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| Mauro Bozzo, center, plays the emcee in Tacoma Little Theatre’s production of “Cabaret.” He is surrounded by dancers, from left, LaNita Hudson, Haley Kim, Kathy Kluska and Amanda Jackson. Courtesy DK Photography |
Stated as succinctly as possible, I love “Cabaret.” It
is one of the greatest of modern musical theater productions. Whether done on
Broadway or in a community theater, it is a knockout – funny, titillating, and
heart wrenching. Combining hedonism run amok with one of the most horrific
events in human history and setting it to music makes for theater that grabs
the mind and heart.
The staging of “Cabaret” at Tacoma Little Theatre is
as good as any production I’ve ever seen. The music, the acting, the costumes
and choreography are outstanding, and the icing on the cake is that director John
Munn has added some surprisingly effective twists to this well-known show.
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| Elise Campello as Sally Bowles. Courtesy DK Photography |
It is Berlin 1931. Hitler is coming into power. The
Kit Kat Klub revels in decadence with performances by showgirls and boys that
celebrate lewdness. The headliner at the Kit Kat is English showgirl Sally
Bowles (Elise Campello), who makes no bones about having slept her way into a
showbiz career. An expatriate American writer, Cliff Bradshaw (Niclas R. Olson)
comes to Berlin and gets involved in the seedy life of Berlin’s bohemian scene
and falls in love with Sally. As they try to navigate the ups and downs of love
and life, the Nazi juggernaut comes to power. Cliff sees that the Nazis are a threat
to them and their friends, but Sally and many of the others shrug it off.
The emcee at the Kit Kat (Mauro Bozzo) stirs the
already boiling pot.
Bozzo is sassy and flirtatious as the naughty emcee.
His holds the audience in his hand from the rousing opening number, “Willkommen”
through the sexy “Two Ladies” and the absurdly comical “If You Could See Her
(through my eyes),” which makes a powerful political point disguised as pure
silliness. Bozzo is simply marvelous both as an actor and as a singer.
Campello plays Sally Bowles as a lurid and brazen
sexpot with undertones of sweetness and even naiveté – undertones that are
skillfully conveyed not so much with her words but with her expression. Her
brashness in songs like “Mein Herr” and “Don’t Tell Mama” perfectly complement
the emcee’s risqué demeanor. She elevates brazen sexiness to high comedy and
then becomes achingly serious with the sadness and longing of the song, “Maybe
This Time,” expressing self-doubt in private that she can never show publicly.
And she reveals shocking raw anger and hurt in the final version of the title
song.
Rosalie Hilburn as Fraulein Schneider and Joseph Grant
as Herr Schultz capture our hearts in the subplot centering on their love affair.
Both are charming and delightful, and they break our hearts. The tenderest of
moments in the developing love story between these two elderly Germans is when
they sing “It Couldn’t Please Me More (the pineapple song). In the midst of
this sweet love song they stop singing and pantomime the actions of the elderly
lovers as the song continues offstage, sung by Rachel Fitzgerald, who is also
hilarious as the happiest of hookers, Fraulein Kost.
The book by Joe Masteroff skillfully weaves together
raunchy good times and the looming terror of Nazism’s rise to power,
intensified by the music of the great songwriting team of John Kander and Fred
Ebb. Adding significantly to the devil-may-care atmosphere of the Kit Kat Klub
are the scantily dressed Kit Kat Girls (Amanda Jackson, LaNita Hudson, Haley
Kim and Kathy Kluska) whose dancing to Lexi Barnett’s choreography is acrobatic
and comical. Also adding significantly to the air of decadence are the costumes
by Michele Graves.
The house was full the night I went, and I suspect it
will be every night of this show, so call for tickets as early as possible.
WHEN:
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Sunday through June 14
WHERE:
Tacoma Little Theatre, 210 N “I” St., Tacoma
TICKETS:
$22-$15
INFORMATION:
253-272-2281, www.tacomalittletheatre.com.
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