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The Justice Theater Project Is Staging the Darker,
Grittier 1998 Version of Cabaret on June 7-23

"Life is a cabaret, ol' chum, so come to the Cabaret."

When The Justice Theater Project's artistic director, Jerry Sipp, asked me if I would be interested in directing and choreographing Cabaret as the final show on their 2023-24 season, I jumped at the chance. I loved the 1972 movie when I was a kid, especially the dancing; and over time, I knew every lyric of every song. It's one of my favorite musicals, and I was grateful for the opportunity and excited to get started.

I was immediately curious about which version we would be doing, and was pleased to find out that it would be the 1998 version, which won:

• Four 1998 Tony Awards®: for Revival, Actor (Alan Cumming as The Emcee), Actress (Natasha Richardson as Sally Bowles), and Featured Actor (Ron Rifkin as Herr Schultz).
• Three 1998 Drama Desk Awards: for Outstanding Revival, Actor, and Actress.
• Three 1998 Outer Critics Circle Awards: for Outstanding Revival, Actor, and Actress.

This is the second show that I've directed for The Justice Theater Project, and I feel like this show is a great choice for them. Their mission is to produce compelling theater experiences that create community dialogue and engagement. I believe that the performing arts: theater, dance, music -- at their best -- can and should give voice to social concerns. Cabaret hits that mark -- being both great musical entertainment and a sobering piece of theater.

Cabaret, a musical originally written in 1966, was certainly on the edgier side of musicals for its time. It tells the story of a cabaret in Berlin during the rise of fascism. The leading lady, Sally Bowles (played by Bridget Patterson), is a young woman who moved from London to Berlin, and ended up as performer at the Kit Kat Club. She embraces life as an artist, living loosely and freely. Sally ends up in a relationship with an American writer, Cliff (played by Christian O'Neal). Life slowly turns to chaos as the presence of Nazism becomes harder to ignore. The tradition of cabaret is different from a nightclub or variety show. Cabaret is closer to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert or Saturday Night Live -- lampooning politics and world events, and hosted by a jovial Emcee.

My comments about the actors and their roles:

Herr Schultz and Fraulein Schneider:

Played by Tony Hefner and Jean Higgins Jamison. Jean plays Fraulein Schneider, an older German woman who runs a boarding house. Tony plays Herr Schultz, an elderly Jewish fruit shop owner who falls in love with Fraulein Schneider. He is Jewish and she is not. Their story is very important to the message of the play, and is totally missing from the movie.

Cabaret stars (fom left) Liz Sanford as Lulu, Jordan Clifton as The Emcee, and Sarah Preston as Texas (photo by Matara Hitchcock)

The Emcee:

The Emcee (played by Jordan Clifton) is the core of Cabaret. The Master of Ceremonies distracts his patrons, letting them forget the political and economic chaos outside. He serves as a metaphor for what's happening outside the cabaret. He sings about greed, sex, anti-Semitism, and apathy. He is a beacon of truth.

While clubgoers party to excess and Berlin flirts with catastrophe, The Emcee reminds us of what is lurking underneath. This is the first time I've worked with Jordan Clifton, and it's been a great collaboration. Jordan is an accomplished actor, singer, educator and director in his own right.

Every actor who's ever played the role of the Emcee has to bring his own heart and soul to the role. Which is why every Emcee is so different. Jordan is definitely making this role his own, and I am excited for the audience to see his interpretation.

Sally Bowles...:

is played by Bridget Patterson. Bridget and I have worked together multiple times. We first met during the Women's Theatre Festival in 2016. The funny thing is, that I had always directed Bridget in non-musicals (straight shows -- comedies), and I had no idea that she was a singer. And, oh, what a voice! Some productions present the character of Sally Bowles as not a good singer. But our music director Katherine Anderson insisted that in our production, Sally is a particularly good singer. I am excited for the audience to hear her sing. Especially the songs "Cabaret" and "Maybe This Time. "

Clifford Bradshaw:

Cliff's character is that of a young writer from Pennsylvania, who has moved to Berlin, looking for inspiration for his novel. I cast Christian O'Neal for this role, because he had the chops to portray a fish-out-of-water somewhat naive American thrown into this seedy, tawdry world. Cliff and Sally's chemistry is especially apparent in the lighthearted "Perfectly Wonderful," and it's fascinating to observe how their relationship changes in the chaos of pre-war Germany.

The Bad Guy:

The character of Ernst Ludwig is in great hands. Kevin Ferguson has been active in theater for decades, and I know he's enjoying playing this role. Kevin's the drama educator at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, and he walked into rehearsal a couple of days ago with the happiest look on his face. Why? Because school's out for the summer!

The Justice Theater Project's June 7-23 production of Cabaret stars Bridget Sullivan as Sally Bowles (photo by Matara Hitchcock)

Our Supporting Cast:

Every member of our cast is "TTT" -- Triangle Top Talent. Ryan Madanick (Max) is a beloved The Justice Theater Project regular, who's appeared in JTP's last two musicals, Man of La Mancha and Urinetown. It's been a pleasure to work with Elizabeth Galbraith for the first time. She plays the role of Fraulein Kost with gusto and perfection. Shana Fisher is our chanteuse, who sings the song "Married" in German, wearing a luscious velvet gown to match her luscious voice.

