Content warning: This article contains mention of Nazism and antisemitism.
As the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912, its orchestra famously continued playing their melodies to calm the passengers. In 1929 Berlin, the members of the Kit Kat Klub kept dancing and singing, despite the backdrop of Nazism looming over the real-life-inspired characters of “Cabaret,” similarly turning to art as escapism in a moment of utmost turmoil.
Currently running at the Mitby Theater at Madison College, “Cabaret” welcomes the audience with high energy and the essence of carelessness that comes from a late night at a nightclub from the point of view of American writer Cliff Bradshaw (Jake Smolja). As the show progresses, whispers of antisemitism and authoritarianism grow to shouts, until the characters and audience are forced to face the looming threat.
The show, directed by Meghan Randolph, bridges the Madison community with college students. The 19-member cast includes student actors, alumni and community members. Students also lead stage management, assistant direction, lighting design and stage crew.
In seeing the stage, it’s hard to ignore the amount of love and care put into the show by its dedicated members. The construction of the set and the authentic costume design created a vulnerability you don’t get in professional, big-budget productions.
A charm of community theatre is the mundanity among the cast and team, an acknowledgement that the players are doing this show not for fame or money, but for raw passion for art.
And with a loose ensemble cast, each character gets their moment to shine. Fräulein Schneider (Jen Lennon) and Herr Schultz (Karl Reinhardt) delicately balance the joy of finding love and the hurt of lovers separated by forces bigger than them.
The Emcee of the Kit Kat Klub (Kai DeRubis) carries each scene with the charisma necessary to light up the seedy Berlin nightclub. Each time he entered the stage, the Emcee had a completely different role to fill, and DeRubis kept up throughout the two-and-a-half hour show with insatiable energy.
The Kit Kat Klub leading lady, Sally Bowles (Sarah Trejo Nava) depicts a woman who will run from life’s serious issues. Ever the image of fun, Trejo Nava offers a sensitive, multifaceted view of Bowles, rationalizing her worldview to understand why she cannot seem to understand the gravity of the rise of Nazis.
The current Broadway revival of “Cabaret” has received polarizing reviews, with some critics saying it’s the best version of the nearly 60-year-old show and some calling it the worst. The Madison College production sticks to more traditional aspects of the show, allowing the show’s message to shine at a time where it could not be more relevant.
Behind the music, electric choreography and staging, “Cabaret” asks us how far we can go to ignore societal issues. You can run to distractions and the fun of neon lights and blasting music, but threats like authoritarianism remain regardless.
Each character faces a different breaking point — not until the very end for some. In watching “Cabaret,” the audience is forced to question the extent of our own complicitness, a sentiment ever true among concerns of authoritarianism going into President Donald Trump’s second term.
Joel Gray, who played the Emcee in the original Broadway production and 1972 film, noted in the New York Times last year that audiences had become more sympathetic toward jokes that shocked audiences in the 1960s. Gray reflected on the purpose of “Cabaret,” which he described as “entertainment that seduces us into distraction… a cautionary tale that forces us to confront the perils of falling prey to such distractions.”
Written in the aftermath of Trump’s election, Gray closed his piece with a question: “will we listen this time, or will we keep laughing until the music stops?”
Madison College’s production of “Cabaret” not only offers a showcase of Madison’s community talent and a contemporary take on the classic show, but it arrives at the time it’s needed most. You can leave your troubles at the door, as the Emcee says, but don’t forget them on the way out.
Bryna Goeking is an arts editor for The Daily Cardinal. She also reports on campus news. Follow her on Twitter @BrynaGoeking.
