Cabaret at Flat Rock Playhouse
The creative teams at Flat Rock Playhouse and Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre must have been drinking the same water as they separately plotted out their 2024 seasons — liquid that’s proving life-affirming as the companies’ plans play out this summer.
Produced in seemingly intentional response to the recent rise in antisemitism and fascism around the world, SART’s June staging of Fiddler on the Roof and now FRP’s July run of Cabaret provide blisteringly modern reminders to learn from the past and not repeat its shameful mistakes. But they also encourage theatergoers to celebrate life’s beautiful elements, which in turn have the power to fuel the fight against the forces that threaten the beauty.
Energetically directed by Chase Brock, the Rock’s first ever staging of Cabaret proves a tough but rewarding musical to watch — not solely for its gut-churning portrayal of hate and inevitable doom, but because it lacks the full-fledged celebration of Jewish culture that Fiddler specializes in before its own dark turn.
Set in 1929-30 Berlin during the last days of the jazz-era glitz before Germany’s fall to the Nazi party, Joe Masteroff’s book — and the provocative updates from Sam Mendes’ 1993 London revival that Brock is wise to keep — along with the still potent music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb have historically drawn top talent to its iconic roles, particularly the cornerstones of the seedy Kit Kat Club: the Emcee and Sally Bowles.
From his introduction in a giant knit suit — one of many inspired costume choices by Tim Barham — Joseph Medieros offers a bubbly take on the Emcee that goes down far more smoothly than Eddie Redmayne’s malfunctioning toy interpretation in the recent Broadway revival. A constant delight, Medieros pops up from various corners of the stage, often to usher in the next scene or musical number, and is a truly willkommen presence, even (especially?) as the narrative grows dire.
Meanwhile, Lisa K. Bryant’s curly blonde hair instantly sets her apart from the black bob of Liza Minelli’s Sally in the 1972 film version, and though other famous blondes have tackled the role onstage, FRP’s artistic director makes it her own. Zeroing in on Sally’s distinct mix of optimism and tragedy, Bryant gives her all to showstoppers “Maybe This Time” and “Cabaret,” adding to the rich lineage of local theater administrators also being marvelous performers — something that SART’s Chelsey Lee Gaddy and NC Stage Co.’s Charlie Flynn-McIver remind us of on a regular basis.
As is the nature of Cabaret, the rest of the ensemble exists primarily to prop up these more colorful roles and sketch in the lives of such everyday Berliners as boarding house owner Fräulein Schneider (Marcy McGuigan, who nails her two big solos, “So What” and “What Would You Do?”) and her kindly produce vendor suitor, Herr Schultz (Bruce Sabath, exuding near-illegal levels of adorableness).
Still, big personalities emerge from this fabric, namely Amy Jo Jackson as lady of the night Fräulein Kost, whose full-throat belting on “Married” may or may not have shaken the rafters. And the nimble dancers and singers as the Kit Kat Klub pack enough pizzaz (and amusing cutout props by Kenzie Conner) to compensate for the show’s decidedly less flashy protagonist, American writer Clifford Bradshaw.
In the largely thankless role, Parker Pogue nevertheless excels as the audience’s surrogate, one charmed by Sally and the vibrant German people he encounters, yet horrified by the nation’s corroding underbelly — and blessed/cursed with the ability to escape it all and return to his true home.
Sparking Cliff’s disillusionment are the true motives of his smuggler friend Ernst Ludwig (Scott Treadway, masterful yet again in his second consecutive nefarious part after playing the warden in Shawshank Redemption). And despite the ills plaguing the world and the political polarization in our backyard, it’s encouraging that the mere sight of a swastika on someone’s sleeve can elicit gasps and groans at a Saturday matinee in a strongly conservative county.
As the first act’s glee is gradually replaced by dread and heartbreak — and the Emcee grows increasingly desperate to entertain his shifting clientele — charms still arise via the tight unseen band under the direction of Ethan Andersen, as well as the production design. For anyone who’s been to a FRP show, it should come as no surprise that the scenic design is top-notch, and yet Andrew Boyce’s segmented, mobile construction that switches from a train to the Kit Kat Klub to the boarding house with help from different furniture, props, and lighting remains stunning to behold.
Perhaps most unnerving is the slowly growing presence of mannequins in the Kit Kat Klub audience. Though the choice goes without commentary, it suggests a growing body count in the wake of the Nazis’ rise to power — an interpretation supported by the show’s profoundly somber ending.
Such a conclusion makes it difficult to be vocally enthusiastic for the cast and crew once the curtain call arrives. But they deserve the loudest cheers you can muster.
Cabaret runs through Saturday, Aug. 3, at Flat Rock Playhouse. For details and tickets, visit flatrockplayhouse.org
(Photos: Jeb Purcell)
