Find out what critics have to say about the Broadway production of Rebecca Frecknall’s take on the classic musical.
Entertainment Weekly: “The Oscar-winning actor, reprising the role that won him an Olivier award, somehow manages to imbue the character with both a youthful innocence and a sinister side, donning a wide grin and contorting every inch of his body into peculiar shapes that simultaneously draw you in and make you want to rear back.”
Theatrely.com: “The team has produced a stunning feat the likes of which Broadway has not experienced in a while. If London is any indication, we are in for a long healthy run with exciting new stars every few months, and I look forward to experiencing the wonderment of the Kit Kat Club again and again.”
Variety: “Of course, “Cabaret” is partly a warning about the excess and social blindness represented by pricey tickets and a sexy night out as the world burns. But it’s also a reminder to enjoy every last minute while you can.”
Time Out: “The last revival of Cabaret famously had Sally play the subtext—furious, self-destructive desperation–at the end of the celebratory title song. This production plays that subtext from beginning to end: It’s got pretty much one note, screamed off-key. Thankfully, it occasionally pauses for breath long enough to accommodate warm, charming performances by two supporting actors: Bebe Neuwirth as Cliff’s practical-minded landlady, Fraulein Schneider, and Steven Skybell as her Jewish beau, the fruit-seller Herr Schultz. They bring heart and small moments of joy to a production that otherwise seems intent to leave you cold. For this you should leave home? Pick up your knitting, your book, your broom, whatever. Life’s too short for this Cabaret. “
New York Post: ” Redmayne — long an excellent stage actor — makes the part very much his own. He’s creepy and has the smiling stalker stare of a horror movie serial killer. And still we’re pleased whenever he’s around.”
The Wrap: “Rebecca Frecknall’s direction makes immediate and spectacular use of Scutt’s round stage, which quickly takes on the shape of a tiered wedding cake. Its multiple levels not only revolve, but the center opens to deliver thrilling entrances and exits for the Emcee (Eddie Redmayne), Sally Bowles (Gayle Rankin) and other denizens of the Kit Kat Club.”
Talkin’ Broadway: “Rankin is no “fremde, etranger, stranger” to Cabaret, having previously played the role of Fraulein Kost in the 2014 Broadway production. Here she gives us a Sally that is one for the books, outlandishly charming when it suits her and desperately broken when she drops the mask. When she belts out her numbers, we watch a lost soul slowly sinking into madness. By the time she gives the equivalent of a nervous breakdown during her performance of the title song, you will be convinced that she is this close to going by way of her girlfriend Elsie, the one who died of “too much pills and liquor,” whom Sally has vowed to emulate. Rankin’s is an extraordinary performance that raises the production to new heights. And that’s saying a lot for what amounts to one hell of a revival of this extraordinary musical that has found new and surprising forms of expression through the years without ever going stale.”
New York Stage Review: **** “That’s the ironic thing about this Cabaret. The main selling point seems to be all the bells and whistles, and no doubt many audience members will get a kick out of all of the immersiveness. But it feels most powerful when simply getting down to the basics. And when it does, you’ll be ready glad you’ve come to Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.”
New York Theatre Guide: “Cabaret‘s ending has been staged in many ways over the years. A more overtly bleak one akin to those of previous revivals may feel too on-the-nose today, but this production’s thesis — that a lack of individuality is a fate worse than death — ignores that falling into line and becoming a good soldier wasn’t an option for most of the people on stage: queer people, political dissidents, and Jewish people and those close to them in Weimar Germany. Watching the cast transform into lifelike versions of the wooden dolls they play with in Act One is effective but further signals the disconnect in this production.”
New York Theater.me: “The scenes and songs with Neuwirth and Skybell, he on his eighth Broadway play or musical, she on her ninth, demonstrate that effective and affecting theater doesn’t have to be high concept or reimagined, or paired with a party.”
To find out more about the Broadway production visit: https://kitkat.club/cabaret-broadway/