It was definitely not my intention to schedule two theatre trips where the story focused on Nazi-ism in Berlin in the 1930s and 1940s within days of each other, but that is what happened this week. So, just a few days after seeing Alone in Berlin, J and I had our first trip to the Leeds Grand Theatre of the year, to see a matinee of Cabaret. It’s a musical I love, both on stage and on film (and I’ll stop going on about my love of Schitt’s Creek in this theatre blog at some point, but I ADORED Noah Reid playing his character of Patrick playing Emcee, and ditto Emily Hampshire playing Stevie playing Sally Bowles, just FYI). That said, I really wanted to see this production on tour for one key reason – John Partridge. I adored him in La Cage Aux Folles a few years ago, and he was great in The View UpStairs last year, and the thought of him playing Emcee was irresistable.
I was in no way disappointed.
If I get no other message across about this glorious production, then I need to absolutely make it known that John Partridge was born to play Emcee. From the moment he appeared in the first scene, singing Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome, he was mesmerising. Charismatic and funny and tragic and with amazing vocals and moves, he lived that part. Fabulous.
The rest of the cast were all great too. Anita Harris as Fraulein Schneider was as iconic as you would expect, and Kara Lily Hayworth was a beautiful Sally Bowles with Maybe This Time delivered in spell-binding fashion. Her relationship with Cliff (Charles Hagerty), and its complexities, came across brilliantly in the interplay between the two. The choreography was spectacular and executed flawlessly, especially in the Kit Kat Club scenes. I was able to lose myself in the spectacle of these, even though I knew that there was tragedy to come. And that is the unique thing about Cabaret – the mix of the excess and spectacle in the first half, contrasted with the impending tragedy of the rise of the Nazis and what it means for the people such as those in the Kit Kat Club that is covered in the second half.
I don’t want to give too much away about how the brutality is portrayed in this production, because I don’t want to lessen the impact for anyone who is yet to see it, but it is powerful and direct and every single actor on the stage for these scenes has a key part to play in delivering it.
I have nothing negative to say about this. The only small downside to the whole afternoon was dealing with a couple of fellow audience members who seemed to think that their conversation was more important than respecting the actors on stage. One day I will work out why folk will spend £40 or £50 and then not pay any attention to the entertainment they have chosen to come to, one day… Anyway, I do not want to leave this on a negative note. This may be the best thing I see all year. It was that good.
Clare's theatre ramblings 