This ain't your father's "Cabaret," old chum!

Regular readers of Connecticut Wit know that my preference in musicals runs Gershwin-Squared, Richard Rodgers (with Hart first then Hammerstein), Cole Porter, Cahn and Van Heusen, and the rare Sondheim (i.e., only when he's the lyricist for Jule Styne or Leonard Bernstein).  They'd also know that my preferred stage version of scandalous behavior is Pal Joey's approach to his "mice" --- to "treat a lady like a dame and a dame like a lady."   And they'd certainly be able to figure out that my musical-cum-Nazis of choice would be the one with the would-be-nun with the Viennese kids dressed in old curtains.

So how then can I give a rave review to the disturbing and erotic production of Cabaret that is playing at Playhouse on Park until July 21?
 

Photos by Rich Wagner

Because it's so bloody well conceived, directed, acted, sung, and danced.  Everybody involved in this production makes it work. 

Sean Harris' direction maintains the perfect balance between rousing production numbers of the Kit Kat Klub and the deadly serious social problems that rap, at first, lightly on its door, then come flying through its windows like a brick, and finally tear the place (not to mention Germany, Europe, and the world) apart. 

Colin Britt's musical direction is remarkable (yet again); his marvelously precise ensemble can raise the heat and chill to the bone in frighteningly swift succession. 

And what can be said of Darlene Zoller's choreography? In the intimate space that is Playhouse on Park's theatre, an audience member gets to know the scantily-dressed, lithe, and acrobatic chorus of dancers very well quite quickly.  Indeed, I think, after last Wednesday's performance, I'd be married to at least two of them in some southern states!
 

The performances are all very fine and several truly remarkable.  Brendan Norton's Emcee (above top) lords over the action like the twisted puppet-master he is -- yet with a manic energy that he somehow manages to have implode in front of us.  And while Erin Lindsey Krom's Sally Bowles and Jake Lowenthal's Cliff give us the full arc of doomed love (from naive devil-may-caring to disillusioned horror) that we expect from Cabaret, for this audience member, Kathleen Huber's Fraulein Schneider and Damian Buzzerio's Herr Schultz (seen below) take this production to a whole other level.  Huber is so natural and compelling that I have a hard time imagining her having to make her decision about marrying her Jewish suitor every night.  And if (Spoiler Alert!) you don't think a pineapple is a loving gesture after Buzzerio's ridiculously sincere gift, you have no heart. 



The production designers Erik Diaz (Scenic), Marcus Abbott (Lighting) and Erin Kacmaricik (costume) all contribute mightily to the power of the play, as well.  (But, let's face it, I haven't seen that much lingerie since I first learned about the Victoria's Secret catalogue in the 1980s.)

At times alluring, decadent, quotidian, and appalling, this superb production can't help but make us face our roles in this tragic dance.  It's not an easy night at the theatre, but you'll find few more fulfilling.
 

   

"Into the Woods" at New Britain High School (a poetical recap)

Congratulations to all the talented students who performed in New Britain High School's production of Into the Woods! 

A fine job by all! 

In their honor, a poem:

Stephen Sondheim Despises Singers

mens rea motives
wrapped with lacework word-
play, ranging against the
page, plus no way to
clap at number's end

Preview Pictures from "Into the Woods" at New Britain High School...

...taken by the mother of Cinderella, to whom this blogger's a bit partial. 

I'm pretty sure these aren't in the order of the action, but, hey, they're only a teaser. 

Performances are tomorrow at 7 and Saturday at 1 and 7. 

You can still get tickets on the New Britain High web site.

Older daughter's been listening to the film soundtrack of...

...Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp, and then it dawned on me what Mr. Depp's doing throughout is, essentially, an imitation of Anthony Newley!

A new season has begun at Playhouse on Park!

...with a very nice production of the musical revue Side by Side by Sondheim, featuring musical direction by Colin Britt and Emmett Drake, and vocal performances by Brynn Lucas, Dana Mierlak, Meg Richardson, Catherine Rogala, and Scott Scaffidi. 

A talented cast, they tackle this tribute to early (pre-1974) Sondheim with aplomb.  The revue has a very loose plot following Ms. Richardson and Mr. Scaffedi, but the real focus is on the power of the individual songs.  Among the many highlights: Ms. Lucas's "The Boy From," Mr. Scaffidi's "Marry Me a Little," and Ms. Rogala's "Anyone Can Whistle," a song that was new to me and, in the space of three minutes, has become a new favorite of mine:

I can dance a tango.
I can read Greek -- easy
I can slay a dragon any old week -- easy.
What's hard is simple.

What's natural comes hard.
Maybe you could show me
How to let go,
Lower my guard,
Learn to be free.
Maybe if you whistle,
Whistle for me.

I, after all, can't whistle...but I can read Greek.

True to Mr. Sondheim's body of work, there was a nice mix of the dramatic and the comic, the solo and the ensemble. Messers Britt and Drake have fun with "Everybody ought to Have a Maid" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Lucas, Mielak, and Rogala go all out on their rendition of the stripper number from Gypsy, "You Gotta Get a Gimmick."

Sondheim can be decidedly difficult to perform, and Ms. Lucas's performance of "Getting Married Today" highlighted it.  I could tell, due to the size of the POP space, that she was enunciating every word in the excessively fast song (while acting the hell out of it too -- with lotsa of physical comedy!), but I still couldn't hear much of it.  The singers were not mic-ed (a fact by which I am always pleased), but it made what Ms. Lucas was asked to do almost impossible.  I applaud her heartily , as did the audience, for clearly giving it her all.

And, maybe it's my age, but while Ms. Mierlak sang two wonderful songs, "Send in the Clowns" and "I'm Still Here," and sang them wonderfully well, I couldn't help but think "She's too young for those songs."

One more idiosyncratic quibble, "All I Need is the Girl" needs some tapping in its performance.  Mr. Scaffidi did some movement but a bit o' tapping would have made it all the better.

Quibbling aside, the show runs through the 19th.  If you like Broadway songs done well by professional musicians and actors who clearly love what they do, get to Playhouse on Park before it closes.

(And, if you go next Saturday, be sure to stay for the Open Mic after the performance.  Yes, you can perform your favorite Broadway hit accompanied by Drake and Britt, or sing along with everyone else, or just sit and enjoy!  Last night's was very entertaining -- with older daughter even taking her shot with "Popular" from Wicked and "Somewhere" from West Side Story.  Besides, it's a chance to spend more time at POP, and who doesn't want that?)