Aug 1-18, 2018
at Gateway Playhouse
The Theatre Guide
Kristen Weyer
“Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome”. Chances are that even if you haven’t seen it yet you’re aware that these iconic words can mean only one thing: Cabaret! Now playing at the Gateway Playhouse, this classic was based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood. With a book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fredd Ebb, it is directed here by Larry Raben.
It is Berlin, Germany 1930. The crisp New Year’s air mingles with the haze of cigarettes and the palpable political tension of the time. We meet American novelist Clifford Bradshaw (Steven Grant Douglas) whose time in Berlin becomes inexorably entangled with singer Sally Bowles (Cortney Wolfson), the other renters in his boardinghouse, and the frequenters/entertainers of the Kit Kat Klub. This seedy nightclub, a seemingly otherworldly locale is presided over by the sensuous Emcee (Josh Canfield). “In here everything is beautiful” and none of the ugliness from outside is allowed to permeate. The laissez-faire atmosphere inside the Klub is in direct contrast to the harsh and dark reality that confronts their daily lives. As the play progresses, what began as merely dark undertones grows ever more menacing until it reaches its inevitable conclusion.
The design of this show is exquisite. Executive Artistic Director Paul Allan, Scenic Designer Michael Boyer and Lighting Designer Brian Loesch, have worked perfectly together for a stunning effect. The sets are brilliant and perfectly accentuated by the glow and shine of the lights. The boarding house is dingy yet homey, and the Klub is simultaneously black as night and impeccably lit. The Klub setting surrounds you and pulls you in. The wafts of cigarette vapors brilliantly entangle, and submerge you into the Klub with the haze. (Yes it is stage smoke, but yes, it still has an odor.) The feeling of authenticity this creates is bar none.
This cast performs superbly. Josh Canfield slays as the simpering and slinky Emcee. His accent and antics combined with fabulous vocals are an entertaining combination. Douglas is splendid as Cliff. His charm and general ‘likeability’ have you routing for him from the start. Dorothy Stanley and Steve Brady are charming as Fräulein Schneider and Herr Shultz. With bubbly vivacity, Wolfson plays Sally perfectly. Her smile is infectious, her emotions real, and her voice incredible, especially in her numbers “Maybe This Time”, and “Cabaret”.
Cabaret is a fascinating and interesting glimpse into the heartbreaking reality of pre WWII Germany. It shows the possibility of extreme escapism in the no rules, no inhibitions, no morals atmosphere of the Kit Kat Klub, and shows what it is that they all want to escape from. With incredible performances, great music and impressive choreography, by Lee Martino, it is clear to see why Cabaret has mesmerized for so long.
Newsday
Barbara Schuler
Screaming, cheering audiences rising in a standing ovation at the curtain call have become all but commonplace these days. Stunned silence, not so much.
But that's exactly what the actors at Gateway Performing Arts Center are facing right now, because no matter how many times you see "Cabaret,", the ending — Nazis everywhere, swastikas everywhere — hits you as hard as the brick thrown through a shop window at the beginning of the second act.
In this case, the brick was hand delivered by the Emcee (a superb Josh Canfield, putting his own spin on such an established character), who is all over the place in this intense production of the frequently revived John Kander-Fred Ebb musical. Canfield, getting quite the workout this summer at Gateway where he just finished starring in "Memphis," shows up often and in unexpected places in director Larry Raben's staging, a constant reminder of the ominous path ahead. There the Emcee is, peaking through the window of the train that delivers novelist Clifford Bradshaw (Steven Grant Douglas, solid as the unheard voice of reason) to Berlin. And again when the morally challenged singer Sally Bowles (Cortney Wolfson, playing the tough cookie whose insecurities show mostly in the title song) talks her way into his room. Then he sneaks in somewhat oddly (decked out in grass skirt and coconut-shell bikini top, no less) during the sweet love song "It Couldn't Please Me More" sung by Herr Schultz (Steve Brady) and Fraulein Schneider (Dorothy Stanley), both charming though she might tone down the glam makeup a smidge.
