"Cabaret," #921

My first trip to Minnesota afforded me the pleasure in seeing The Guthrie Theater’s currently running production of Cabaret, a musical that continues to prove its relevancy without fail. With steady direction by Joseph Haj and simply superb choreography by Casey Sams–which both honors the Fosse and flapper styles impeccably–this Cabaret is one to see whether it’s your first trip to the Kit Kat Club or your umpteenth visit.

(Standing-Jo Lampert (Emcee) and Kit Kat Club members; Photo credit: Dan Norman)

Jo Lampert is a stellar Emcee, leading the opening “Willkommen,” “Money,” and a beautiful, dramatically sung “I Don’t Care Much” with charisma, allure, scintillating presence. A moment I could’ve sat in even longer is the extended percussive riff leading into the “Kick Line,” where Lampert finishes dressing in the regalia with precise beats, sharp movements, and a stare that truly travels 1,000 yards. Lampert’s transformation into the ending Emcee reality in the Finale hits hard and stamps Lampert’s performance as top-notch. Mary Kate Moore and Jason Forbach deliver natural chemistry and fill in their tense love with excellent disposition. Moore gives her Sally a fully realized arc while never losing her core: a woman who wants to win, by her rules. Moore’s turns at “Don’t Tell Mama” and “Mein Herr” establish the level of talent Sally has to be popular but not irreplaceable (this is a testament to Moore’s balance of legit leading actress with benign true to the charcater). However, Moore’s titanic patience and building of “Maybe This Time” is a triumph of notes and interpretation. And, due to–in my opinion–an ill-placed intermission, “Maybe This Time” serving as this production’s act two opener, it must capture the audience, and capture them it does. Forbach’s Cliff is debonair, tortured, and altogether affecting as the American novelist. Forbach’s duet with Moore, “Perfectly Marvelous,” is a fun ditty, offering some lighthearted flirtation with dreams and futures seemingly in reach. 

(Mary Kate Moore (Sally) and Jason Forbach (Cliff); Photo source: Guthrie Theater)

Michelle Barber and Remy Auberjonois are a scene-stealing couple as Frau Schneider and Herr Schultz, respectively. The two show what a hard fighting, true-to-form couple looks like, but not without heartbreak and reality-based fears and decision-making. Barber is strong in her turns at “So What” and a powerful “What Would You Do?” while Auberjonois is utterly charming and expert in his dueting with Barber in “It Couldn’t Please Me More” and a lovely “Married.” Sasha Andreev as Ernst Ludwig and Monet Sabel as Frau Kost round out the supporting standout performances terrifically. Andreev gives Ernst every ounce of dripping charm and likeability one could reasonably muster before turning heel as an early adoptee of the Nazi Party while Sabel does a marvelous job in her lady-of-the-night comic delivery and in song with “Married.” 

(Standing Center-Jo Lampert (Emcee) surrounded by members of the Kit Kat Club; Photo source: Guthrie Theater)

Marion Williams’ scenic design is outstanding in the minimalist stage level and universally utilized upper level. The ending of Cabaret is what people most often remember, and the use of doors meeting backlighting meeting a simply brilliant sound design by Mikaal Sulaiman makes for the very deafening silence a compelling Cabaret yearns to achieve and earns when the work is done; the work is done here and it is earned. If you happen to be near The Guthrie, do go see this Cabaret; it is not to be missed.