BY GRACE COHEN
FOR THE MORNING STAR
鈥淭here was a cabaret, and there was a master of ceremonies, and there was a city called Berlin, in a country called Germany and it was the end of the world.鈥�
This Big Apple Production of Cabaret is a superb adaptation of one of the great Broadway musicals of all time 鈥� an exhilarating and acutely harrowing masterpiece. The Kit Kat Club is a carnival of debauchery and despair and serves as a metaphor for ominous political developments.
Producer and musical director Melina Schein, and director Neal Facey, really understand this production and what they want to give to the audience. Together, they present an intelligent but superbly entertaining piece which presents the story in a way in which the audience is completely engaged and the links they have created between the Kit Kat Club and 1931 Germany is astonishing.
Brian Martin is the soul of the show. His naughty, biting performance redefines the role of the Klub鈥檚 Emcee and endows the character with his sense of mischief and urgency that will leave you riveted, from the moment he introduces a deliciously bawdy 鈥淲illkommen鈥� to his final, chilling adieu.
Amelia Sirianni, as Sally Bowles, is convincingly lost, a wanna-be bad girl who sings at the Klub, leading the Kit Kat girls and boys in nightclub production numbers like Don鈥檛 Tell Mama and Mein Herr. Sirianni plays both scared and daffy superbly and sings with real heart. And for her climactic performance of the show鈥檚 title song, she has the belly vocal power and shell-shocked stare of someone who鈥檚 seen the future and knows that it鈥檚 terrifying.
Craig Howard is appealing as Sally鈥檚 unlikely lover, Clifford Bradshaw, a simple American 鈥淵ankee Doodle鈥� who aspires to be a writer. Howard adds so much to the story and is an outstanding leading man.
A most endearing plot line is the love story between Fraulein Schneider (Julie Armitage) as the landlady and Herr Schultz (Gil Wright), as her Jewish suitor. Their performances are forceful and touching, and Brittany Wright is vividly bawdy as Fr盲ulein Kost, a whore with a heart of stone. She sings the show鈥檚 arguably most chilling number at the end of Act 1 with near religious zeal.
Peter Byrnes, who plays Ernst Ludwig, also does a brilliant and chilling acting job in his portrayal of a manipulative German politician. Finally, the show would not be complete without the Kit Kat Girls and Boys setting the fun-loving scene of the Klub.
The positioning of the band above the stage is a brilliant piece of set design and the perfectly coordinated lighting throughout the show creates a dazzling effect that sets the mood of every scene.
Supporting the cast is a group of incredible musicians led by music director Schein, who brings a red-hot jazz sound to the show.
Choreographer Olivia Grace puts her infamous dancers through their seductive and ribald paces. They glide along the stage with glazed abandonment, resplendent in their scanties. Costume designer Shala Adams鈥� flattering, intricate, and perfectly tailored lingerie should be available to the masses.
Cabaret runs at Vernon鈥檚 Powerhouse Theatre until June 17. The remaining shows are sold out.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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