The room grows dim, smoke fills the air, and the audience is greeted by an energetic and eccentric emcee singing, “Welcome to the Cabaret.” On Feb. 20, University Theatre opened their spring musical “Cabaret.” Set in 1931 Berlin during the rise of the Nazi Party, the Kit Kat Klub offers club goers a place where they can leave their troubles at the door. The story follows Cliff Bradshaw, an aspiring American author, as he moves to Berlin to work on his novel. While in the city, Bradshaw meets a variety of lively people, including the mysterious dancer, Sally Bowles.
Tara Mullins, the director of the NC State dance program and choreographer for the musical, talked about what she enjoyed most about working with the students.
“It’s been amazing,” Mullins said. “Everyone’s work ethic is so awesome too; the students are so dedicated for having to juggle all the other stuff they do, and their majors, and jobs, and internships.”
One individual aspect of the show is the presence of the cabaret dancers throughout the show. The dancers are colorful, eccentric, and so full of life it is easy to forget that the actors are not the characters they play.
The Emcee, the leader of the cabaret performers, is the first characters we see and he continues to be an integral plot driver throughout the show. Quirky and fun the character touches on some serious issues, such as sexuality and anti-Semitism, and moved the play along during scene changes.
Ryan Vasconcellos, a fourth-year in communications, played the dazzling role of The Emcee.
“The Emcee is really interesting,” Vasconcellos said. “I think The Emcee loves what he does, and loves everything about it, loves being in the cabaret, loves existing as this facilitator to make people feel good.”
As the story progresses, Bowles and Bradshaw become immersed in the nightlife of Berlin and eventually fall in love. They begin to plan a life together, but after Bowles loses her job at the club, the couple struggles for money. Bradshaw takes a job delivering political materials for his friend Ernst Ludwig, to make ends meet.
MacKenzie Scheid, a fourth-year in communication media, played the spontaneous and flirty personality of Sally Bowles. Described as self-centered Bowles provides a sharp contrast to the partner Bradshaw is searching for. Scheid talked about some of the difficulties of playing such a different character as Sally.
“Sally couldn’t be more different than me,” Scheid said. “She’s very carefree and doesn’t think about tomorrow, just lives in the moment, so it’s been kind of hard to relate to her.”
Eventually, Bradshaw discovers that his friend Ludwig is a member of the Nazi party. He realizes that Berlin is on the brink of a revolution and decides to go back home to America. He prepares to leave with Bowles, but the couples’ differences eventually lead to the demise of their relationship.
The show covered several controversial topics. Though the musical was written in 1966 about Nazi Germany, the themes of performance are still relevant. The relevance was part of the reason Mia Self, the director of the musical and assistant director for University Theatre, decided to direct the musical.
“In those moments when we’re looking at potential violence,” Self said. “What choices are individuals making that either make that easier to progress or harder.”
Despite its dark undertones, Cabaret is still a lively, upbeat show. More information about University Theatre can be found on their website.
