Otto Klemp as Bobby, Hailey Medrano as Sally, Jayson Heil as Victor in Cabaret. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.
Berlin, 1929. The city survived the horrors of the Great War and bounced back, brighter and bolder than ever. It was the height of European culture and entertainment, not to mention dizzying decadence and debauchery. But Berlin’s raucous nightclubs and their drunken patrons weren’t the only noisemakers in town. The Nazi party would soon win 107 seats in the Reichstag and claim political legitimacy and authority. Brownshirts prowled the streets, terrorizing Berlin’s Jewish inhabitants and vandalizing their property. They were no fonder of the “degenerate artists” and “gender traitors” who frequented Berlin’s world-famous cabarets.
No creative work captures this fraught time and place quite like the perennial favorite Cabaret, which has been revived and adapted numerous times since its 1966 debut. St. Louis’s New Jewish Theatre somehow managed to fit ten actors and a live band into a snug black box theater; the atmosphere is much closer to a smoky nightclub than a Broadway stage. As the play morphs from comedy to tragedy, Cabaret provides thrilling entertainment and a stark warning about the societal poison of antisemitism.
Cabaret begins with lively, lusty “Wilkommen” from the Emcee (Spencer Davis Milford) and the members of the Kit Kat Klub: Lulu (Amarachi Kalu), Texas (Lillian Cooper), Victor (Jayson Heil), Bobby (Otto Klemp). The versatile performers each play several parts, as well as an instrument: Kalu on flute, Heil on violin, and Klemp on clarinet. Double-billed as both German cabaret and Greek chorus, the entourage creates a meta-narrative around the unfolding drama of two expats: aspiring American novelist Cliff (Dustin Lane Petrillo) and Sally, a wannabe burlesque star from England (Hailey Medrano).
Cliff’s dealings with a Nazi agent (Aaron Fischer) have convinced him that the party has ended and it’s time to go home. Sally, meanwhile, dismisses the danger around them as “politics” and won’t give up her last shot at fame. The two are juxtaposed with another couple: Cliff’s landlady Fraulein Schnieder (Jane Paradise) and Herr Schultz (Dave Cooperstein), a fruit merchant. Schneider and Schultz have their elderly meet-cute while Schneider is chasing Fraulein Kost (and her sailor “friends”) around the apartment. When the conniving Kost threatens to report Schneider for marrying a Jew, the once-bold and brassy Schneider shrinks. Schultz insists that “this will all pass”—they will see that he, too, is German.
Cabaret features a legendary score from Jewish songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb. The songs advance the story and provide rich characterization, but they’re also damn catchy—a mark of a truly great musical. One of the strongest numbers comes early: Fraulein Schneider’s “So What?” The character lays out her stoic philosophy with an infectious, motherly charm: “For the sun will rise / And the moon will set / And learn how to settle / For what you get / It will all go on if we’re here or not / So who cares? So what?” Ms. Paradise’s rich, powerful voice makes this song a standout; its message of acceptance, however, becomes painfully ironic at the play’s finale.
Sally, the falling star of the Kit Kat Klub, dominates the first act with her freewheeling and frisky numbers. The character makes her debut with “Don’t Tell Mama,” which lays out her libertine approach to life: “I’m breaking every promise / That I gave her / So won’t you kindly do a girl / A great big favor? / And please, my sweet potater / Keep this from the Mater / Though my dance / Is not against the law.” It’s a spicy number with sultry vocals from Ms. Medrano and a mischievous routine by the Kit Kat girls. Sally’s next number reveals her fear of commitment and cynical view of romance (“Mein Herr”); by the second act, Sally is consumed with a self-destructive urge to steal the spotlight at any cost (“Cabaret”). Sally’s numbers are an irresistible mix of high and lowbrow and a masterclass in character study through song.
Cabaret is a story about people, as well as a place—the likes of which will never be seen again. A love letter to the legendary nightlife of Weimar-era Berlin, Cabaret is shot through with bittersweetness and a feeling of impending tragedy. New Jewish Theatre brings this special place to life again with its expert set design. Patrons will make their way through a velvet curtain, past a phonograph and cocktail tables (which served as overflow for the show’s sold-out debut). In addition to fine staging, New Jewish Theatre’s Cabaret features the musical talents of its live band: Brad Martin on drums, Alerica Anderson on bass, and Kris Pineda on accordion and trombone.
New Jewish Theater’s production of Cabaret runs from now until April 6. [Update 03.26.25: NJT’s run of Cabaret has been extended through April 13!—Ed.] Tickets can be purchased on their website; prices range from $29 to $61. Don’t be like the naive Berliners of the 1930s; act now. As Sally would say: “From cradle to tomb / Isn’t that long a stay / Life is a cabaret, old chum / Go to the cabaret!” | Rob Von Nordheim
