Cabaret
The current show at Granite Theatre is Kander and Ebb's Tony Award
winning musical "Cabaret" which is set in the tumultuous city
of Berlin before Hitler's rise to power. This show won it's first
Tony for best show in 1967, the second Tony for best revival in 1998 and
is based on Christopher Isherwood's "Berlin Stories" and John Van Druten's
"I Am a Camera". Their version is the 1998 revival. The action of the play
takes place in the Kit Kat Klub where the show begins with the jazz
number "Wilkommen", as well as in Fraulein Schneider's boarding house.
Cliff Bradshaw, a young American novelist arrives on the train to
Berlin where Ernst, a German businessman places his briefcase among
Cliff's luggage at the German border and then uses the opportunity to make
Cliff's acquaintance.This simple act is the catalyst for the friends Cliff
will make, the place he will live, and the woman he will love in Berlin,
Sally Bowles, a wild and sensual British cabaret performer at the Kit Kat
Klub. Far from the increasingly hostile streets of Berlin, the club offers
the illusion that all women are beautiful and life is what anyone wants it
to be. Cliff and Sally begin a briefly wonderful but ultimately
heartbreaking affair, doomed by the world around them. "Cabaret"
juxtaposes the cabaret songs in the Kit Kat Klub with the complex
narratives of Cliff and Ernst in an increasingly dangerous city. Neighbors
Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz also find it possible to love each
other, but the reverberation of the rising Nazi party shakes all of them
out of their innocence. The Emcee of this show is a pivotal character who
interacts and reacts to the chaos in the world around him. As the
show continues, the cabaret acts becomes more political and the behavior
more undesirable. At the end of the musical the Nazi's anthem "Tomorrow
Belongs to Me" anticipates the rise of Hitler and the shocking political
turmoil on the horizon. This wonderful production is directed by
David Jepson, musically directed by Fred Frabotta and Audrey
Kaiser,choreographed by Lisa Clough with a "Perfectly Marvelous" cast
who brings this show to life with their acting, singing and dancing,
earning them a standing ovation at the end of the show.
David picks the best performers for these roles and blocks them
wonderfully on his set of cabaret stage with silver peanut shell, with an
apartment setting behind it for Cliff's room and Schneider's
hallway. Fred not only plays the piano for the show but he and
Audrey taught all the intricate songs to the cast. The choreography
by Lisa includes many dance styles including kick line, soft shoe,
ballet, goose stepping, fox trot and a chair dance by Sally and
the Kit Kat girls done to "Don't Tell Mama". David's wife Beth made the
multitude of costumes and Beth and Francesca Wish also stage
manage the show while the lighting and sound is handled by Tai
Scavetta<P>
Leading this cast as the Emcee is Matthew Royality-Lindman
He is a multitalented performer who plays the omnipresent Emcee and
gets a chance to speak directly to as well as go into the audience
while uttering some hilarious ad libs. Matt is not only
an excellent actor but a wonderful singer and dancer.
His voice is heard first in the opening song "Willkomen" where
he welcomes the audience into the nightclub, "Two Ladies" where he
agrees with the world's concept of free love with two women (Hilary Gothberg
and Ashley Rodriques ), "Sitting Pretty", from the original Broadway
show and "Money" from the movie where he explains how everyone needs more
money especially Cliff when he finds out Sally is pregnant with his baby, (
Matt dances with the chorus girls during it) "If You Could See Her"
where he dances with a gorilla (played by Lisa Clough in a pink tutu) where
they do some funny ballet moves and a soft shoe routine which reflects
the growing anti-Semitic sentiment in Berlin and in the finale Matt delivers
a powerful punch to the frightened audience. Matt gets a chance to show
off his serious side in the haunting ballad from the revival called "I
Don't Care Much" where his carefree attitude about people being beaten
up (Cliff) or killed in the outside world of Berlin has no
effect on him at all. His transition from comic to serious figure is well
done and proves he is one of the topnotch performers around. (He
won an acting award from Motif magazine in May.)
Heidi Beckmann, a statuesque gal, who is also a triple threat
performer, plays the sexy, Sally Bowles. Her British accent is flawless
and in her brunette bobbed cut wig, she looks like a young Catherine Zeta
Jones. Heidi is sexy as hell and dynamite in her two opening numbers
called "Don't Tell Mama", a funny one with the girls dancing with
chairs like the "Cell Block Tango" number from "Chicago". Her next song is
"Perfectly Marvelous" where she convinces Cliff to let her move in with
him. Heidi's reflective narrative numbers which both stop the show are the
fabulous "Maybe This Time" where she contemplates settling down with
the man she loves after she finds out she is pregnant and "Cabaret" where
she decides that the cabaret stage is the life for her. She does a
spectacular job as this spitfire gal with her joie de vivre and handles
the comic and poignant moments perfectly. Playing Cliff is Brian Olsen who
recently directed "Don't Dress For Dinner" at the Granite. Brian captures
the essence of the writer who wants to succeed at his craft but must face
reality with his carefree girlfriend and the Nazi threat closing in on
them. He usually plays comic roles but this one gives him a chance to show
off his serious side. Brian gives depth to the tragic ending of their
relationship in the final scene with Heidi.
Deb Bacewicz plays Fraulein Schneider, the elderly widow who
runs the boarding house. Her strong acting takes place throughout the show
as well as in her two character songs which show off her singing voice.
The first is called "So What?" where she shows how she went from
riches to rags but she still will struggle to survive as she
has always done while the second is the very powerful "What
Would You Do?" which is the terrifying solution she comes to
regarding the Nazi takeover. This latter song leaves the audience in
tears at Deb's dramatic rendition. Her elderly suitor, Herr Schultz is
played by Arthur Pignataro who gets to show off his tenor voice. He
is the kindly Jewish fruit store owner who woos her first with a
pineapple in their duet "It Couldn't Please Me More" and he decides to
marry her to save her honor in the beautiful ballad "Married" which is my
favorite song in the show. The villain of this piece is Ernst Ludwig
played by Chris Maxwell. His character has some funny lines early on in
the first act but in the last scene when he takes off his raincoat and
exposes the swaistika on his arm, terror descends on the audience as the
seriousness of the situation becomes apparent. Chris shows off his
strong singing voice in the Nazi anthem "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" and
the chorus joins him in this frightening song. Mary Sue
Chiaradio plays Fraulein Kost, the resident prostitute who brings in
sailors at all hours of the day and night. She wears a blond wig, is
hilarious at first but shows off her true colors as a Nazi sympathizer
when she tells Ernst that Schultz is a Jew and then belts out a tribute to
Ernst with "Tomorrow Belongs to Me". (This song is first heard in the
first act sung by the Emcee and men's chorus.) So for
a topnotch rendition of "Cabaret", be sure to catch Granite's version
of the show.
CABARET (16 October to
22 November, 2009)
Granite Theatre, 1 Granite Street, Westerly, RI
1 (401) 596-2341 or www.granitetheatre.com