Cabaret
Life is indeed a Cabaret in the Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace’s live wire staging of the classic bawdy musical. Jim Corti,(a former pupil of the legendary producer/director Bob Fosse, and understudy for Joel Grey on the National Tour of the Broadway revival) , assumes the reins here, and if possible, renders the show more eye popping, more naughty and delicious, yet more poignant and real than any staging of the musical I have encountered thus far.
It is truly a challenge to find fault. Every element, from the colorful costume design by Tatjana Radisic, which conveys the fun and frivolity of Weimar Republic Germany, to the truly fantastic scenic design by Brian Sidney Bembridge, invites you to acquiesce to the Emcee’s request (a diminutive, colorful Patrick Andrews) to "leave your troubles at the door." Bembridge manages to cram the orchestra, chorus, and the leads on stage (often all at the same time), without sacrificing the intimacy required for the tenser emotional exchanges. The band is semi-covered underneath a canopy toward the back of the stage that doubles as a completely believable nightclub pit. A cast iron second level of the main staging area allows for a virtual doubling of the available dancing space, and in a production like this, every inch of dance floor is needed. It is to the credit of the designers and director that create the illusion of a tacky, small nightclub within the the 971 seat Drury Lane Oakbrook.
When the show opens, it is New Year’s Eve, the night before the ushering in of a new decade, and just prior to the ascension of Hitler’s Third Reich to power. A young American would-be novelist, Clifford Bradshaw (Jim Weitzer) has descended on the world famous City by train, looking for adventure, but also inspiration for his work. He finds far more than he ever expected in his newly adopted homeland.
In the span of three hours, Bradshaw is ensconced in a boarding house, run by lonely firecracker Fraulein Schneider (the truly remarkable Rebecca Finnegan), then off to drink the night away at the Kit Kat Club, a sleazy nightspot recommended to him by new acquaintance Ernst Ludwig (Brandon Dahlquist). Though a closeted bisexual, Bradshaw becomes immediately enamored with the club’s signature act, British singer Sally Bowles, played by Zarah Mahler.
As the production unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that the anything goes, life is a party atmosphere of the Kit Kat and its performers and patrons, belies the sinister undercurrent of change that is transforming Germany. Ludwig, originally viewed as a politically active benevolent, is revealed to be a firm believer in Hitler’s ethnic cleansing plans. In one powerful scene, he stands against the engagement of Fraulein Schneider and her betrothed, a Jewish fruitseller, Herr Schultz (David Lively). It isn’t long before bricks are thrown through the window of Schultz’s store.
Clifford and Sally grow increasingly entrenched in one another’s lives, first as roommates, then as prospective parents. Acting as a metaphor of youthful optimism, inevitably brought into focus by the circumstances of reality, the couple, unorthodox to begin with, begins to founder under the weight of the usual relationship millstones: finances, political beliefs and personal expectations.
All of the leads are amazing. Mahler, working with dialogue coach Claudia Anderson, is the spirited English girl, reminiscent of Brett in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, who just can’t conform. Weitzer, as the necessarily less colorful Clifford Bradshaw, is effective as the lynchpin of sanity around which the madness of the Kit Kat turns. Patrick Andrews, as the Emcee, strikes just the right note of androgynous power needed to corral this alcohol-fueled sexual circus. Despite the effectiveness of every major player however, it is Finnegan and Lively who walk off with the show. Their mature love story, complicated by odds they know they can’t beat, will break your heart.
The song and dance numbers, from Sally’s scrumptious "Don’t Tell Mama" to the tear-jerking "Married," are supported by a first-rate ensemble of singers and dancers. But it is Corti, who is the ring master of this amazing production, pushing his cast to extend themselves in ways that make Cabaret live up to its adult-only reputation. Though it was opening night, and one might expect a slip here, a missed mark there, it would take a lot of effort to expose any cracks. Judging from the raucous cheers, hoots, hollers and final standing ovation of the appreciative audience, I suspect the Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace’s this production will enjoy the benefits of repeated viewing.
Cabaret runs through October 11, 2009 at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, IL. Performance schedule:: Wednesday-Thursday at 1:30pm; Thursday at 8pm; Friday-Saturday at 8:30pm; Saturday at 5pm; Sunday at 2pm and 6pm. Info phone: 630-530-0111. For more information visit the Drury Lane Oakbrook website.
