Review: Risque 'Cabaret' is aging gracefully
By NANCY STETSON
Thirty-nine years after its Broadway debut, "Cabaret" still has the ability to entertain us and shock us.
It's full of seeming contradictions: a stereotypical, all-American-looking guy who frequents gay clubs but sleeps with women, a woman who claims to love a man but won't stand by him at the first hint of trouble. And then there's the title song, claiming that life is a cabaret when, in reality, Hitler is coming into power.
Or perhaps the musical isn't so much about contradictions as it is about our ability —or inability— to face the truth about ourselves and others, to face the truth about our circumstances, sexual desires and current political situation.
Playing at the Naples Dinner Theatre, Michael Wainstein's "Cabaret" is, in turn, entertaining, risque, charming, shocking and heartbreaking.
It's supposedly about Clifford Bradshaw (Marc Ginsburg), an American in Berlin, attempting to write a novel. He meets Sally Bowles (Sarah Nasto), a singer in the Kit Kat Klub. She wants to be seen as "scandalous and shocking" and is reinventing herself, a la Madonna.
Clifford has issues of his own, struggling with being gay, though this is only dealt with in passing. He plays his cards so close to the vest that it's difficult to know what he is really feeling or thinking.
It seems that more emphasis is placed on Fraulein Schneider (Kay Francis), who runs the boarding house, and her suitor, Herr Schultz (Barry Marcus), a fruit shop owner who woos her with a pineapple.
It's good to see these two playing opposite each other again, as they have genuine chemistry and make a convincing couple. They sing about the joy of finding someone to share their life with, "and the old despair/that was always there/suddenly ceases to be."
But when Schneider realizes that there could be problems because Schultz is Jewish, she breaks the engagement.
Schultz, on the other hand, refuses to believe they'll be any real trouble and refuses to see where Germany is headed. One of the more chilling scenes is when Schultz, drunk, dances around while Nazi sympathizers are singing "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," not realizing the implications of the tune.
Francis is heartbreaking in her rendition of "What Would You Do?" and Marcus is darling in "Meeskite," a song about how two ugly people can produce a beautiful child.
If Francis and Marcus are the romantic heart of the story, it's the scenes at the Kit Kat Klub that provide the show's entertainment.
Shain R. Stroff plays the emcee with élan, campy and flamboyant with red-lipsticked lips in a neverending rictus smile.
He's perfect for the opening role of "Wilkommen" to the last shocking scene. And, dressed like an overgrown Pinocchio, sings about the joys of being in a threesome in "Two Ladies." Yet, he can switch gears and be hauntingly beautiful in the torch song "I Don't Care Much."
Nasto puts in a strong performance as Sally Bowles, vixenish with the Kit Kat girls in "Don't Tell Mama" and commanding in her version of "Cabaret." She has such a great voice, and is powerful even when delivering lines with her back to the audience.
I liked her portrayal of Sally much more than others I've seen lately in national tours. Nasto gives you someone of substance on stage, not just facades, though her character certainly has enough of them.
The set is divided into two tiers, with a band playing onstage on the top tier.
Shows at the Naples Dinner Theatre always seem much better when they have the band onstage, playing. And having a full band really adds to shows, as is evident in "Cabaret."
This can be a challenging show to perform, but the Naples Dinner Theatre hits all the right notes. It's dark, it's naughty, it's fun, it's shocking.
"Cabaret" is an entertaining night at the theater. In addition to being historical, it's a cautionary tale about what can happen when citizens go along with whatever the government says and the ugly horror of government-sanctioned bigotry.
By NANCY STETSON
Thirty-nine years after its Broadway debut, "Cabaret" still has the ability to entertain us and shock us.
It's full of seeming contradictions: a stereotypical, all-American-looking guy who frequents gay clubs but sleeps with women, a woman who claims to love a man but won't stand by him at the first hint of trouble. And then there's the title song, claiming that life is a cabaret when, in reality, Hitler is coming into power.
Or perhaps the musical isn't so much about contradictions as it is about our ability —or inability— to face the truth about ourselves and others, to face the truth about our circumstances, sexual desires and current political situation.
Playing at the Naples Dinner Theatre, Michael Wainstein's "Cabaret" is, in turn, entertaining, risque, charming, shocking and heartbreaking.
It's supposedly about Clifford Bradshaw (Marc Ginsburg), an American in Berlin, attempting to write a novel. He meets Sally Bowles (Sarah Nasto), a singer in the Kit Kat Klub. She wants to be seen as "scandalous and shocking" and is reinventing herself, a la Madonna.
Clifford has issues of his own, struggling with being gay, though this is only dealt with in passing. He plays his cards so close to the vest that it's difficult to know what he is really feeling or thinking.
It seems that more emphasis is placed on Fraulein Schneider (Kay Francis), who runs the boarding house, and her suitor, Herr Schultz (Barry Marcus), a fruit shop owner who woos her with a pineapple.
It's good to see these two playing opposite each other again, as they have genuine chemistry and make a convincing couple. They sing about the joy of finding someone to share their life with, "and the old despair/that was always there/suddenly ceases to be."
But when Schneider realizes that there could be problems because Schultz is Jewish, she breaks the engagement.
Schultz, on the other hand, refuses to believe they'll be any real trouble and refuses to see where Germany is headed. One of the more chilling scenes is when Schultz, drunk, dances around while Nazi sympathizers are singing "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," not realizing the implications of the tune.
Francis is heartbreaking in her rendition of "What Would You Do?" and Marcus is darling in "Meeskite," a song about how two ugly people can produce a beautiful child.
If Francis and Marcus are the romantic heart of the story, it's the scenes at the Kit Kat Klub that provide the show's entertainment.
Shain R. Stroff plays the emcee with élan, campy and flamboyant with red-lipsticked lips in a neverending rictus smile.
He's perfect for the opening role of "Wilkommen" to the last shocking scene. And, dressed like an overgrown Pinocchio, sings about the joys of being in a threesome in "Two Ladies." Yet, he can switch gears and be hauntingly beautiful in the torch song "I Don't Care Much."
Nasto puts in a strong performance as Sally Bowles, vixenish with the Kit Kat girls in "Don't Tell Mama" and commanding in her version of "Cabaret." She has such a great voice, and is powerful even when delivering lines with her back to the audience.
I liked her portrayal of Sally much more than others I've seen lately in national tours. Nasto gives you someone of substance on stage, not just facades, though her character certainly has enough of them.
The set is divided into two tiers, with a band playing onstage on the top tier.
Shows at the Naples Dinner Theatre always seem much better when they have the band onstage, playing. And having a full band really adds to shows, as is evident in "Cabaret."
This can be a challenging show to perform, but the Naples Dinner Theatre hits all the right notes. It's dark, it's naughty, it's fun, it's shocking.
"Cabaret" is an entertaining night at the theater. In addition to being historical, it's a cautionary tale about what can happen when citizens go along with whatever the government says and the ugly horror of government-sanctioned bigotry.