MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS – Part 15b
THE TOP TEN – #4
NOTE: Due to the length of this entry,
I'm dividing it into two parts. This is part two of two.
REVIVAL:
1998
CABARET REDUX
In 1998,
"inspired by" (IBDB.com's words) the 1993 Donmar Warehouse
production, the superb Roundabout Theatre Company opened a brilliant, radically
revised, thrillingly reconceived and staged production of Cabaret that paid homage to the iconic original while at the same
time gave the property a makeover from top to bottom. As directed by Sam Mendes
and Rob Marshall with choreography by Marshall, this was a sleazier, dirtier,
far sexier Cabaret, stripped of the
traditional trappings of realistic sets and fourth wall conventionality. Almost
against your will, you were drawn into this world of decadence and decay, but
the cheerfully immoral Emcee was so sexy and carefree and inviting, it was hard
to resist him…and you didn't. At its core, the story is the same. It's still
about two couples, Cliff and Sally and Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz, in
1930 Berlin. But where in the original there was a definite divide between the
book scenes and the cabaret numbers, in this version, the lines blurred and not
always successfully. I never liked the Emcee being inserted into "It
Couldn't Please Me More" by holding up a pineapple. I thought having one
of the girls, Fritzie, who also played Kost, sing a large portion of
"Married" in German was a mistake. In both instances, it took the
focus away from the characters the focus should have been on, Schneider and
Schultz. The buttoned-up heterosexuality of the original was blown to
smithereens with the new sexual fluidity pervading throughout this version. Boys kissed boys
(!!). The Emcee played with anyone. Cliff was no longer a straight boy, giving
the Cliff/Sally relationship a new dynamic. Instead of the Kit Kat Klub Kittens
and a pit orchestra, an onstage group of über-talented actor-musicians formed
the orchestra and were an intergral part of the action. Adding "I Don't
Care Much," cut from the original production during tryouts, was just what
was needed at the point near the end of the show when Cliff and Sally have
their final fight. Not everything, however, was an improvement. The film's
"Mein Herr" replaced "The Telephone Song." It's a great
song, but two solos by Sally within a few minutes came off as two solos by
Sally, didn't move the story forward, wasn't necessary, and "Don't Tell
Mama" is the superior number anyhow. I hated the staging and use of a
recording for "Tomorrow Belongs to Me." Replacing the gorgeous
"Why Should I Wake Up?" with the film's "Maybe This Time,"
yet another solo for Sally, oddly staged within the Kit Kat Klub, not only
robbed Cliff of his only solo, but, lyrically, seemed at odds with Sally's
bohemian attitude. To be honest, the addition of the two Liza solos from the
film added nothing to the show except time and both could be excised without
any negative effect. And for the record, "Money," adapted from the
film's "Money, Money," fits the vision of this revival, but I missed
the over-the-top fun of "Sitting Pretty." The ending with the Emcee
wearing a concentration camp uniform with a yellow star and pink triangle was
inconsistent with the time frame unless the intent was to show what would happen
in the near future. Time inaccuracy notwithstanding, it was powerful and
unnerving. In this version, there was a push to elevate the Emcee from a
supporting character to the male lead, but no matter how hard they tried, it's
not the Emcee's story and he is not the
lead. Perhaps surprisingly, in the 1998 Cabaret,
Cliff now became the eyes and moral compass of the show. Interesting and it
worked. At the 1998 Tony Awards, Cabaret
picked up four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.
Very light printing. We were in the front mezzanine for this performance which was modified table seating. Not the most comfortable and more than a bit cramped.
December, 1998. Tony winner Alan Cumming was out of the Sunday matinee.
The initial disappointment lasted only until midway through the opening number
because understudy Vance Avery was simply wowing the capacity audience with a
sexy, decadent performance. He was outstanding. Full stop. Making her Broadway
debut as Sally Bowles was film's Jennifer Jason Leigh. The critics dismissed
her as being talented, but somewhat colorless. I thought she was sensational.
There was a vulnerability, a cluelessness about her that I found appealing.
