Well, if that's the only requirement, then I can be in the orchestra, too!
Written: Jul 07 '02 (Updated Jul 08 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Songs, Emcee, Cabaret atmosphere, Risqui
Cons: Some of the closest seats have poor visibility, Main love story seems slightly forced, Risqui
The Bottom Line: Cabaret is a good show for those who are interested in a bawdy good time. However, the show is very risqui, so leave your kids at home.
|
|
|
| DavidK93's Full Review: Cabaret |
Wow, I’m still in the process of recuperating from this past weekend (Now a full week ago. What can I say? My writing is slowing down in my old age.), which was Gay Pride Weekend in New York City. I had an amazing time! My good friend (and ex-boyfriend) Vince put me up for two days in his apartment in Brooklyn, and I had all kinds of fun with him and his friends. Admittedly, most of what went on isn’t fit for the ears of impressionable heterosexuals. Even so, I was originally hoping to write a review on the Gaiety. I was quite disappointed to find that it is not listed in Epinions’ database. What exactly does Nirav Tolia have against hot, naked, male dancers?! Man, if only I could have written that review, in delicious, explicit detail, Tyler would have thrown a fit that I could have heard from Connecticut. I also found that I couldn’t write about Heaven, the club where I attended an 18-21 “college party” on Saturday night, and met a cutie named Donovan out with whom I made for an extended period of time. And, naturally, there’s no category dedicated to the Pride Parade itself, which I started out watching with Donovan and then later moved down the route to find my friend Jeff out with whose friend Mark I also made extensively. Yeah, I had fun. And I managed to mangle the English language just now by intentionally not dangling prepositions in the most awkward way possible. Oh, listen, I can hear Tyler’s fit after all!
Since Vince and I were both a little bit short on cash, we decided that our best bet for getting Broadway tickets was to go to the TKTS booth in Times Square. I had never heard of this before, but it’s just a pavilion located roughly equidistant from all of the Broadway theatres, and you can buy same-day tickets there. We went there without a precise show in mind, because there’s no way to know in advance which tickets will be available. Incidentally, you won’t be able to read the LED display board unless you stand right in front of it, because the folks over at TKTS bought an indoor sign and put it smack dab in the middle of full daylight exposure. How do I know this? Well, it turns out that my company, Trans-Lux, made the sign. Go figure.
Anyway, Vince and I were able to get a pair of ninety-dollar tickets at fifty percent off. Joy! So we went to the theatre (Notice, I use the British spelling when referring to a live-action performance. Movies, on the other hand, are shown at theaters.) and showed the usher our tickets. As she showed us to our seats, we saw that the entire theatre was itself set up as a sort of cabaret. Although the balcony had traditional stadium seating, the entire orchestra area consisted of chairs set around cute little tables. All of the ushers were women, and cocktail waitresses were walking around taking orders. As the usher continued to guide us closer and closer to the stage, Vince and I exchanged excited little looks. We were practically bouncing by the time we took our seats directly in front of the stage! Okay, well not really “in front” so much as “on the right side as you look at the stage.” Nevertheless, I couldn’t stretch out my legs because, well, there was the stage. I will say, though, that the location wasn’t ideal. Although it was great to be so close, there were a few scenes where a piece of furniture really blocked our view of the action. Most shows don’t even have seating alongside the stage, so you might not be thinking of this arrangement when you buy your tickets, but it’s a good idea to make sure that your seats will actually be in front of the stage, if you can manage it.
Before the show itself really began, a number of women came onto the stage. They were heavily made up, wearing tatty, revealing clothing, slightly concealed by flimsy dressing gowns. The implication was that they were employees of the Kit Kat Club (More on that later.). The girls began doing what appeared to be warm-up exercises, and occasionally touching each other in slightly suggestive ways. Then they started chatting up the audience. Specifically, those members who were sitting very close to the stage. Like me. One girl, the prettiest of the lot (if one is interested in such things) approached me and introduced herself as Lisa, while (presumably) affecting a fake German accent as a subtle enhancement to the experience. She asked if I would like to see her do a trick, and I said that I would indeed. To which she responded, “Do you have any money?” I drew out a dollar bill, and she directed me to lay it on the stage. Then she called over another girl and said, “Do you see what I am reduced to? I stoop to do my trick for a dollar!” The other girl blew me a raspberry. Then Lisa did her trick, called “touch and go,” where she bent backwards at the waist and bounced her fingertips on the stage. It was impressive at the time, although less so after seeing this one dancer at the Gaiety who...well, never mind about that.
The dancers then withdraw and the stage is set for the actual show. Cabaret is the story of the Kit Kat Club, a seedy dive in the (I’m approximating) mid 1930s Berlin of the free-spirited Weimar Republic. Not that they mention the Weimar Republic; I was just did well in AP European History. Specifically, it is the story of British-born crooner Sally Bowles (Jane Leeves [Frasier, Miracle on 34th Street]) and American writer Clifford Bradshaw (Rick Holmes [a stage performer who hasn’t appeared in anything I’ve ever heard of]), of their landlord Fraulein Schneider (Polly Bergen [The Polly Bergen Show and several recorded albums, including The Party’s Over]) and the greengrocer Herr Schultz (Hal Linden [Out to Sea, Barney Miller]), and of the sinister master of ceremonies, that is, the “Emcee” (John Stamos [Full House, Thieves]).
