Laura and Samara spend their days as non-profit unicorns and fill every spare minute exploring the world of musical theatre as BFFs (that’s Broadway Friends Forever). Follow @bffs613 on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
In here, life is beautiful! Ovation Productions is inviting you into Berlin’s Kit Kat Klub for their production of Cabaret on stage now at Meridian Theatres. A musical classic, Cabaret tells the story of American writer Clifford arriving in Berlin in the 1920s. When he meets cabaret performer Sally Bowles at the infamous Kit Kat Klub, he enters a realm of excitement and fantasy. But as things start to change in the world, it becomes harder and harder to ignore the troubles outside the walls of the Kit Kat Klub.
It’s hard to watch Cabaret and not think of the Emcee as the role of a lifetime. Made infamous by Broadway royalty Joel Grey and memorable in the 1998 revival by Alan Cumming, the Emcee is our omniscient narrator constantly straddling the line of beauty and grit, able to represent what is happening in the real world as it slowly seeps into every performance. With a lot to live up to, Mitch Wood more than rose to the occasion, capturing the sass, drama and comedy of the role, consistently eliciting laughter and audible gasps from the audience. Kirstyn Russelle left us in awe with her performance of Sally Bowles, clearly putting every bit of herself into each performance and line of dialogue, and well matched by Kaden Forsberg as Clifford Bradshaw.
Mitch Wood as the Emcee in Ovation Productions’ Cabaret. Photo: Curtis Perry
The cast across the board brought stellar performances to the stage and we would be remiss not to highlight Gab Desmond as Herr Schultz, Eric Lehmann as Ernst Ludwig, Arinea Hermans as Fräulein Kost and Cara Pantalone as Fräulein Schneider. In a show where every single part plays a key role in moving the story forward and emphasizing the emotion, a strong cast like Ovation Productions is crucial.
Cabaret has the ability to truly make you feel like you have been dropped into Weimar-era Berlin and are spending the night at the Kit Kat Klub. Through simple staging, breaking of the fourth wall, and excellent orchestrations, having Cabaret in the studio theatre builds a more intimate production and brings the audience closer to the action. Cabaret is built to excel through simple and gritty staging, with the story playing as the main star.
Ovation Productions is one of the only paying regional theatre companies, and the quality is there to show for it. The five-piece band and large cast with excellent choreography really elevates the production, and turns out the orchestra really is beautiful!
So leave your troubles outside and no need to wonder, we can guarantee Cabaret is a must see!
Ovation Productions’ Cabaret plays at Meridian Theatres until October 8th with performances Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 pm and 1:30 pm matinees on Saturday and Sundays. The performance runs two hours and 40 minutes with a 20 minute intermission. Regular tickets are $99, senior tickets $65, Arts Workers $51 and students or youth (24 and under) $40.
