Life is a Cabaret

BY JOSEPH PLANTA

Thursday, 01 June 2006

VANCOUVER - In Cabaret's self-titled, penultimate number, Sally Bowles beckons her audience with the same advice that she's gotten from her pal from Chelsea, Elsie. With apologies to Elsie, you ought to put down your knitting, that book, and the broom and come see Cabaret.

Currently at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage until July 16, is an entertaining romp through the bawdy Berlin of the 1930s. The reign of the Nazis aren't so much far off but simmering amidst the gaiety and frivolity as housed in the nightclub where Bowles, played by Sara-Jean Hosie, and an androgynous Emcee, who though covered in white face paint in unmistakably John Mann. Mann, who wowed audiences a year ago in the Arts Club staging of Miss Saigon, takes the stage with ferocity.

Historians will verify whether the Berlin mirrored is that prior to the Nazis coming to power. The risqué open sexuality makes for the setting of a dark musical whose book by Joe Masteroff, and legendary music and lyrics from John Kander and Fred Ebb, allow for healthy swaths of cynicism, very often peppered with ribald humour and over-the-top antics that delight as much as astonish. The result made for a bold musical in 1966. Forty years later, it is a landmark in the musical genre, and charming. On the stage of the Stanley, it is not an unwelcome production, providing for much entertainment.

In Cabaret, which opened last week, John Mann provides a tour-de-force performance, singing, humping, dancing, and stretching gender identities to the point of no return in the course of the evening. He towers in this production with his timing and ability to exude pure charisma, even in moments where his character acts in a less than sympathetic manner. Sara-Jean Hosie has the unenviable task of performing in a role whose portrayal in the film by Liza Minnelli largely embodies the public's perception of the role. Nonetheless, she takes on the role with gusto. Her singing is solid and her presence on stage is strong. She's essentially playing two roles, the popular performer who sings and dances at the Kit Kat Club, and the naïve waif off stage who doesn't understand the gathering political storm. She does well in both roles, effortlessly traversing from either throughout the show. Bob Frazer, who is not an unfamiliar personality in the local stage, last seen in the Arts Club's Absurd Person Singular, and last year in Bard on the Beach's Hamlet, plays a writer that's taken by Bowles allure. His is a multi-faceted role, who while figuring out his own sexual identity is thrown into the miasma of lewdness and gaudiness. Though he doesn't sing in the show, he still manages to pull down a significant part well.

Cabaret is a show whose songs have become better known then the story that seemingly strings them together. Very often, the songs have been heard first elsewhere. A fan of popular music going to see Cabaret may proceed to watch this show awaiting the placement of the songs that have been made famous by Minnelli or singing stars of her ilk. With a viewing of Cabaret, the songs take on different meaning thanks to the storyline. For example, "Maybe This Time," is not just about finding love at last and hoping it'll work out. "Cabaret" is not just an anthem for frivolity and celebration, and is as much about deciding on altering the course of ones life thereby affecting someone else's. And the "Money Song" is more than the listing of different types of currency in the world, as it is an hymn for the life that the characters have chosen.

Go see Cabaret for a good time. It's entertaining, cynical fun.

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Cabaret starring Sara-Jeanne Hosie as Sally Bowles, David Adams as Herr Schultz, Bob Frazer as Cliff, Nicola Lipman as Fraulein Schneider, and John Mann as the Emcee, with Jennifer Bishop, Lauren Bowler, Jeremy Crittenden, Ian Farthing, Sylvie Charlotte Gosse, Jackée Guillou, Kiara Leigh, Ryan Reid, Leon Willey, Robyn Wong, Seana Lee Wood. Director: Bill Millerd. Musical Director: Bruce Kellett. Choreographer: Valerie Easton. At the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage (2750 Granville St., at 12th Ave.) from May 18 to July 16, 2006. Tuesday at 7:30 pm, Wednesday-Saturday at 8 pm, and Wednesday, Saturday, & Sunday at 2 pm. Tickets are $29-$59.50, with discounts for students, seniors, and groups. Tickets available from Ticketmaster, 604.280.3311, or the Arts Club Box Office 604.687.1644, or visit www.artsclub.com.

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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE.