CSUN Troupe Breathes Fresh Life into 'Cabaret'

For 45 years, the odd mixture of debauchery, naiveté, humanity and political menace that is Cabaret has delighted audiences even as it provided a stark cautionary message. The latest version, directed by Ken Sawyer and presented by CSUN's theatre department, breathes fresh life into familiar material with its smart staging and uniformly good performances.

For those whose Cabaret experience consists entirely of the 1972 film that resulted in Oscars for best director (Bob Fosse), best actress (Liza Minnelli) and best supporting actor (Joel Grey),  the stage production offers a greater examination of the extremes in human nature and a slightly different mix of the marvelous songs  by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

Here, the focus is more diffused. The supporting characters  also have important stories to tell and get to tell them in speech and song. It's not that the pivotal roles of aspiring actress Sally Bowles, idealist author Cliff Bradshaw and the leering emcee are less visible or crucial in the stage version; only that they share the stage more with other characters who provide context and additional conflict.

Set in Berlin in 1929 and the early 1930s, Cabaret tells of the star-crossed romance between Bowles (Kelsey Porter) and Bradshaw (Paul Lacayo) played out against the dying days of the Weimar Republic and the ascendance of Nazism. The musical uses the familiar story of the Holocaust to show how political machinations, seemingly distant and vague, nonetheless have real consequences for real people.

No production of Cabaret could hope for a more amoral and cynical emcee than that played by Matt Hohmann. He is so filled to the brim with naughty energy that it even spills over into improvised interaction with the audience during intermission.  Hohmann's playful but purposeful turn provides strong cement for all of Cabaret's parts.

Like Hohmann, Porter and Lacayo are gifted singers, able to breathe fresh life into familiar melodies. Their performances are credible, even winning at times. Porter's rendition of "Maybe This Time" stays with you long after the curtain descends. Still, there are times when she seems just  a little too perky and Lacayo a little too wide-eyed than is necessary. Of course, these are minor adjustments that can be made over the course of Cabaret's run through May 8.

Apart from Hohmann, the greatest strength of this production is the performances Sawyer elicits from his enormously talented supporting cast, right down to the tawdry and bawdy singers and dancers at the Kit Kat Club.

Brianna McDonnell is excellent as Fraulein Schneider, Clifford's landlady who has survived a lifetime of financial reversals and is now focused on survival, merely retaining what she has left. She gives her heart to produce retailer Herr Shultz (touchingly played by Eduardo Arteaga) only to take it back for fear of what may come of an attachment to a Jew, even one who considers himself first and foremost a German.

Praise also is due Alex Pike as rising Nazi party member Ernst Ludwig and Dana Pollak as Fraulein Kost, who earns the money for her rent by taking care of a steady stream of sailors.

Production elements, including Leslie Stevens' choreography, Helen Harwell's scene design and Paula Higgins' costume design, are excellent throughout.

Cabaret is scheduled at CSUN's Nordhoff Hall  on April 30 and May 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Student Union Ticket Office 818-677-2488.