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Regional Reviews: Las Vegas Cabaret Ah, Cabaret. We can despair at the resurgent relevance of Joe Masteroff, John Kander, and Fred Ebb's dark musical set in 1930s Berlin during the rise of the Third Reich. But there is no denying the brilliance of a show that is simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. The haunting "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" is just one example. The perfect tool for fascist propaganda, this beautiful earworm ingratiates itself while delivering its quietly malevolent lyrics. For the rare Cabaret neophyte, the show's two central couples are the young and feckless expats Sally Bowles and Clifford Bradshaw and a middle-aged German couple, the world-weary landlady Fraulein Schneider and her Jewish beau, the meek fruit seller Herr Schultz. Most of the action takes place either in Cliff's tiny bedsit at Fraulein Schneider's or in the lively Kit Kat Club, a tawdry but popular nightclub presided over by the shape-shifting and sexually ambiguous Emcee with his coterie of writhing dancers. Everyone's having fun, as long as they ignore the increasing presence of swastikas, beatings, and smashed windows. The Majestic Repertory Theatre's production of this theatrical gem, directed by Troy Heard and playing to sold-out houses at every performance, is as polished and professional as anything on offer in New York or London. As the preening Emcee, Steffan Scrogan overcomes the long shadows cast by his legendary predecessors–Joel Grey and Alan Cumming–and makes the role his own. Scrogan radiates an undercurrent of menace even while singing his playful anthem of welcome, "Willkommen," to the assembled crowd. While the Emcee initially presents himself as a champion of inclusive sexuality and unbridled liberty, Scrogan seamlessly executes his transformation into self-serving survivor. An actor playing Cliff is often eclipsed by the performers in showier roles, but not so here. Ray Winters is authentic and relatable as the not-fully-mature young American who drifts from one European hot spot to another (London and Paris, before hitting Berlin), toting a typewriter and proclaiming his plan to become a writer, but spending most of his time enjoying the night life while alternately exploring and running from his conflicted sexuality–all the while eagerly awaiting the generous checks his mother sends to underwrite his extended adolescence. Winters' Cliff grows up quickly, however, as he ultimately apprehends–and publicly denounces–the Nazi menace that those around him choose to minimize, ignore or embrace. Accomplished singer/dancer/actress Katie Marie Jones brings life to the other half of this unmoored couple, the emotionally damaged Sally, a British expat whose wanderings have deposited her in Berlin, where she headlines at the Kit Kat Klub. While Sally seems talented enough satisfy the booze- and drug-addled clientele, her employment appears to be contingent on supplying sexual favors to club owner Max. Sally is clearly running from something in her past, and while we never find out exactly what that is, Jones make the pain palpable beneath Sally's carefree façade. Apart from a somewhat melodramatic transition into "Maybe This Time," Jones shines in her dramatic scenes and dazzles in her nightclub numbers. Another standout performer is Liz Harper as Fraulein Kost, the prostitute who rents a room from the disapproving Fraulein Schneider and becomes an ally to serial smuggler and Nazi collaborator Ernst Ludwig. Her solo reprise of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" is chillingly beautiful and takes on a more threatening air when it becomes a duet with Ludwig and then a powerful anthem backed by a chorus of Nazi sympathizers. Every element of the production is well executed. Tracey Langran Corea's lively and precise choreography is stylishly executed by the Kit Kat Klub dancers; the entr'acte that opens Act Two becomes a full-blown dance extravaganza. Gabbie Kenny's period-appropriate costumes are detailed and inventive. The four-member Kit Kat Klub band punches well above its weight. Only the show's pacing could use improvement; the evening feels about ten minutes longer than it needs to be. Director Troy Heard, never short on innovation, adds a number of new elements to the production. For example, in "What Would You Do?," Fraulein Schneider's sad apologia for ending her engagement to the Jewish Herr Schultz, Verdolino breaks the fourth wall in her closing reprise of the interrogative lyric, staring pointedly at the audience on all three sides. In another example, the show's famous eleven o'clock number is traditionally performed by a devil-may-care Sally in full-blown denial–mirroring the attitudes of the Berliners who, even if not Nazis themselves, choose to be willfully blind. Here, however, Sally has seemingly lost her ability to ignore reality; her performance culminates in a dramatic and coke-fueled meltdown that virtually guarantees she will never appear at the Kit Kat Klub again. One can debate whether these innovations enhance or detract from the Cabaret experience; chacun à son goût. At this moment in history, life imitating art is not such a good thing. While it remains a spectacular piece of theatre, Cabaret is more than entertainment. It is a powerful reminder of the choices that ordinary people must make under extraordinary circumstances. Cabaret runs through March 9, 2025, at the Majestic Repertory Theatre, 1217 S. Main St., Las Vegas NV. Performances are Thursday Saturday at 7:30 pm; Sunday at 5 pm. For tickets (cabaret tables $59.95, general admission $49.95) and information, please visit www.majesticrepertory.com. Cast: Emcee: Steffan Scrogan Kit Kat Club Band Music Director/Keyboard: Laurence Sobel Additional Creative Scenic Design: Troy Heard |