"Cabaret" is one of those shows that's manipulated with every production — songs added, songs taken away. Here the cute "Telephone Song" gets relegated to a couple of lines during a scene change, though the Kit Kat girls and boys get plenty of stage time in numbers like "Mein Herr" to show off Lee Martino's strip-club-tinged choreography. "Maybe This Time" from the 1972 film is included, and most notably, the Emcee delivers a haunting rendition of the often omitted "I Don't Care Much." The show's most controversial song is "If You Could See Her," sung by the Emcee and a gorilla, a song hard to take and sometimes dropped because of its harsh anti-Semitic message. Bravely, this production went with it and as always the last line, "If you could see her through my eyes, she wouldn't look Jewish at all," drew gasps from the audience. But really it's a song that has a much wider message, one of acceptance and tolerance. As does the play.
Dan's Papers
Genevieve Horsburgh
There are many reasons we enjoy musical theater. It transports us, entertains us and, if we’re lucky, makes us feel something. Cabaret is not a happy-go-lucky production, although it may initially seem so in the very beginning. Playing now at The Gateway Playhouse in Bellport, Cabaret is raw and gritty, depicting life in pre-World War II Germany—an intense and compelling story that does more than entertain its audience: it grabs you from the start. So hold on and enjoy.
At the Kit Kat Klub in Berlin, the cabaret is life. The seedy nightclub is rank with sex, drugs and dancing, led by an eccentric Emcee, played by the uber-talented Josh Canfield, who’s becoming a Gateway regular and continues to deliver one incredible performance after another. A true professional, Canfield embraces his character, embodying the delightfully unpredictable nightclub host, shocking and entertaining us throughout the performance. The opening number, “Willkommen,” is packed with raunchy dancing and bold lyrics. The audience loved every second of it.
We’re introduced to a young American novelist traveling to Berlin in search of inspiration for his next novel, Cliff Bradshaw (Steven Grant Douglas), who meets Ernst Ludwig (Alex Puette) on the train and the two strike up a friendship. Ludwig is a German who refers Bradshaw to Fräulein Schneider’s boarding house. Fräulein Schneider (Dorothy Stanley) is a kind German woman who takes Bradshaw in for half the price she usually charges for a room. She’s a sturdy lady who has endured the hardships life has thrown her way. In the number “So What” we learn just how dismal her life has been.
From the sedate boardinghouse, we’re transferred back to the Kit Kat Klub, where our exuberant Emcee is introducing headliner Sally Bowles (Cortney Wolfson) performing “Don’t Tell Mama” alongside the Kit Kat Girls. It’s a raucous, eyebrow-raising number and captures the devil-may-care attitude that existed in pre-Nazi Berlin. Our American novelist happens to be at the club that night and the flame-haired Sally catches his eye—although the other eye seems focused on male members of the Kit Kat Club. In the number “Two Ladies” it becomes clear that there’s no judgment at the cabaret, with boys kissing boys and girls kissing girls—it’s all part of the culture of Berlin before war ravaged the country and its people.
When Sally is fired by the owner of the Kit Kat Klub (who’s also her current lover) she latches on to Cliff and begs him to let her live with him. Cliff can’t resist the vivacious Sally and agrees. Unsurprisingly, Cliff falls head-over-heels in love with the cabaret star. When Sally becomes pregnant, Cliff doesn’t care that the baby may not be his. His love for Sally clouds his judgment and soon he demands they flee Germany and move together to his home in America.
In the midst of the shocking antics at the Kit Kat Klub is the budding romance between Fräulein Schneider and one of her tenants, an elderly fruit vendor called Herr Schultz. Almost immediately we can sense that the romance between the two is doomed. During the pair’s engagement celebration, we learn that Ludwig is a Nazi officer and that Herr Shultz is Jewish. In this scene we realize the tale unfolding before us is darker than we could have imagined.
The music of Cabaret is infectious, especially the namesake number. This cast is sensational and each number has its own flair and flavor. Canfield is spectacular throughout the performance as our Emcee–even showing the unsuspecting audience some love as well (can he be in every Gateway show?). Our Emcee becomes a darker version of himself towards the end, all culminating in the final act where the Nazis begin unequivocally changing the lives of our characters—and the world—forever.
