well-drawn characters continually make this a popular show.
Based upon Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories and John Van Druten's play, "I Am a Camera," this Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, Score and Best Revival (it's also an Oscar-winning film) is approached with honesty and authenticity by Jeff Award-winning director/choreographer Jim Corti. This production is primarily based upon the original 1966 stage version, and offers the fresh, idealized look of the glamorous Hollywood films of the early 1930s.
As the Emcee, Patrick Andrews has a unique combination of sweet innocence, movie-star power and blatant lewdness that makes his portrayal so haunting. Rebecca Finnegan ably demonstrates the strength and objectivity that has enabled Fraulein Schneider to persevere through the years. It is only when she lowers her guard that she becomes vulnerable and must rebuild the wall around herself. Christine Sherrill is both funny and frightening as the fiercely aggressive hooker, Fraulein Kost. And Zarah Mahler is brilliant as the impulsive, naive Sally Bowles, taking us on an emotional journey through the show's title song - even as all the action happening around her threatens to upstage the performance.
Jim Weitzer's Cliff is likable, but at times he pushes too hard and and his enthusiasm seems inappropriate. Corti smartly stages Cliff at or near his typewriter most of the time, always with several onlookers around him, constantly reminding us that we're viewing this story through the author's eyes and ears. In this fresh approach we witness the writer's dreamlike images as they turn into nightmares, and the musical ends as it began...with the haunting whistle of a train.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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