NELSONVILLE, Ohio –– Performed in theaters large and small throughout the world, late playwright Joe Masteroff’s musical “Cabaret” is ubiquitous with glitz, glamor, escape, and intrigue.
This week, a troupe of southeast Ohio performers will adopt its characters and step into the spotlight at Stuart’s Opera House. The troupe will stage a three-night run of the show at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 through Saturday, Oct. 26.
Media was invited to preview the musical ahead of opening night at 52 Public Square in Nelsonville, and the Independent watched as actors with chemistry and dedication to style prepared to shine, together.
(The preview ahead discusses the plot of “Cabaret,” and includes spoilers.)
Set in 1930s Berlin, dancers and patrons at the Kit Kat Club strive to find joy in a troubled Germany. It’s there that American writer Clifford Bradshaw (played by Stuart Yaden) meets British dancer Sally Bowles (played by Chloe Rader) as Sally’s reign as the club’s lead performer comes to an end. Cam LaGraff stars as the master of ceremonies, introducing the audience to the club, the city, and the sexual politics and dark cultural shifts that emerge along the character’s journeys.
The production is known for its blend of “spectacle and soul,” director Devin Sudman told the Independent.
The material is “emotionally charged and historically heavy,” Sudman said.
“’Cabaret’ dares us to look at that — to ask how we hold onto joy, hope, and humanity when the world around us begins to fracture,” he said. “’Cabaret’ asks us to stare directly at humanity’s darker side — the harm that begins quietly and grows when we stop paying attention.”
On Stuart’s stage, suggestive group dance numbers, flirty costumes, dramatic, dreamy light work, and a live orchestra bring the dynamic material alive.
“’Cabaret’ has always been more than just a musical — it’s a mirror, a warning, and a celebration. When it premiered in 1966, it reflected a world just twenty years removed from World War II. Today, it feels just as urgent and resonant,” he said.
As emcee, LaGraff’s energy and wink-and-a-nudge playfulness guides the musical’s course. Comedy and audience engagement is bolstered by dancers who commit to choreography by Ashley Sarver, ranging from insinuating shoulder-shimmies to flat-out booty-smacks.
The club’s “ladies” are played by Morgan Beck, Chelsea Boyles, Gracie Davidson, Ellie Yeater, Shroom Moellendick, and Samantha Pelham-Kunz. (Pelham-Kunz doubles as Fraulein Kost, a busybody tenant in the building where Clifford rents a room.) The “boys” are portrayed by Jaimon Austin, Dorian Callahan, Dakota Saul, and Dante Shope.
Flanked by the club’s rowdy dancers, Rader’s leading lady presence as Sally commands. Her formidable singing voice left the preview audience rapt; in the first act’s “Don’t Tell Mama,” her liberated character projects confidence and sex appeal.
After being fired, Sally and her charisma wiggle into Clifford’s new apartment. She moves in and becomes pregnant as the threat, then imposition, of Nazism comes alive in the background.
Clifford’s German boardinghouse keeper Fräulein Schneider (played by Rose Montgomery, whose pipes elicited a “wow” from the balcony seats) is involved with another tenant, Jewish fruit vendor Herr Schultz (played by Carter Rice). Their characters’ forbidden connection, once exposed, becomes an engagement. Tension grows. An end-of-act dance number results in an army-style goose-step.
Before he leaves, Shultz, the fruit vendor, says he’s not only Jewish, he’s German. He is confident that the troubled times will pass. But as the audience knows, the country became further marred as facism grew, and over years, Nazis and their affiliates facilitated the genocide of Jews and other people across Europe who they deemed less-than.
“We’ve talked a lot in rehearsal about not taking this work home with us — about finding ways to hold the story’s weight with care, but also to release it at the end of the night,” Sudman said. “Balancing that sensitivity with the joy and vitality that also live in “Cabaret” has been one of our greatest and most important challenges.”
Sudman believes that in these contemporary troubled times, “to create something beautiful and alive, even as the shadows begin to close in,” can be transformative.
“Cabaret” opened at Stuart’s Opera House Thursday night. The lobby and bar open at 6:30 p.m. with pre-show entertainment from professional burlesque dancers. As it includes partial nudity, the pre-show and main feature are intended for adults; all attendees must be at least 18 years old, or 17 with a parent/guardian. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Patrons can expect a 14-minute intermission; those with ADA needs are advised to call the box office at 740-753-1924 for accommodations.
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