“There was a cabaret. And there was a master of ceremonies. And there was a city called Berlin in a country called Germany. It was the end of the world … and I was dancing with Sally Bowles and we were both fast asleep,” wrote character Cliff Bradshaw in his novel about the sordid and haunting Berlin in Boston University On Broadway’s latest production, “Cabaret.”
First shown in at the Broadhurst Theatre in 1966, “Cabaret” has proven itself to be a timeless classic to any cast and band that is up to the challenge, and BU On Broadway was ready to rise to the occasion. With a strong main cast and an excellent orchestra, the show draws the audience in and won’t let go.
Syd Romo, a junior in the College of Communication, emulates the ghoulish Emcee of the Kit Kat Klub perfectly in the most demanding role of the show. Always lurking in the background and leering at the characters, Romo is hard to look away from, bringing a flamboyant personality to the character that drove the show.
Izzy Weinberg, a junior in COM, plays a seductive and vulnerable singer Sally Bowles, who falls in love with American author — and personality foil — Cliff Bradshaw (Ben Skross, a College of Arts and Sciences senior) who comes to Germany to write his novel. The two struggle with what they want, with Cliff showing himself as a true outsider looking into a world that he doesn’t understand.
Outside of the club, Fraulein Schneider (Lauren Linn, a CAS senior) and Herr Schultz (Hugo Lindsay, CAS junior) are the most wholesome duo in the show — untouched by the general seediness of the club, but not safe from the brutal politics of Berlin. Aside from them, Cliff’s first comrade in the show is Ernst Ludwig (Dylan Herina, a College of Engineering senior), a businessman and Cliff’s English student.
The orchestra brings the score to life, driving home the feeling of a classic jazz club, with the big band sound filling the performance center and never letting up. The show depends on the strong sound of an orchestra with a lot of “umph,” which creates the base for the show to build on.
The opening number, “Willkommen,” feels more like beckoning than a welcome, with Emcee luring the audience in with promises of a beautiful separate world and saying, “We have no troubles here. Here, everything is beautiful.”
But not everything is beautiful outside the club, something that becomes more prevalent as the show goes on. All of the characters are connected to the rise of the Nazi party in one way or another, creating a second act that plunges into the reality behind the face of the Kit Kat Klub.
The combination of cabaret-style songs and genuine scenes makes it feel as if the audience is intruding on the more intimate moments of the characters. The rawness of songs such as “I Don’t Care Much” and the title song “Cabaret” are deep, and the emotions of those singing them are just as raw as the lyrics themselves.
While the solos are strong, the group numbers are just as show-stopping. The choreography shines in this production, unabashed and full of life, especially in the arguably most debauched song of the show, “Two Ladies.” There are some missteps and late cues for some in the show, but they’re easy to overlook because of the raucous energy of the group.
And that’s what made the show work: the energy. Yes, there may be some mistakes made by cast and crew alike, but it didn’t matter — shouldn’t matter — because the feeling of the show, the power of the performance itself, was so palpable that it softened anything that went wrong. It’s easy to attribute this all to the cast and orchestra themselves, but a show is never without its directors or producers.
The effort that director Franco Camborda, a COM junior, and the team of producers lead by Kobi Kassal, a junior in the School of Hospitality Administration, put in is evident in the production. From the show itself to decorations put up in the lobby of the Tsai Performance Center, everything adds to the tone of the show to make it feel like a real cabaret.
BU On Broadway is able to put on a production that does the original show justice, creating a comedic yet heart-wrenching, easy yet uncomfortable show that will leave the audience reflecting on how even when the lights are in your eyes, there’s always something lurking behind them.
Without being there in person to see and feel the energy & excitement happening at BU on Broadway I am very happy for the Cast & Crew on their success! What’s next?