Review: Cabaret

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Cabaret.
Cabaret is a show that I had wanted to see for years. It's an old classic that I have heard endless opinions about, but I'd never had the chance to see a production of it. I was in Washington D.C. on holiday and looked up which theatre shows were playing. I was thrilled to see that Cabaret was playing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Art (along with The King and I), so being the theatre fan I am, getting tickets was a no-brainer! Cabaret takes place in Berlin, 1932, just as the Nazi's are rising to power in Germany and World War II is just a short length of time away. What I loved about Cabaret the most was that it gave me a fascinating insight as to how Germany was before the war and what people were thinking at that time. Germans had different opinions; some thought that the Nazi's would never gain power, others thought that even if they did, then Jews would still be ok. It is both sad and terrifying to think that there were people who did not realise what a large threat they were, and I think that message is still very relevant today. People should always be concerned, we never know what is around the corner. The show features many allegories to the war, which are added in very subtly. Cabaret follows two major storylines; one being the relationship between Sally Bowles and Cliff Bradshaw (a young couple), the other being the relationship between Fräulein Schneider and Herr Schultz (an older couple). Both storylines are interesting, but I personally found that I enjoyed the latter. Fräulein Schneider and Herr Schultz, are both mature and retired, find love and happiness with each other, which is adorable to watch. They plan to get married, but this is thrown into uncertainty when Herr Schultz is constantly threatened for being a Jew. This storyline is interesting, moving and also heartbreaking. The score of Cabaret, written by John Kander and Fred Ebb, is brilliant. Cabaret is filled with many memorable tunes, with 'Willkommen' and 'What Would You Do?' standing out as particular "wow moments". The Emcee is excellently performed by Jon Peterson; Jon is absolutely perfect for the role. I've seen several clips of Alan Cumming as the Emcee and Jon sounds very similar. Leigh Ann Larkin's performance of Sally Bowles had many good moments, however I was not a fan of her British accent. I personally found it a little grating and I could tell that she was American. I don't feel the dialect coach correctly instructed her with this accent, and I found that it distracted from her performance. Benjamin Eakeley, as Cliff Bradshaw, was excellently cast. His acting seemed to be very versatile, he was interesting to watch and I really understood the character. As brilliant as her co-stars are, it is Mary Gordon Murray as Fräulein Schneider that steals the show. She has a very large stage presence and a beautiful voice, plus she was fantastic at all parts of the, both comedic and serious. She was phenomenal! Scott Robertson, as Herr Schultz, was also very good. As you all know, after Cabaret takes place, the Jewish are persecuted. Herr Schultz is Jewish, but he believes that all will be fine in Germany. It's heartbreaking to watch and Scott is very good at conveying the characters emotions to the audience. Despite this version of Cabaret being a touring production, the set, lighting and costume design were all exceptional. I had lowered my hopes for those three features, because with touring productions they can sometimes be lacking, but to my surprise they were all to a Broadway standard!

The featured star of Cabaret is, drum roll please... MARY GORDON MURRAY!

This decision came with no difficulty. Cabaret has a cast full of wonderful actors and actresses, but this was a performance like no other. Mary has a large control of the stage and had my attention every time she entered the stage. 

Now for my final verdict on Cabaret. I give Cabaret...

Cabaret was between a 3 and a 4 star, but in the end I decided that it just would not be fair to give Cabaret 3 stars, and hence my rating for Cabaret is 4 stars! Sadly Cabaret has now finished its US Tour, but Cabaret never stops being revived, so I imagine we'll be seeing it again soon!

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower raring? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer