Revival of the Fittest; Strong Productions of Ghosts and Cabaret
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Summary
Writer Christopher Isherwood (played here with youthful charm by H.D. Southerland) observed it all. As did Kander, Ebb and Masteroff in their Cabaret. Beginning with a buoyant invitation to the cabaret, it moves to a satiric "Money, Money, Money," and hits home with a powerful Nazi hymn, "Tomorrow Belongs to Me." This is a musical that can't be ruined. Director James Dunn's fine cast of actors may not all be great singers or dancers but musical director Debra Chambliss keeps them on note while choreographer Sandra Tanner keeps them en pointe. Patricia Polen's costumes are scanty and sexy, and the Kit Kat girls (Megan Keynon, Christina Kramlich, Heather Gordon, Rana Kangas-Kent, Mia Camera and Lindsay Drummer) bring a big-stage energy to Ron Krempetz's ingenious, yet tiny set. Parallel love provides drama as Sally Bowles (Ishiah Benben) and Southerland's writer prove that timing means more than passion. But it is Fräulein Schneider (Anne Ripley) and Herr Schultz (Ian Swift) who steal the show with their late-blooming love. Emcee Erik Batz is as winsome and wicked as a young Joel Grey; Miller W. Oberlin makes a charming Nazi, while Linda Gaudiani's whore is bold and brassy.
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Extract
Revival of the Fittest; Strong Productions of Ghosts and Cabaret
"I've seen Judith Anderson doing Medea," someone said. "I never need to see another." Well, I never have to see another production of Ghosts, having seen Jonathan Moscone's faultless staging of Ibsen's 19th-century stor...
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