Theater review:
Littleton and Co. Perfectly Marvelous in ‘Cabaret’
February 18, 2013
Evans Donnell – ArtsNash
I’m not sure life is a Cabaret, but I do think you need to get out of your room (or wherever you are) and
see Tennessee Repertory Theatre’s remarkable production.
Those involved in bringing the Joe Masteroff/John Kander/Fred Ebb classic to throbbing life in the
Johnson Theater black box have done a fine job capturing the largely dark, somewhat gritty and
sometimes raunchy aspects of the 1998 revisions to the show that first hit Broadway in 1966. I saw the
1998 New York revival, and Tennessee Rep’s production mostly matches up quite nicely with my happy
memories of that presentation.
I’m not saving the best for last – Jenny Littleton’s bravura performance as Sally Bowles is one of the best
in her distinguished career. Yes, she was nominated for a prestigious Jeff Award for her criticallyacclaimed work during Doyle and Debbie’s eight-month run in Chicago, but Nashville folks that have
seen her in that show and others know she’s one of the most talented and versatile actors to grace our
stages in many years.
There are a multitude of moments to which I can point that make me rave about Littleton’s performance
– from Sally’s emotionally-charged dialogues with Clifford Bradshaw (played with an earnest sweetness
by Patrick Waller) to putting the electricity into hellzapoppin’ renditions of “Mein Herr” and “Maybe
This Time” she clearly conveys the joys and sorrows of her character’s existence. But it’s her delivery of
the title song in Act II that I will remember as long as I can recall anything I’ve ever seen in a theater.
Her voice and body trembling, this “Cabaret” provides no jaded-but-jaunty tribute to a philosophy of
life; Littleton’s Sally is a wounded animal that cannot mask her pain any longer, and that pain claws its
way out of her until it pierces and thoroughly penetrates our ears, eyes, minds and hearts. I thought I’d
never see a better take on that number, or on the character of Sally, than Natasha Richardson’s Tony
Award-winning portrayal; at Saturday’s opening show I did. Thank you Ms. Littleton.
As the Emcee David Compton is a devilishly delicious delight. Costumer Trish Clark has outfitted him
much as Alan Cumming was in that 1998 revival; suspenders but no shirt is the order of the day (along
with rouged nipples) for his main look, although clothes for all occasions – and both genders – ultimately
find their way onto his slender frame. The 51-year-old actor delivers high kicks that would challenge
performers 30 years his junior, and creates an appropriately playful, sensual and mischievous mood
from the start.
“Willkommen,” “Two Ladies” and “Money” with the Kit Kat Klub Girls (a strong outing for the
undergarment-and-bruises-bedecked Elizabeth Claire Bailey, Mia Rose Ernst, Rosemary Fossee, Kristi
Mason, Martha Wilkinson and Marin Miller) come off well under his guidance. His big moment, though,
comes in Act II’s “If You Could See Her” when he utters a line that’s still stunning decades after it was
scripted (and then dropped after protests during a Boston try-out) in the original production before
being restored to the Cabaret canon through its use in the 1972 film version. Compton makes that
statement – indictment might be a better description – as chilling and shocking as it deserves.
There’s some fine work from others in the ensemble that includes Mike Baum, Stephen Michael Jones,
Caleb Marshall and Jeremy Maxwell. Of special note is their beautiful harmonic convergence on the
first rendition of “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” which is highlighted by Baum’s lovely high register. When
that song is terrifyingly reprised it’s in the capable hands of Wilkinson as the prostitute Fräulein Kost and
the smiling but nefarious Ernst Ludwig skillfully portrayed by B.J. Rowell.
Last but certainly not least in the acting department are the sublime performances turned in by Ruth
Cordell (Fräulein Schneider) and Derek Whittaker (Herr Schultz). Their work together and apart as
mature lovers doomed by the approaching specter of Nazi control is heart-rending; Cordell’s spirited
delivery of “So What” near the top of the show is one of this production’s highlights, as are the lovely “It
Couldn’t Please Me More” and “Married” duets they pull off so gracefully.
Gary C. Hoff has produced another terrific set. It’s a technically sophisticated two-story backdrop with
turntables stage left and stage right that allow us to go from the Kit Kat Klub (which continues offstage
with some appropriately styled tables, complete with period telephones, in the front of the audience
section) to Fraulein Schneider’s boarding house and elsewhere quite quickly; Hoff and his team have
fashioned a dark, dilapidated look that’s in keeping with the “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we
die” decadence that runs through this piece.
Clark’s costumes, Michael Barnett’s lights and Paul Carrol Binkley’s sound are all in good order; and
conductor Binkley’s playing along with Mike Casteel, Larry Crew, Russell Davis, Mark Douthit, Antonia
Ferguson, Barry Green and Bob Mater is excellent, though it might have been funny if the “beautiful”
orchestra had worn wigs or found some other way to acknowledge the description of them given by the
Emcee at the start (to be fair, Binkley was flamboyantly garbed Saturday night as he led the music
upstage center). Choreographer Pam Atha is faithful to the movement principles established for the
1998 revival but her work isn’t some stale copy; as with her other dance designs for shows over the
years there’s a vibrancy that makes every kick, turn and step quite fresh.
Producing Artistic Director René D. Copeland has certainly brought all the elements for an entertaining
Cabaret together. I think it would have upped the fun to have even more interaction with the audience,
though efforts are certainly made in that respect (particularly by Compton just before Act II begins). I
know, though, that it’s not easy to do that and keep the show humming along.
But this Cabaret turns on the star power brought to it by a phenomenally gifted actor. Yes, this musical
and the Christopher Isherwood stories that inspired it are great material with which to work, but to
utterly own a part that has belonged to the likes of Liza Minnelli and Richardson as Littleton does in
Tennessee Rep’s production is still an incredible feat.
Tennessee Repertory Theatre presents Cabaret through March 16 at Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s
Johnson Theater (505 Deaderick St.). Performances are at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and 7:30 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays; there are 2:30 p.m. matinees Feb. 23, March 2, March 9 and March 16. Tickets
(Starting at $42.50; for students with valid ID seats begin at $11.50) are available online here or by
calling (615) 782-4040. Note: This show contains mature content and is not suitable for all ages.