"What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play. Life is a cabaret, old chum, come to the cabaret!" Truer words have never been sung, and they have never been more true than now. With our world getting weirder and scarier every day, who doesn't need to "leave their troubles outside" every now and then? But Kander and Ebb's brilliant musical
Cabaret is a subversive little thing. It lures you in with fun and sexy songs and dances, and then slowly, ever so slowly, it reminds you that it's not so easy to forget your troubles. They're still there, even when we're not thinking about them, and maybe they've even gotten worse when we weren't looking, when we were dancing. This musical cautionary tale about the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany, which the Guthrie had originally scheduled for the summer of 2020 before a global pandemic shuttered all theaters, has never felt more relevant than it does right now in the summer of 2025. The Guthrie's stunning new production of
Cabaret is perfectly marvelous and utterly devastating, and it's
the #TCTheater event of the summer. Do not miss it!
The Kit Kat Klub remains open for business (until it tragically shuts its doors every night) through August 24.
The 1966 musical Cabaret is based on Christopher Isherwood's semi-autobiographical novel about Berlin in the early 1930s. Much of the action is set in a cabaret called the Kit Kat Klub, a mecca of art, creativity, music, love, sexuality, expression, joy, and life, at a time just before the beautiful city of Berlin entered the darkest period in its history, which resulted in the death of all of these things. This world is seen through the eyes of an American writer named Cliff, who moves to Berlin to work on his novel. He soon meets Sally Bowles, the star of the Kit Kat Klub, and begins a complicated relationship with her. He also befriends his landlord Fräulein Schneider and the other residents of the boarding house. They're happy for a while living in the decadence of the time, until reality comes crashing down around them. As Cliff says, "It was the end of the world, and I was dancing with Sally Bowles and we were both asleep."*
 |
| Sally Bowles (Mary Kate Moore) and the cabaret girls (photo by Dan Norman) |
I was fortunate enough to attend the first day of rehearsals for
Cabaret, a meet-and-greet with the cast and design team. In it, director Joseph Haj and the designers talked about their vision for the show, and how they didn't want to "telegraph the end of the play" too early, but really make it a joyful and fun celebration at the beginning. They succeed in that goal, which makes the slow descent into darkness all the more terrifying. This is 1930s Germany, we know how the story goes, but we're lulled into forgetting it for a little while. This production uses the motif of a train; several characters arrive and depart via train, we hear a train whistle increasing in volume as if it's barreling down upon us, and at the end of the show, a literal train appears representing the true darkness of the era. The play is beautifully and cleverly directed. Scenes take place alternately inside and outside of the cabaret, with seamless transitions between them. Sometimes we see characters in Cliff's room, which slowly transforms into the cabaret around them. The tone of the show is tricky, because it is both outrageously fun and horrifyingly serious, and the director skillfully navigates that shift, as the darkness and tension slowly build to the devastating finale.
 |
| Jo Lampert as the Emcee (photo by Dan Norman) |
The Guthrie has assembled a dream team of a cast, including three NYC-based actors with Broadway and Off-Broadway credits in the three lead roles. First off is our host - the amazing Jo Lampert as the Emcee. She brings something new and fresh to this role usually played by a man (and still referred to as he), further expanding the gender fluidity of the character. She sings gorgeously, bringing new life to these familiar songs, and fully embodies all facets of the Emcee, our ever-present guide into this world, reacting to all of its wonders and dangers. Mary Kate Moore (who impressed as Fontine in a touring production of
Les Miserables seen at the Orpheum in 2018) is a wonder as our Sally. She's all light and flirty, covering a deep well of feeling. Her performance of "Maybe This Time" is heart-wrenching, and the title song is a show-stopper, starting out soft and fragile, ending in a belting cry of desperation. As Cliff, Jason Forbach gives a lovely and genuine performance, with a voice that makes me wish Cliff got to sing more than just snippets of a couple songs.
