As promised in the opening of CABARET, which is now playing at The Old Globe through October 15th, “In here life is beautiful” and that is certainly true. This CABARET sparkles and shines with sequins and striking performances that bring a new interpretation to the classic musical.

Photo Credit: The cast of CABARET - photo by Jim Cox.

It is 1931 at the Kit Kat Club, and the Emcee (Lincoln Clauss) welcomes the audience to the club with the instruction to “leave your troubles outside.” He offers a distraction from life's disappointments and worries by introducing a bevy of talented club performers. Everything in this production is a shiny decadent distraction; the dancers are in beautiful sequined costumes by Alejo Vietti, all of which share the elegant lines and patterns of the gorgeous art deco-inspired sets by Tijana Bjelajac. All is illuminated by Cory Pattak and Paul Vaillancourt’s beautiful lighting that both allows the performers to shine and lends hints of the darkness and menace that lurks just behind.

Lincoln Clauss as Emcee in CABARET. Photo by Jim Cox.

American aspiring novelist Cliff (Alan Chandler) has come to Berlin to get inspired and write his novel. On the train he meets helpful and friendly Ernst (Alex Gibson) who suggests a place for him to stay, and more importantly, the Kit Kat Club as a place to go have some fun. There Cliff meets Sally Bowles (Joanna A. Jones), a chanteuse who is stymied not by her talent but instead by her skin color.

Joanna A. Jones as Sally Bowles and Alan Chandler as Clifford Bradshaw
in CABARET. Photo by Jim Cox.

When Sally finds herself without a home, talks her way into Cliff’s apartment, much to the disapproval of his landlady Fräulein Schneider (Kelly Lester). She’s trying to run a respectable place and has already sanctioned another tenant Fräulein Kost (Abby Church) for being unmarried and having many "guests" coming and going from her unit.

The production luxuriates in the glitz and glamour, while never letting you forget the grit and grim just under the surface. As Sally and Cliff’s relationship progresses, so does the sweet romance between Fräulein Schneider and fruit shop owner Herr Schultz (Bruce Sabath). Unfortunately, love is in the air but so is the undercurrent of menace, as the Emcee and the dancers lurk like malevolent shadows all around.

Clauss is wonderful as the playful, charming, and slightly sinister Emcee. His interactions with the audience, specifically calling out one person by name at my performance, were delightful and engaging. Jones as Sally has a silky and smoky voice, and her performance of “Maybe This Time” had the four people next to me in tears by the end.

Bruce Sabath as Herr Schultz and Kelly Lester as Fräulein Schneider in CABARET
Photo by Jim Cox.

Lester and Sabath as ill-fated lovers Fräulein Schneider and Herr Schultz are the heart of this show, with a tender love story that forces some hard choices. Lester's performance of “What Would You So?” is full of regret and a strong sense of self-preservation.

Directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, the choreography is striking with a mix of the choreography expected from this show mixed with elements of dances from the time period. The "Money Song” not only has fantastic choreography but is used to further show Cliff’s journey as he starts making mysterious trips to smuggle things in for his friend Ernst. The costumes and the staging also seem like a nod to the classic musical 42nd Street which is also set in the 1930’s.

This show also benefits from the excellent fight direction and the intimacy staging by Angela Steiner.

“Even the orchestra is beautiful!” Robert Meffe is a triple threat here as the tuxedo-clad musical director, conductor, and accordionist. Led by Meffe, and tucked into the corner of the second story is the live orchestra who, along with the sound design by Haley Parcher bring the John Kander and Fred Ebb score brightly to life and full of character.

Soon all the glitter cannot hide the turning of the tides as friends become foes, and love proves it may not be enough to survive. Cleverly, as the story progresses, the lighting and the set become transparent and it becomes clear that the bubble of the nightclub is not isolated from the political unrest and escalating tensions happening around it.

“Put down the knitting, the book, and the broom” and head to the CABARET.