'Cabaret' welcomes audiences to a decadent Berlin

Author: Grace Duggan

The senior work of Sally Swallow '07 and Bill Army '07 finally brings a full-scale musical to Middlebury. With a production too irreverant and too interactive for Wright Theater, the cast and crew decided the only option was to literally turn CFA's Seeler Theater into the seedy Kit Kat nightclub in late 1920s Berlin. The result is decidedly provocative and seriously sexy.

Audiences were blown away this weekend by the first three performances of "Cabaret," the 1966 Broadway musical based on Christopher Isherwood's novel, "The Berlin Stories" and John Van Druten's play, "I Am a Camera." They were also stroked, kissed and winked at by various members of the cast over the course of the almost three-hour long production. Inhibitions were thrown out the window by the force that was the ensemble of "Cabaret," as they strutted, writhed and danced around the stage and among the audience. Sitting close to the stage in Seeler Studio, now the raunchy and wild Kit Kat Klub, complete with low lighting, reserved tables and drinks available outside, almost guaranteed that one of the beautiful Kit Kat girls and boys would pass you by, maybe even sit at your table to wink at you before propositioning someone across the club for a drink using one of the telephones found on many of the cleverly-arranged tables.
"Cabaret" takes place in Berlin from 1929 to 1930, toward the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of Adolph Hitler's rise to power. An American writer named Cliff Bradshaw (MacLeod Andrews '07.5) comes to Berlin with high hopes of finishing his novel, but is distracted by the vibrant and alluring British cabaret singer, Sally Bowles (Sally Swallow '07). After Bowles loses her job at the club she moves in with Bradshaw, who subsequently finds himself living "in delicious sin," as Bowles puts it, in Fr‰ulein Schneider's (Judith Dry '09) boarding house. His neighbors in the boarding house include Fr‰ulein Kost (Leah Day '07.5), whose love for sailors prompts a hilarious and witty back-and-forth with the more conservative Fr‰ulein Schneider, and Herr Schultz (Joe Barsalona '07), Fr‰ulein Schneider's love interest, who happens to be Jewish. As hints of the rise of the Nazi party grow stronger, the beautiful world of the Kit Kat Klub starts to crumble, and its inhabitants are forced to entertain the possibility of politics infringing on their decadent lives.
Overseeing everything is the EmCee (Bill Army '07), a ubiquitous character with his hand in everything and nothing at the same time. Wearing a corset, heavy makeup and rhinestones on his nipples, Army stole the show from the start as he welcomed the audience to the Kit Kat Klub in the opening number "Willkommen." Accompanied by the Kit Kat boys and girls, Army gave the crowd its first taste of the club's seedy and seductive atmosphere.
The cast kept the audience on their toes with eye-catching costumes, energetic dance routines and an onslaught of sexual innuendos during the first act of the play. There were minimal props and simple set changes, which contributed to the seamless quality of the transitions and the overall feel of the show. Army's twisted indifference to the growing infringement of politics and the Nazi movement on the world of the Kit Kat Klub was fantastic to watch. During "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," Army looked on coolly as cross-dressing Viktor (Waylon D'Mello '09), gets beat up by two patriots (Starrett Berry '09 and Roberto Ellis '09). The powerful scene was uncomfortable to watch, but served as one of the strongest allusions to Germany's developing political climate. The same song is reprised at the end of Act One during the lengthy and tedious party scene, which was not enjoyable so much as it was jarring, given its darkly ironic and foreboding introduction of the swastika, worn as an armband by Ernst Ludwig (Adam Granato '07). Army's chilling growl during the last part of the song further subverted the carefree atmosphere created by Bowles and the Kit Kat boys and girls, and made a stronger impression than the swastika itself.
The Kit Kat boys and girls (Veracity Butcher '09, D'Mello, Jennifer Guest '07, Lauren Kiel '07, Emily Kron '09.5, Amaury Sosa '07, Stephanie Spencer '09 and Schuyler Beeman '10) used their in-your-face sexuality and unapologetic embrace of their atypical lifestyles to form the backbone of the performance. As dancers, singers and flirters, their lack of inhibition and enthusiasm for their roles created a realistic cabaret atmosphere. Bobby, played wonderfully by Beeman, was impossible to ignore, especially when he upstaged Bowles' first kiss with Bradshaw by giving him an equally passionate kiss of his own. Andrew's slight move of his hand up Beeman's back was a masterful comedic moment, but even so one could tell that some members of the audience were not totally comfortable with this kiss.
In "Don't Tell Mama," one of several numbers that showcased Swallow's talent, the Kit Kat girls playfully undid their skirts before ending the number wearing only their bras and underwear.
In "Two Ladies," Army pushed the envelope with Fritzie (Kiel) and Helga (Kron) as they sang about threesomes and erotically dressed the EmCee to go to work for the day. In a strong move away from the racier content and more toward social commentary, "The Money Song" featured a larger-than-life Army waddling around the stage in a top hat and an oversized suit with Kit Kat boys and girls crawling around him, visibly relishing their roles as they grabbed at his pockets for money.
The chemistry between Dry and Barsalona in their decidedly more vanilla, but just as enjoyable romance, provided a sharp contrast to life in the Kit Kat Klub and helped to ground the performance in the burgeoning reality of the period. Dry's ability to go from witty and critical of Fr‰ulein Kost to visibly torn about marrying a Jewish man, was remarkable to watch, and her duet with Barsalona after he gave her a pineapple as a gift (Herr Schultz is in the fruit business) proved that even the more conventional parts of the show could be fantastic. The audience roared as gloved hands appeared from behind the curtain and waved more pineapples about in synchronized motions.
"Cabaret" is Army and Swallow's 700 project, and partly Barsalona, and the mammoth production marks the first musical the Middlebury Theater Department has put on in more than 15 years. This is an unusual decision on the part of the department that grew out of the desire of Army and Swallow to put on a musical at Middlebury.
"Cabaret" would not have been possible without the joint collaboration of the Music Department. Core faculty members include Assistant Professor of Theatre Claudio Medeiros '90, who directed the performance, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre Vanessa Mildenberg, who choreographed and Carol Christensen, who provided musical direction and could be seen conducting the Kit Kat Band while wearing a strappy dress, a feather boa and a bright white wig.
The noticeably shorter second act showed the audience that the fun was over and that the decadence of the first half of the play was coming to an end. Bowles gets her job back at the club, this time without her bright red bustier and her Kit Kat girls. Distraught and alone, Swallow's gritty rendition of "Cabaret" was among her stronger and more serious moments on the stage. Its simplicity was juxtaposed with the equally moving "Finale," which included the entire company and used Barsalona and Beeman as powerful symbols for the Jewish and gay communities respectively. Army slowly opened a suitcase and popped up wearing a gas mask before the end of the show, capping off a truly remarkable production that had the audience laughing, thinking and on its feet for a standing ovation.
There are three more performances of "Cabaret" from May 10-12, each at 8:00 p.m. in the Seeler Studio Theatre in the Center for the Arts.