Ensemble/Choreography:

Our Ensemble is tip-top. We had a huge turnout for auditions, and I put together a challenging audition routine. We really wanted some strong dancers -- Cabaret is a very dancey show. And, of course, they all have to sing while dancing! It's been a joy to choreograph this show. My assistant choreographer (Clare Sherk), and dance captain (Sarah Preston) are great collaborators. Sarah remarked to me the other day that our process was like a coloring book: I create the picture with lines, and they fill in the color! We brought in acrobat Carlie Huberman to help with "Two Ladies," and it's become a highlight of Act 1.

Music:

We have a live band, under the direction of the amazing Katherine Anderson. One way that our production is unique is how we blend our actors and musicians. I don't want to give it away, but there is a particular moment in the show that uses this blend of actor/musician in a way that might've never been done before.

While the story takes place in 1930's Berlin, the story is filled with issues that we still wrestle with today: fascism, racial profiling, poverty, terrorism, and war. The Kit Kat Klub represents an oasis from your troubles. A place to fiddle while Rome burns. But underneath are subtle satirical messages conveyed through comedy, dance, and song. The story of the characters we meet resonate with us now, as they go about their lives, experiencing love, betrayal, laughter, heartbreak, joy and terror.

Cabaret is Rated PG-13 because of fights, intimate moments, and adult language. Heather J. Strickland is our intimacy director and fight choreographer, and we've worked together closely on multiple scenes, including a rather brutal fight, which we rehearse every night for safety purposes with our fight captain, Ryan Vasconcellos. We also brought in dialect coach Rebecca Bossen, because we have so many German characters that require accent work and help with pronunciation of German phrases. And did you know that Sally Bowles is from London? Possibly not, because Liza Minnelli played her as an American in the film.

Hopefully, Cabaret will seem dated someday, but we're nowhere there yet. The issues Cabaret addresses in the characters' lives are things we're dealing with right now -- racial profiling, inclusiveness, and fear of the other. This show is in a different time, but make no mistake, it's about the lives we are living today.

Why should people go? It'll entertain you, make you laugh, make you think, make you cry, and give you something to talk about on the drive home. It does everything a musical can and should do.

PG-13 WARNING:

Cabaret contains depictions of the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930's through costumes, scenery, hand gestures and choreography, racial caricatures, and language. It explores mature themes including anti-Semitism, racism, sexual content, and physical violence. There are depictions of smoking, but no real or fabricated smoke. Please note that this show features a live band, sudden sound effects, and brief sequences of flashing lights.

Ryan Vasconcellos and Elizabeth Galbraith star as the Sailor and Fraulein Kost for The Justice Theater Project (photo by Matara Hitchcock)

John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff's Cabaret (In Person 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, plus 2 p.m. Saturday, June 22nd, June 7-9, 14-16, 21-23), based on I Am a Camera by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Van_Druten and Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood and directed and choreographed locally by Nancy Gardner Rich, with music director Katherine Anderson, and starring Jordan Clifton as the Emcee, Bridget Patterson as Sally Bowles, and Christian O'Neal as Cliff Bradshaw, Tony Hefner as Herr Schulz, Jean Higgins Jamison as Fraulein Schneider, Kevin Ferguson as Ernst Ludwig, and Elizabeth Galbraith as Fraulein Kost (The Justice Theater Project at the Umstead Park United Church of Christ in Raleigh). PROGRAM: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55dcb4cbe4b00187e449d74c/t/666391056b227110ef4ec1ac/1717801234987/CABARET+program.pdf. TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dtuZIThva4&t=17s. PRESENTER: https://www.thejusticetheaterproject.org/, https://www.facebook.com/Justicetheater, https://www.instagram.com/justicetheaterproject/, https://twitter.com/justicetproject, and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGoYepGz-n99gOyTAj7QTg/videos?view=0&sort=p. 2023-24 SEASON: https://www.thejusticetheaterproject.org/2324-season-issues-of-our-time. VENUE: https://www.upucc.org/, https://www.facebook.com/UmsteadParkUCC, https://www.instagram.com/umsteadparkucc/, https://twitter.com/UPUCC, and https://www.youtube.com/user/upucc/featured. DIRECTIONS/MAP: https://www.upucc.org/contact. CABARET (1966 Boston and Broadway and 1968 West End musical): https://kitkat.club/cabaret-broadway/, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-show/cabaret-2338, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabaret_(musical). JOHN KANDER (Kansas City, MO-born composer and lyricist, nee John Harold Kander): https://www.mtishows.com/people/john-kander, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/john-kander-6837, http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/2151, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0437218/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kander. FRED EBB (New York Cty-born 1928-2004 lyricist): https://www.mtishows.com/people/fred-ebb, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/fred-ebb-5654, http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/2152, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0247939/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Ebb. JOE MASTERHOFF (Philadelphia, PA-born playwright, 1919-2018): https://www.mtishows.com/people/joe-masteroff, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/joe-masteroff-6762, http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/2153, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0557646/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Masteroff. TICKETS: $32 ($15 students and educators, and $27 seniors and active-duty military personnel), except $27 per person for groups of 10 or more. Click here to buy tickets. INFORMATION: 919-264-7089 or thejusticetheaterproject@gmail.com. PLEASE DONATE TO: The Justice Theater Project and Umstead Park United Church of Christ.

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