This marvelous trio is surrounded by a deep bench of mostly talent. Michelle Barber is a natural as Fräulein Schneider, paired with a charming Remy Auberjonois as her beau Herr Schulz; their relationship is so sweet and believable. The talented cast also includes Sasha Andreev as Cliff's mysterious friend Ernst, Jon Andrew Hegge as Kit Kat Klub owner Max, and the beautiful cabaret girls (Stephane Anne Bertumen, Vie Boheme, Janely Rodriguez, Andrea Mislan, Monet Sabel, and Elly Stahlke) and boys (Brian Bose, Joe Bigelow, Berto Borroto, and Nathan Huberty), each one a unique and specific creation even if they don't have many lines. And cabaret girl Monet Sabel (whom you may remember from her gorgeous performance as Carole King in the Chanhassen's Beautiful last year), also doubles as Fräulein Schneider's tenant Fräulein Kost, and sings so beautifully the German verses of "Married" that anyone who says German is an ugly language would change their tune. In fact I was impressed by all of the German spoken in the show, and the German-accented English, which sounded quite authentic to my German-minor ears (thanks to everyone's favorite dialect coach, Keely Wolter.)
 |
the Emcee (Jo Lampert) with the cabaret girls and boys
(photo by Dan Norman) |
Which brings me to this bee-uuutiful orchestra! I was also fortunate to attend the Sitzprobe, another beautiful German word that refers to the first rehearsal of the cast with the full orchestra, as they sing through all of the songs in the show. Music Director Mark Hartman (Joseph Haj's go-to Music Director) leading the ten-piece orchestra sounded truly beautiful in that rehearsal room, and even better on stage in all their glory. It's so fun to be able to watch them seated at the back of the stage, an integral part of the cabaret. They, and this talented cast, make this familiar and beloved score sound gorgeous. And Casey Sams' choreography is really fabulous and inventive, from the robotic dolls in "Money" to the dancing gorilla in "If You Could See Her."
 |
Sally (Mary Kate Moore) in Cliff's (Jason Forback) room
(photo by Dan Norman) |
The ingenious set design allows for easy transition between locations, with a raised platform in the center of the thrust where both the cabaret performances and the boarding house scenes take place. When we see Cliff's bedroom, the platform smoothly slides to the side in order for the "one narrow bed" to be raised from below. A dark and worn wooden floor covers the stage, an off-kilter frame surrounds the orchestra, and a row of small cubbies are suspended above it all that allow us to watch the cabaret performers in their dressing rooms. The set is open to the back wall of the theater, where props, set pieces, and costumes are stored, like they would be backstage at any cabaret show. The donut of the turntable on the thrust stage is used sparingly to bring people and set pieces on and off stage. And everything is lined with light bulbs, nearly 550 according to the program, for a glitzy stage show feel. (Scenic design by Marion Williams, lighting design by Josh Epstein, sound design by Mikaal Sulaiman.)
The costume design (by Jen Caprio) does a great job of making this cast look their most gorgeous, with many a toned torso on display. The costumes are skimpy and sexy, but also help to define each character's individual personality, and play on influences from the location and time period. As the program notes, "think: scandalous lederhosen." The Emcee's array of gender fluid outfits and endless wig changes are particularly fun, as are Sally's flapper dresses, and the cabaret girls' "Money" costumes. And the use of swastikas and German war helmets is as disturbing as it should be. For anyone who saw the new play A Pink Triangle at the Phoenix, you would recognize this sober symbol.
Cabaret has long been one of my favorite musicals, and I never pass up an opportunity to see it. But this production, at this time, is something truly special and unforgettable. It's playing through the end of summer so you have no excuse not to see it, and also partake of some of the fun and interesting events planned around it. Like the bar that has been turned into the "Kit Kat Bar" with themed cocktails, occasional pop-ups of a Mac lipstick counter, post-show discussions, relaxed performances, and a Symposium the weekend of July 12. Click here for all of the details.
*Plot summary borrowed from my reviews of previous productions.