Nothing was overstated. Her performance wasn't as obviously out there as Misses
Hart and Cronyn were in the tours of the original production, and certainly not
as big and SALLY as Minnelli in the film. She sang and danced with a simplicity
that made you believe she was a third-rate performer working in a third-rate
club. I loved her. Ron Rifkin was on
hand to show us why he won the Tony Award for his portrayal of Herr Schultz and
Blair Brown brought a satisfying depth to Fraulein Schneider. Rounding out the
principal cast were Michele Pawk (Fraulein Kost), Denis O'Hare (Ernst), and
John Benjamin Hickey (Cliff), all talented pros giving exemplary performances. I was
enthralled. – at Studio 54, New York
About
Studio 54: The (in)famous Studio 54, actually started out as the Gallo Opera
House, then became a CBS radio and television studio, and then, in the disco
era became the most famous nightclub of its time, Studio 54, famed for music,
drugs, and its celebrity clientele. Cabaret
fit right in, though the table seating in the front mezzanine was less than
ideally comfortable. In a more traditional theatre setting, Studio 54 is a
comfortable venue seating about one thousand with a very large mezzanine that
makes things seem a bit far away. We try to stick to the orchestra.
Terrific location. Really, really up close and personal.
Hey!
It Was For Charity: Twice a year, the theatre community bands together
and collects funds for the wonderful Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. As a
charity, it has done tremendous work in the fight against AIDS, and I'm proud
to be a frequent contributor. Prior to the start of the show, some Kit Kat
Girls, Kit Kat Boys, and band members were soliciting contributions in exchange
for a photo, a chaste kiss, well, you get the picture. Anyhow, since Lois and I
were inches from the stage, one of Kit Kat Girls and a very hot band member,
and he was holding his…instrument, a sax, I believe, came over to our table,
and KKG said, "Would you like to spank me for $20 dollars?" And, I'm
sure it was the drink I was enjoying that made me say this, but I smiled and
replied, "No, thank you. I'd rather spank him!," pointing to the
aforementioned very hot band member holding his instrument. Well, they both
cracked up, and, yes, I spanked the very hot band member holding his instrument
in front of one thousand people, thus making my Broadway debut, as it were.
Hey…it was for a worthy cause, dammit! For the record, this sort of thing does not happen at Mean Girls!
All the table seating made for some nice atmosphere, but was cramped and seriously lacking in comfort.
August, 2002. This time around John Stamos, Molly Ringwald, Polly
Bergen, and Hal Linden were heading up the cast. Pros all, but somehow this
particular cast didn't strike the emotional core of the show. All of them got
there at the end, but it was a curiously unsatisfying show until the last few
scenes. John Stamos as the Emcee was more John Stamos than Emcee for much of
the evening, perhaps pandering a bit too much to his Full House fans who greeted his entrance with ecstatic applause.
Once he got to "If You Could See Her" and "I Don't Care
Much," he found his particular voice as the Emcee and was chillingly cold,
yet still sexily appealing. Molly Ringwald's Sally was more The Breakfast Club than bawdy, decadent
denizen of Berlin's louche nightlife society.
However, by the time she got to the title tune and the final
confrontation with Cliff, she was so devastatingly defeated and so emotionally
lost, you, as an audience member, felt her pain. Old, reliable veterans Polly
Bergen and Hal Linden got better as the evening progressed, with Berger
delivering a solid "What Would You Do?" This was not my favorite
cast, but the show's final moments still gave me the chills. – at Studio 54,
New York
– Lyric Theatre,
London
January, 2008. Definitely not the 1966 original. Not even the 1998
revival, for that matter. Using the 1998 edition as its musical and dialogue blueprint,
this production, directed by Rufus Norris, who directed the appallingly awful Festen a couple of years earlier, amped
up the sleaze, the tawdriness, the sexiness of the piece to the max giving us a
production that was decidedly down-market in approach, yet fascinating in
execution. There was even some full-frontal male nudity. Didn't get that at Studio 54. Or the Shubert. Or
Stroud. Some songs were shifted. The train scene between Ernst and Cliff was
brilliantly incorporated into ”Willkommen." "Tomorrow Belongs to
Me," which closed Act One, was sung while cast members facing upstage
were shown naked in examples of Aryan physical perfection. And at the finale, the
cast quietly stripped and huddled together upstage, naked and shivering in the
falling snow of a Nazi concentration camp. And if you don't think that didn't
pack the proverbial one-two punch, think again. Julian Clary, a huge star in
the UK, played the Emcee with flair. Amy Nuttall (Sally), Brit favorites Angela
Richards (Frl. Schneider) and Barry James (Herr Schultz), Steven Cree (Cliff),
Michael Beckley (Ernst), and Valerie Cutko (Frl. Kost) provided excellent
support. This was a cold show, virtually bereft of warmth, exceptions being the
scenes between Schneider and Schultz, and was sometimes jarring, but it was
never dull and more than occasionally brilliant. – at the Lyric Theatre, London
The Lyric's balcony is way, waaaayyyy up there! Thankfully we were in the Stalls. The Lyric is the oldest playhouse on Shaftesbury Avenue, opening in December, 1888!
– Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire, IL
Cabaret is NOT about a bowler hat and a chair. STOP IT!
March, 2014. What I liked: the male ensemble's
"Tomorrow Belongs to Me," the briefcase business during "The
Money Song," the finale to Act One. What I didn't like: pretty much
everything else. Sanitized and not at all sexy, it's unclear why Marriott chose
to produce the 1998 Broadway revival since they excised all the edginess out of
it. I suspect it had a great deal to do with being able to perform the revised
1998 song line-up inclusion of "Mein Herr," "Maybe This
Time," and "I Don't Care Much," none of which were remarkable.
Director David H. Bell delivered a muted, bland production with muddy
choreography by Matt Raftery, uninteresting acting and indifferent singing.
Nancy Missimi's costumes looked as though she pulled the stock from
Marriott's Thoroughly Modern Millie and called it a day. There
were no surprises, not a single "wow" moment and it was about as
dangerous as a Disney movie. The most hysterical moment occurred early in the
proceedings when Bobby and Cliff kissed. A gasp went through the audience. I'm
serious. A gasp. Really? People, it's 2014!
Geez! Everything was very professional, but very dull. A decided disappointment. - at
the Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire IL
– Studio 54, New
York
March, 2014. Let me state right off that bat, that while
I'm a huge fan of the 1966 original, I'm simply wild about this darker, sexier
version, with the reservations noted at the top of this post. Having said that,
however, what was a revelation at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 1993 and
then in New York in 1998 now seems a bit tired. Bringing absolutely nothing new
to the proceedings, this was a slavish replica of the original Roundabout
production. Alan Cumming wasn't exactly phoning it in, but he wasn't exactly
fresh either. Michelle Williams, in her Broadway debut, however, was a fine
Sally and delivered a masterful interpretation of the title song. Linda Emond
and Danny Burstein brought expected professionalism to their roles as Frl.
Schneider and Herr Schultz and gave the show the humanity it generally lacked.
It was all professionally done, but very, very slick
and lacked any true excitement. And let's not even talk about the horror
that was "It Couldn't Please Me More" that I must have mercifully
blocked from my memory of other viewings of the show at Studio 54. Perhaps it
was due to Cumming's heavy-handed performance, but overall, I wasn't terribly impressed.
Full disclosure…the capacity audience screamed at everything Alan Cumming did
and seemed to have a "perfectly marvelous" time. Obviously, Bob and I
were in the minority. This was my least favorite of the versions I've seen at
Studio 54. Ah, well. - at Studio 54, New York
Two versions.
Both fascinating. Both breaking the rules. Both masterpieces. In 1966, Cabaret proved that musicals with
serious themes and unhappy endings can be successful if written, designed,
produced, staged, and directed by consummate pros. In 1998, Cabaret proved that a classic can still
pack a considerable wallop when lovingly retooled for a new era. Joe
Masteroff's revisions for the Roundabout incarnation make for a stronger, more
interesting, more complex book. Kander and Ebb's score remains one of the best
scores written for the stage. And both have two of the most amazing opening
numbers in musical theatre. Totally different, but both so brilliantly
conceived and executed, they rank in my top five opening numbers. Neither
version is perfect. The original veers into standard musical comedy boy-girl
romance by distancing itself from the Isherwood portrayal of Cliff and making
him strictly hetero and more than a bit naïve, almost virginal.
"Meeskite," despite good intentions, comes off as a bit cheesy, not
up to the standards of the rest of the score. The revival desperately tries to
force star status onto the supporting role of the Emcee, despite the fact that
he has virtually no dialogue, except in conjunction with a musical number, and
despite the addition of an additional song ("I Don't Care Much). This
insistence on artificially making a role bigger than it actually is sometimes
skews the focus of the show. The two film songs for Sally only add time and add
nothing to either the plot or the character. Taking the best of both versions
and combining them into a new, definitive version would be, well, pretty damn
wonderful. No matter which version is your favorite, though, and all quibbles
and bitches aside, Cabaret is a
masterpiece. Full stop.
"Meine Damen und Herren, Mesdames et Messieurs, Ladies and
Gentlemen. Where are your troubles now? Forgotten? I told you so! We have
no troubles here. Here life is beautiful. The girls are beautiful. Even the
orchestra is beautiful…
Auf wiedersehen!/A bientot!"
<drum roll, cymbal crash, blackout>
©
2018 Jeffrey Geddes
