'Cabaret'combinesfantasy with reality

"Cabaret," which is set in 1939 Berlin, deals with political issues such as naziism. 'Cabaret' will be performed through April 26.

by Colleen Ehrle assistant arts & entertainmenteditor

"Cabaret" provides a captivating fusion of fantasy and reality.

This play is conducted in an unconventional fashion as an environmental production,which means the audience is expected to actively participate in certain scenes.

As one walks into the Grace Hall atrium, they are instantly transported to the Kit-Kat Club, a showbar in Berlin during 1939 where the audience serves as the club's customers.

The set is quite lavish with its backdrop paintings outlining the atrium. This large-scale production is perfonned on four stages in each comer of the atrium.

The scenes alternate between the Kit-Kat girl numbers of song and dance led by their superb master of ceremonies.junior Billy Myers, and American novelist Cliff Bradsaw's (junior Paul Monte) struggle to find some inspiration in Berlin. During

Bradsaw's pursuit he finds himself in the center of the political birth of the Nazi party, which slowly crept into the nation and then suddenly took hold of the population.

The cast successfully portrays the theme of ·•cabaret."

The friends and workers of the Kit-Kat Club choose to ignore the the Nazi conversion, with their "Life is a Cabaret" attitude. Their ignorance swells this political dilemma.

The Hitlerjugend, played by Cabrini alumnus Doug Eppler, successfully depicts the Nazi transition with his awesome dramatic and vocal performance.

One of the most powerful scenes is at the end of act one when Eppler initiates the song, "Tomorrow Belongs to Me." One by one, the cast joins in. which illustrates the intensity of the problem.

Another poignant scene was actually during the intermission when two sailors along with the Hitlerjugend pulled down the Nazi flag which hung above the Kit-Kat Club stage and marched back shouting "Heil Hitler."This was a critical moment because the master of ceremonies hadpreviouslytold the audience "There are no politics here," meaning the Kit-Kat Club. Consequently,this incident dramatically quells the crowd.

In addition, the role of showgirl Sally Bowles, Susan A. Wilkinson, enthralls the crowd and steals the show with her charm in her sultry numbers, glamorizing her lifestyle.

There were some challenges that were presented throughout the show. A few scenes in the first act seemed to drag and lack spontaneity. This could be attributed to the uneven breakdown of the two acts of the play. Act I was 90 minutes, followed by a 15-minute intermission and a 30 minutes for Act II.

Due to a lack of interest for the "Cabaret" try-outs, some of the talent suffered for a musical production, namely the quality of the singing.