Sally Bowles is a vibrant, flamboyant, extravagant woman who clearly suffers from some sort of bizarre complex. Honestly, it’s as though she is incapable of embracing anything that might possibly make her happy. Jane Leeves was delightful in this role. She was bubbly and alluring, and she looked great with a short haircut. I also enjoyed her voice. I’m no connoisseur, but I’d say that it was deep and throaty, and lent itself well to the bawdiness inherent in a few of her songs (But more on the songs themselves, later.). Clifford is an interesting foil to Sally, as he is generally more reserved than her and considerably more grounded in reality. There is a certain ambiguity to his sexual orientation, most notably addressed in the form of Bobby (Michael O’Donnell), who is evidently a former paramour of his. This Rick Holmes fellow is quite a cutie, and I enjoyed his performance. In some ways, though, their romantic plot is somewhat forced. I mean, they seem completely mismatched from the very beginning, and even though there was nothing wrong with the actors’ chemistry, the characters just didn’t click for me.
The secondary plot of Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz is a very tender one. Fraulein Schneider still owns the house that she grew up in as a member of a wealthy family, but now she must rent out its rooms to pay the bills. Even though she is now poor, she has great dignity and expects others to treat her with respect. She is good friends with Herr Schultz, the proprietor of the local fruit market, who romances her with free produce. He is a gentle soul who remains optimistic about the future, contrary to all available evidence. Old people in love are so cute, don’t you think? These two are obviously enamored of each other, but they sometimes shy away from the natural expressions of these feelings because they feel that they are too old for such frivolity. It’s really quite adorable. Polly Bergen shows us the fire and steel that Fraulein Schneider has inside her, while Hal Linden conveys a pleasant joviality.
The Emcee is not really a character, per se. I would call him more of an entity. You see, he is the master of ceremonies at the Kit Kat Club, and he doesn’t even have any dialogue outside of that role. In that capacity, he is a lascivious sensualist who objectifies everyone and promotes obscene behavior. It is also strongly implied that he is either gay or bisexual. The Emcee also serves as a sort of device at various points. He’ll walk nonchalantly across the stage and manipulate props and so forth. It’s actually quite cleverly done. I think that the Emcee represents the changing face of public opinion in Germany. John Stamos was awesome. In particular, he really pulled off the required dirty-sexy vibe.
There are several supporting characters as well. Ernst Ludwig (Peter Benson [OZ, that cute little prison show on HBO]) is a German man who befriends Clifford and begins taking English lessons from him. However, he has certain affiliations and connections that are rather unclear. Fraulein Kost (Candy Buckley [various stage stuff]) is the friendly local prostitute, who has a penchant for sailors. And the aforementioned Bobby, although he does not have a large part, is played by a cute guy so I’ll mention him again.
The costuming and makeup are quite clever. The dancing girls were dressed in clothes that would have been considered quite tacky had they actually been intact, and easily make the transition into actual obscenity by way of a large number of well-placed holes and tears. Their makeup projected a bizarre sort of ghastliness, and their exposed bodies featured bruises and cuts. The overall impression was that the girls were quite poor. The Emcee’s suspenders cross in front of him, such that his genitals are prominently set off from the rest of his pants. Also, he has sparkly red nipples! His short hair was very cute, and I liked the black trench coat that he wore at several points. I adored the black evening gown that Sally wears during the “Cabaret” number, as well as the fur coat she wore in several scenes.
The music in the show is provided by an on-stage orchestra that sits above and behind the players, and their existence is both part of the show, and external to it. The Emcee introduces them by way of saying that at the Kit Kat Club, “Even the orchestra is beautiful,” and they do provide the music for the numbers that take place on stage at the club. However, they also play the music for other songs, such as “It Couldn’t Please Me More,” which is a tender love song that is sung with a pineapple. Also featuring props is the song “Money,” during which green papers with the word “money” written on them are thrown out from the stage. I got one that fell near me. “Don’t Tell Mama” is an amusing song sung by Sally, while “Two Ladies” is a very overtly sexual one sung by the Emcee and two of the Kit Kat Club’s “girls.” And “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” is a very disturbing song that features an accordion, skillfully played by cast member Candy Buckley. However, it is the Nazism, more than the accordion, that makes the song disturbing.
The sexual innuendos (and outright statements) in the show are manifold and diverse. When Ernst tells Clifford that he will like the Kit Kat Club because, “Girls call you at your table!” but gets no response, he jumps back in with “Boys call you at your table!” The song “Two Ladies” features a man in a dress, and their had been an earlier suggestion that the Emcee was intimately acquainted with musicians Bobby and Victor. We know that Sally has been sleeping with the owner of the Kit Kat Club. Fraulein Kost’s rented room seems to be home to enough sailors to remake Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” video. Even old Herr Schultz disappears into Fraulein Schneider’s bedroom and is not heard from again until the next morning. So, yes, the overall tone of the show is definitely sexual.
Well, praise the Lord! I do believe that this review is finished. That means that I can stop writing and go to bed, so I can get up on time for work tomorrow morning. Oh, joy. Well, anyway, Cabaret is a good show for those who are interested in a bawdy good time. However, the show is very risqué, so leave your kids at home.
QF3 (For a full explanation of QF, please see my profile page.)
Even though the show centers on two heterosexual love affairs, there’s all kinds of gay stuff going on. Among the quintet of first-billed characters, two are at least 50% gay. Gay and maybe-gay supporting characters are constantly peeking their heads out from behind the woodwork. It’s enough to freak you out if you’re a homophobe, but it shouldn’t make you uncomfortable if you’re a reasonably well-adjusted person who is secure in his or her sexuality. Especially his.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
DavidK93
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: David Kaplan
Location: Baltimore, MD
Reviews written: 119
Trusted by: 180 members
About Me:
Passions has been canceled, again. But I think I'll get over it; I've gained perspective.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.