CABARET: And as for me…
Posted by: standingO 12:11 am EDT 05/08/24

I fell for this production so much more than I expected to.

Every major element worked for me
- the preshow experience
- the rich a-hole tables as one poster referenced
- the schnapps
- the champagne
- the food service
- Bebe
- Eddie
- Ato
- Gayle
- Steven
- the venue design
- the costumes
- the choreography
- the direction
- turning Fraulien Schneider into almost a second lead
- the chorus descent from divine decadence to fascism
- the in-the-round staging
- the waitstaff
- the orchestra
- the phone stickers that force everyone to live in the moment

This was an amazing immersive event, running 4 hours if you let it. I did splurge on table seats and it will probably limit what else I see this season. I’m totally okay with that. “Come taste the wine (check), come hear the band (check)… right this way your tables waiting (check)” I don’t expect to have another night at the theater like this anytime soon.

I was a real skeptic of this production before tonight - I went in expecting to agree with many of the comments from those who didn’t like it. The only show clip online (Don’t Tell Mama from a UK show) and the cast album were total turnoffs. But once I was in the theater this all worked for me. Two Ladies was the only time i felt like it was too in your face.

I saw the Mendes production three times - in 1999 with Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming, and then the later reboot with both Michelle Williams and Emma Stone. For me, this rivaled the 1999 production but they both worked for me in their own ways. (The Michelle Williams reboot was a disappointing production and I never understood her approach to Sally).

I also loved Merrily We Roll Along, and saw it twice. If I were a Tony voter, I’d probably lobby for a tied victory for Revival and split other categories between the two.

For those on the fence, come hear the music play, and try to get there early.
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