1570
(0 votes, average 0 out of 5)
Written by Harry Cherkinian, Contributing writer
Sep 22, 2010
Linda Stephens and Jonathan Gillard Daly
People are people,” says Sally Bowles, early on in “Cabaret.” “I don’t think people should apologize for anything they do.”
Bowles’ words overshadow the insulated decadence of “Cabaret” even as they foreshadow the menacing social turmoil of Weimar Germany that metastasized into the Third Reich. Set in Berlin in the early 1930s, this 1966 musical opens the season at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater and showcases new artistic director Mark Clements in his directorial debut there.
Based on this production, audiences have much to look forward to in this new era at The Rep. “Cabaret” is a tricky business to stage, moving from the forefront of doomed lovers’ stories to the labyrinthine back alleys of fanatical Nazi politics. In mounting the largest production yet on the Quadracci Powerhouse stage, Clements and choreographer Michael Pink, artistic director of the Milwaukee Ballet, deftly move a cast of 33 performers between these two worlds, entertaining us while reminding us that nothing in life is ever free, including freedom itself.
For Bowles and the assorted characters who perform in and populate the Kit Kat Klub, life is literally a cabaret, on and off stage. These characters include the women dressed in men’s suits and the twinkish, bare-chested boys in black leather and fur stoles, stealing glances and perhaps a kiss (or more). Their philosophy is live in the moment, drink your problems away (gin is Sally’s preferred tonic) and never mind the intrusion of politics, prejudice or reality.
We are pulled into their narcotized bubble with the masterful performance of Lee E. Ernest as the Emcee. He seduces with bawdy playfulness and provocative costumes in numbers such as “Two Ladies,” which underscores the growing menace “outside” pushing in (as embodied in the chilling refrains of “Tomorrow Belongs to Me”).
Kelley Faulkner draws a sharp contrast as the British Bowles, sure of herself onstage while straining to mask her offstage vulnerability. With her powerhouse voice, Faulkner is in full command, moving effortlessly from the comic pitter-patter of “Don’t Tell Mama” to the title song’s range of emotions. She works well with and against the American, writer Clifford Bradshaw (Geoffrey Hemingway).
Other cast standouts include local actor/director Angela Iannone as the tough, shrewd Fraulein Kost, Fred Rose’s as the German politico and Ernest Ludwig. Linda Stephens (Fraulein Schneider) and Jonathan Gillard Daily (Herr Schultz) are touching as an elderly couple who discover love too late.
