Life is a revamped ‘Cabaret’

Tom Titus

Put down your knitting, your book and your broom, and come to

“Cabaret” at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse. But be advised, this

isn’t your father’s “Cabaret.”

The John Kander-Fred Ebb musical, tracing the Nazis’ rise to power

in Berlin through the viewpoint of an American writer caught up in

its hedonistic seediness, has been reformed and refocused to

incorporate much of the movie’s decadent attitude. Local audiences

got a glimpse of this grimmer, grittier version a few seasons ago

when the professional touring production played the Orange County

Performing Arts Center.

At the Civic Playhouse, director and co-choreographer T.J. Dawson

has scraped off any glamour that might have been associated with the

musical, rendering his chorines at the infamous Kit Kat Klub as

raunchy looking and unappealing as possible. These ladies, as well as

the prancing male chorus, are depicted as sexual predators prowling

the club in search of conquests of either gender.

“Cabaret” draws its origins from the writings of Christopher

Isherwood, whose middle name, Bradshaw, serves as the surname for the

writer drawn into its dark, dangerous world. Hitler’s ascent to power

is just two years away, and already the swastika armbands are

beginning to surface. Many of these people -- particularly the Jews

and the homosexuals -- won’t be on the scene much longer.

At the outset of the show, New Year’s Eve, 1931, the bacchanalia

is in full swing and Bradshaw (Jason M. Hammond) is discovering an

exciting, intriguing world as he arrives to begin work on a novel. He

also discovers a free-spirited club singer (Jeanette Phillips), who

intrudes on his well-ordered, frugal existence but is most difficult

to resist.

At the Kit Kat Klub, the entertainment is overseen by a gregarious

but ominous emcee (David Marchesano), who typifies the celebratory

attitude that has taken root in Berlin. Marchesano is a commanding

presence, his appetite for both sexes is ravenous, and his gift for

irony is supreme. He also represents one of the major alterations in

this version of “Cabaret,” as displayed in his final moments onstage.

Phillips bears a startling physical resemblance to Liza Minnelli,

who played Sally Bowles both on Broadway and in the movie, winning an

Oscar in the process. Her Sally is a wild, drug-fueled and, on the

surface at least, carefree playgirl, who insinuates herself into the

writer’s life with a flourish. Her final number, the normally defiant

and upbeat title tune, mirrors her disenchantment and lacks the

finishing kick of most versions, although she beautifully renders a

hopeful number cribbed from the movie, “Maybe This Time” (though that

song, curiously, is not listed in the program).

Hammond reflects the outside world, discovering what few Berliners

realize about their beloved capital. His performance grows in

strength, as his values are compromised, and his normally calm

demeanor is stirred to a fever pitch. Through most of the show, he

scores highest by underplaying, in sharp contrast to those around

him.

The elderly couple who tentatively attempt a late-life romance are

beautifully interpreted by Marina Coffee and Robert Amberg. Coffee,

as the widowed landlady, underscores her survivor skills in her solo,

“So What,” and both warble giddily over a pineapple in “It Couldn’t

Please Me More.”

The Nazi anthem, “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” was chillingly rendered

in the movie version by a young, blond Hitler youth. This production

nearly approximates that moment when it’s done by the

youngest-looking chorus boy and later reprised by the boarding house

hooker (Francee Shapiro) as a frightening climax to the opening act.

Craig Tyrl provides a pleasant form of menace as the Nazi

sympathizer who courts Bradshaw’s friendship and his messenger

skills.

Jeffrey D. Klein is a sneering club goon and Brendon Kondratcyzk

typifies the flamboyant gay lifestyle -- even subbing for the second

of the “Two Ladies” in the cabaret’s comical number.

Dawson and co-choreographer Nancy Wood have created a dark,

destructive atmosphere in which even the comedy has perilous

overtones.

Musical director Laura Dickson presides over a robust, mostly

unseen orchestra. Costume designer Jennifer Garms has fashioned some

grittily suggestive outfits, and Coryn Ellis’ makeup is strikingly

Gothic in execution.

“Cabaret” was among the first true musical dramas when it first

surfaced four decades ago, and it remains a jarring,

thought-provoking production even as it entertains with high comedic

style. The Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse spares no sensibilities in

bringing this powerful project to the stage.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.