| CABARET Saturday Matinee | |
| Posted by: hugoP 12:34 am EDT 09/30/24 | |
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| Last-minute decision to go to the Lincoln Center TKTS line and got a wonderful orchestra seat for CABARET AT THE KIT KAT CLUB. It was an Orchestra seat, located just behind the tables (which I've heard are extremely expensive). My TKTS-discounted seat was $90, and more than worth it. I have seen many, many productions of CABARET, including the revival with Joel Grey, several trips to the Mendes revival (Alan Cumming and Michael C Hall versions) and some really outstanding local productions in Atlanta. And I think the film version is one of the all-time great movie musicals (hell, one of the all-time great films). CABARET is such a powerful, resilient musical that it can succeed in many different ways, with many different interpreters (on-stage and behind the scenes). But the Tony Awards performance this year convinced me to NOT see this production-- it seemed overblown, badly sung, too emphatic, and not at all tied to the historical setting (which, in THIS property, is pretty necessary) Adam Lambert was fantastic as the Emcee. He has a powerful voice, used to full effect in "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" and "I Don't Care Much." He is also a compelling performer who delivers a character that's menacing and mesmerizing. I just loved his work. In the Mendes revival, my favorite Emcee was Hall-- his physicality and beauty presented a different take on a character i knew from Grey and Cumming. Auli'i Cravalho was very good, and should be even better with time. She's by far the youngest Sally I've ever seen, more wild child than fallen angel. Her vocals are strong (but can we finally lose that shouting Sally direction?). Neuwirth is very moving; Skybell is wonderful (I've never seen him be less than brilliant in anything). Calvin Leon Smith was a strong Cliff, and Michelle Aravena a very good Frauline Kost. I loved the staging and felt they made wonderful use of the theatre in the round, with turntable effects that were powerful. My biggest complaint about this version: the cabaret scenes seem to be set anywhere BUT last-days-of-Weimar Germany, whereas the book scenes are very much grounded in the historical moment. It is a disjointed approach that lessons the overall power of the piece. Finally: I LOVE that they've ditched the final moment conceit of the Mendes revival, one that shifted the emphasis of the production to center the Emcee (and to exploit the Holocaust to boot). This production makes some other bold choices that I think work better. I'll go back to see this again. |
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