I had not seen Cabaret before last night so I wasn’t prepared for how confronting the storyline is.
Cabaret is set in decadent pre-World War II Germany, right as the rise of Hitler is happening. German’s were distracted and self-absorbed giving Hitler the window of opportunity he needed to seize power, much like the USA with Trump today. The revival of Cabaret is timely as history repeats itself. This production is not longer a reminder of the past. It is a warning about the present.
The show itself is incredible following a touch-up for Melbourne by director Gale Edwards. The story tackles the mood of Germany in the lead-up to the rise of the Nazis and, much like America today, it happened slowly in stages. It is equally about the start of the nazi persecution of Jews as it does the promiscuity of the time.
While unfortunately, major technical issues at one time brought the night to a pause, the cast excels.
Paul Capsis as the MC lives the role he is playing while Chelsea Gibb as Sally Bowles, Michael Cormick as Ernst Ludwig, the legend herself Kate Fitzpatrick as Fraulein Schneider and John O’May as Herr Shulz bring authenticity to the show.
Cabaret is not entertainment, it is educational. This is not a show to go to for a good time. It is quite depressing actually. However, if the role of a great production is to provoke then Cabaret does the job.
