All revivals are an act of reinvention, and there’s nothing wrong with a director risking a few changes to see how it all shakes out.
Sometimes the experiment doesn’t work, as is the case with Matt Hawkins’ production of “Cabaret” for the Hypocrites, which tinkers with the Kander and Ebb musical in ways that fail to serve the show’s seedy milieu or its multifaceted story.
On one hand, Hawkins has ramped up the obvious (storm troopers appear as masked drones), and yet he hasn’t really pushed the envelope at all in his depiction of the last days of Weimar Germany, before the Nazis stamped out all that titillating horseplay during the Holocaust.
The Storefront Theater’s rough, industrial space is a terrific setting, but Hawkins has perched his actors on a raised platform, and it’s nearly impossible to convey a down-and-dirty vibe when the performers are elevated above the fray. (The indelible score remains the No. 1 reason to see this show.)
As costumed by Alison Siple, the girls of the Kit Kat Klub look as though they’ve wandered in from the Moulin Rouge. Gone is that Fosse-esque, slinky sexuality. It is replaced with fleshy beer-hall girls who lack any kind of lurid distinctiveness.
In the hands of Jessie Fisher, the role of the emcee is handled by a woman — a perfectly intriguing idea, if only Fisher had some bite or even a point of view. There is nothing dark or dangerous about her emcee, which drains much of the malevolent acid from the material.
But you want to know about Sally Bowles, the night club singer who cloaks untold pools of desperation and insecurity with that dazzling exterior. She is meant to be a force of nature, but also an incredible flake — and completely lost. In the role, Lindsay Leopold has a rich, clear voice and she is a sight to behold (the most athletic Sally I’ve seen yet). But she pushes very hard (actually, the whole production does) and she doesn’t shape the character beyond a collection of party-girl affectations. When she finally belts out the title song, there is no hint of emotional modulation or tragedy lingering beneath her defiance, and therein lies the problem. An indomitable Sally is no Sally at all.
When:
Through May 23
Where:
The Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St.
Running time:
2 hours, 30 minutes
Tickets:
$25 at 312-742-8497 or
dcatheater.org
