Plays-in-the-Park in Edison brings the Kit Kat Klub outdoors for a summer staging.
By: Stuart Duncan
The 1966-67 Broadway hit Cabaret has been revived twice since its first run of 1,166 performances. A 1987 revival cut some songs, substituted others and, in general, diffused Christopher Isherwood’s original novel and John Van Druten’s stage play. More recently, the 1998 Broadway revival further tamed the material lest theater-goers find the harsh mood of Nazi Germany in the early 1930s too offensive.
The stock and amateur rights for the current Broadway version have not yet been released, but the ’87 version has, and groups seeking to stage Cabaret are offered that one. Hence, the current staging at Edison’s Plays-in-the-Park uses a script with serious second-act holes.
Director/producer Gary Cohen has offered a colorful, zesty performance and might have done even better if he had the talent for the roles.
You remember the story: Cliff Bradshaw (Isherwood), a young wannabe novelist from Harrisburg, Pa., comes to Berlin just as the calendar flips to 1930, trying to find a peaceful spot to settle down and write his book. Instead, he finds a dingy rooming house run by a gentle Fraulein Schneider, and an even more decadent night spot, the Kit Kat Klub, where assignations are made from table to table by telephone and the dancers wear tacky lingerie. He also finds himself fascinated by an amoral young British girl and repulsed by the stirrings of the Third Reich.
It was ’66-’67 book writer Joe Masteroff who dreamed up the device of using Sally Bowles’ seedy club as the setting for much of the musical. In particular, he created the role of the Master of Ceremonies, played in the original by Joel Grey as a sort of social arbiter of the proceedings. The role has since been interpreted in many ways a recent Bucks County Playhouse version leaned so heavily on the homosexual as to be unbelievable (the Nazis, you recall, hated homosexuals as much or more than they hated Jews).
The Plays-in-the-Park staging puts the role in the veteran hands of Ed Carlo (known for his excellent work at Forum and Crossroads) and he strikes an appealing balance between unctuous charm and the bizarre it is a major triumph.
The rest of the large company, however, is simply not up to the demands of the show. David Hampson, as Cliff, has a wonderful voice but doesn’t get much of a chance to use it in this role. Instead, he must reveal the various shadings of Cliff’s (Isherwood, remember) wishy-washy character, including latent homosexuality, and Hampson falls short.
More disappointing, however, is Melanie Fox as Sally Bowles, one of the most interesting of all fictional characters. There’s no doubt the role is equally intricate and true, and she must carry much of the show on her shoulders. However, Ms. Fox not only doesn’t have the voice to handle the tunes, she doesn’t have a clue as to the depth of this girl’s sensuality, nor her reluctance to face reality.
Pat Powers Wry works hard to make Fraulein Schneider sympathetic, but the revised script chops too much of her best stuff. Veteran Nathan Parker is simply miscast as Herr Schultz. Rem Johannsen postures as Nazi bully Ernst Ludwig but fails to suggest real villainy.
In spite of all this, there is excitement in the staging. The Kit Kat girls look like leftovers from World War I (as indeed most of them were). The scenes in the nightclub have a decadent feel. Mr. Cohen has designed the set and it is right on the mark. So, too, are Cynthia Capraro’s costumes. The sound always lacks something in the opening production of the season. Here it constantly blares with feedback and occasional hiccups.
Plays-in-the-Park’s production of Cabaret runs at Roosevelt Park Amphitheater, Route 1, Edison, through July 14. Performances: 8:30 p.m. Tickets cost $3; children 12 and under free. For information, call (732) 548-2884. On the Web: www.playsinthepark.com