Written By Mia Molfetta
Photos By Audrey Walden
Arts & Culture
Winthrop’s Theatre Department’s production of “Cabaret” was an absolute powerhouse. The production of “Cabaret” ran from Wed., Oct. 7 to Sun., Oct. 11. The show was originally written by playwright Joe Masteroff in 1966, was in production from 1966 to 1969, and had multiple revivals on Broadway.
The entirety of the show explored politics in the topics of autonomy, fascism and Nazism. The musical lingered on the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1920s, but in a way that the audience is blindsided to what is going on until it happens, blinded by the lights.
The musical introduces us to the Kit Kat Club, a glamorous nightclub in Berlin. We meet the Emcee (Jade Watkins), the host of the nightclub, who introduces us to the world of the cabaret with all the glitz and glamour you can think of. Emcee is an unreliable narrator, with the distractions given to the audience so they do not know what is truly going on — a metaphor of mocking an already decaying society, and eventually becoming a part of the decay.
Following are the bright dancers of the club (Lily Moore, Teagan Johnson, Sara Montreuil, Addison Monroe, Riley Suthard, Meera Chokshi, Elijah Shanks, Philip Vaccaro, Mizaiah Mason, Connor Rothburg, Kya Spurgeon, and Kai E.T. Brooks).
Whilst being introduced to the glamour, we meet the woman of entertainment at the club, the iconic Sally Bowles (Grayson Skidmore). Sally is blinded by survival and self-sabotaging habits. She is the anti-heroine who is a strong example of political apathy, reclaiming bodily independence and self-destruction.
We meet Cliff Bradshaw (Henry Proctor), an American who traveled to Berlin, hopeful to become inspired to write his next novel. We see Cliff enjoying Berlin, being sucked into Sally’s world and thinking they could build something together. Eventually, he morally wakes up to what is happening and he attempts to wake up everyone around him, but can only do so much.
He is introduced to the Kit Kat Club by Ernst Ludwig (Salvatore Biscotto), a businessman who gives Cliff business but ends up becoming absorbed into the rise of Nazism.
Cliff also meets Fräuline Schneider (Madi McCoy), who rents him one of her rooms; introducing him to her love interest, Herr Schultz (Jacob Simpson), and Schneider’s relatively young renter next door, Fräuline Kost (Chloe Storm).
Schneider and Schultz’s romance is what starts the downfall of “Cabaret.” At their engagement celebration, Kost attempts to romance Ludwig, mentioning how Schultz is Jewish, so he talks Schneider out of the marriage, terrifying her.
Everything breaks down from that, the facade falling, until it reveals into a harm nobody can run from by the closing number.
Jade Watkins who played Emcee spoke to me about her process of separating the mindset of the character to herself, and what representing in “Cabaret” means on a personal level.
“It’s hard not to authentically and truly represent marginalized communities without committing fully and reaching into dark places, but reminding myself I am representing victims made me push through,” Watkins said. “To represent queer and people of color in 1920s Berlin was empowering. They paved the way for us queer artists, to be able to tell this story, and pursue my career means so much.”
Watkins lastly stated, “With still facing all political backlash, this show is that much more important.”
I had the luxury of also speaking to Kai E.T. Brooks, who played one of the Kit Kat Dancers. We chatted about their mindset with the show, and also what representation in the musical meant to them.
“I think it’s so easy to do research, and to get into the right mindset to bring them to life,” Brooks said. “When doing shows like this you can not put in only some effort, you have to go all out, and represent properly.”
Watkins and Brooks both shared a quote from Cliff to summarize what people should take from the musical: “If you’re not against all of this, then you’re for it, or you might as well be.”
From the set, choreography and singing, to the emotions from the amazing actors, the show had the audience emotionally involved from the beginning of the opening number. The major question of “Cabaret” turns to the audience by asking: “The train will not wait forever, so what would you do?”