Review-Cabaret

So, I managed to get to a performance of Cabaret at Spotlighters recently. I will say this much, most of the reviews I had read previously to attending were mixed, mainly due to the physical limitations at Spotlighters. Coming in, I didn't really know what to expect, and I left feeling the same way. In some ways, the fact that Spotlighters is a very small space located under a hotel in downtown Baltimore could have been a great place to stage this show. I was proven wrong.

First off, it might just be my own preference, but performers roaming around before the show actually begins has gotten quite tired, no? I feel like any show that has been attempting to look "edgy" or "different" immediately means breaking the fourth wall. When I enter the theatre, I want time to pick up my ticket, possibly grab a drink, take my seat and read through the program. I do not need to be accosted by 1930's club workers, thank you very much. It isn't just this production, but I've seen the same thing happen with productions of Sweeney Todd and RENT. It is wonderful that directors break down the fourth wall and add something new to a production, but it has been done a million times over at this point. Granted, Spotlighters is very cramped and also in the round, but why not just keep the actors backstage until showtime?

Cabaret is by far one of my favorite musicals, it is set in Nazi Germany, and deals with American writer Cliff Bradshaw. He travels to Berlin and meets Sally Bowles, the star performer in the Kit Kat Club Revue. They have a sordid affair, which leaves Cliff reeling at the end of the show. I'd write more of a synopsis, but if you don't know "Cabaret" then you should be ashamed. It is a beautiful and complex piece.

The only standout performance is delivered by one Tim Elliot. While, in recent years, the Emcee is generally a skinny, over the top ladyboy, Mr.Elliot stands out. He delivers a knockout performance that balances the commanding power of the character, as well as his flamboyance and few rather serious bits. Congrats to Tim in a production that was, for the most part, disappointing.

I had an unfortunate seat located near one of the four vertical support beams that surrounds the stage, which left me annoyed having to strain my neck to see what was happening. The choreography was different, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. There is a reason Bob Fosse was hired in the first place for this show...to create movement for these nightclub performerrs that is sleazy and not overdanced. Melissa McGinley does a good job, but overdoes it at times, and seeing as some of the ensemble are not meant to be dancers, the choreo sometimes falls short.

For the most part, the Kit Kat Club dancers are a rag-tag group. It looks more to me like the audition turnout didn't have much to choose from male wise, and they did what they could to fill in the cast. The women of the "Klub" manage to get things right, having stronger dance skills and genereally, better characterization. The men, though trying, just look out of place most of the time.

Aaron Dalton and Lynn McCormick as Cliff and Sally, don't quite have a hold of their characters. The fact that both never seem to delve into the twisted nature of these people leads me to think that direction time was spent more on trying to conquer the physical limitations of the theatre rather than exploring characters. Towards the end of the show, we get a slight glimpse of how great the performances could have been, but it might be due to the extremity of the script. Suzanne Young and Jim Hart as Schneider and Schultz give touching performances. They have settled into their characters quite nicely, especially when there is a pineapple involved.

Michael Tan serves as musical director. The cast sounds decent, but the 3 piece put doesn't quite serve the needs of the score, and there is a general disconnect between the music and the cast, which will rip an audience member out of willing suspension of disbelief faster than one can say "Wilkommen".

Overall, this production relies too much on stock direction choices which have been made to try and fit the difficult space of the theatre. It wanted to be fantastic, but leaves one feeling generally confused by the time it is over. Also, because of the incessant pre-show interaction with the audience in such a small space (I'm aware that the emcee addresses the audience...once the show has b.e.g.u.n.) seeing the performers after the show in street clothes is awkward. I give it a C-, and if it weren't for Tim Elliot's insanely well done performance, I'd say skip this production. It is a FAR cry from Todd Starkey's brilliant mounting of the show for Phoenix Festival Theatre a few years back.