LA Review: 'Cabaret'

"Cabaret," Joe Masteroff, John Kander, and Fred Ebb's signature musical, has proven mutable since its groundbreaking 1966 Broadway debut under the supervision of legendary producer-director Harold Prince. Every revision has brought something new to the table, and as with each incarnation the 1987 revival script, again overseen by Prince, has its pluses and minuses. In the hands of director David C. Carnevale, who also designed the set, the show's pace is admirably rapid, facilitated by lightning-fast scene changes, and the musical numbers are engaging and self-assured. Carnevale's modified in-the-round staging is surprisingly warm, and its view of most of the characters is nearly sentimental.

That may be fine for the Fraulein Schneider–Herr Schultz subplot, but with its juxtaposition of seedy, decadent nightclub life and the malignancy of Nazism, the rest of "Cabaret" cries out for more darkness. The team of Stephen Amundson (musical director) and Frankie Marrone (choreographer) creates tightly staged song-and-dance scenes that put the focus on the characters and Ebb's lyrics. The cast members, principals included, won't blow you away with their singing skills, but because of the score's music-hall style, no harm is done.

Tito Ortiz emphasizes the Master of Ceremonies' weirdness and eccentricity but not his sinister side. When this M.C. hovers around other characters during their scenes, it's merely in idle curiosity. The superb Andrea Dennison-Laufer makes a more mature, more elegant Sally than is typically seen. She downplays the role's flightiness while still nailing Sally's head-in-the-sand approach to anything that encroaches upon her fun-at-all-costs credo. Dennison-Laufer's portrayal anchors the show, and her rendition of the title song is spellbinding. Jaycob Hunter's Cliff is more clueless and bewildered than the usual sad-sack approach to this stand-in for Christopher Isherwood (author of the autobiographical short stories on which the musical is based), making Cliff an almost bizarrely naive and unwitting witness to history.

As Ernst, Matthew Carvin delivers the evening's most disturbing work, a teasing glimpse of what this staging could have been. His creepy Ernst is dead on the inside yet oddly sincere in his belief in Nazi philosophy. Sherry Domerego, as Fraulein Schneider, and Richard Comeau, as Herr Schultz, mirror each other's gentle, delicate portrayals without Domerego sacrificing her character's harsher qualities. The 10 Kit Kat Girls and Boys are spot-on, with special kudos to Melanie Gable, whose Fraulein Kost is both a sexually amoral tenant of Fraulein Schneider and one of the nightclub's performers.

Dennison-Laufer's dialect coaching pays off: The cast's German-accented English is impeccable. Shawn Fidler's moody lighting enhances the minimalist staging, and the visual impact of Joey Baital's period costumes cannot be stressed enough. Each character's attire matches his or her personality traits, while the playful-naughty duds the girls and boys wear in their club routines amount to dressing actors for a play within a play.

Presented by Theatre Out at the Empire Theatre, 202 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. June 29–Aug. 4. Fri. and Sat., 8 p.m. (Additional performances Thu., July 26, 8 p.m.; Sun., July 29, 2 p.m.; Thu., Aug. 2, 8 p.m.) (714) 220-7069 or www.theatreout.com.