Oakland Theater Project’s revival of the 1966 Tony-winning musical “Cabaret,” which opened Sunday in Oakland, is faithful to both the original by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe Masteroff and the 1972 Bob Fosse film in many respects. Yet it has its own definitive spirit and signature.
Inside the German cabaret known as the Kit Kat Club, the scene is merry and decadent, and Nazism is on the march. Details don’t need to be drummed in, but the setting holds a mirror up to our time as the show offers its parable about what happens when individuals fail to stand up for what is right.
The Emcee, portrayed by Deanalís Arocho Resto, lays things down at the outset, with a warm and inviting “Willkommen” that’s already a little curdled at the center.
The most striking feature of director-choreographer Erika Chong Shuch’s production is the active ensemble. Songs that might be soloed are sung in riotous color by the company; the actors are on the move from the time the black box theater opens (boogeying to a soundtrack of 20th century pop hits) to the finale.
The dancing is not Fosse style: it’s unique, joyous movement that lifts the show and brings every detail home.
Sharon Shao as the willful, fun-loving Sally Bowles possesses not an ounce of decadence. She inhabits the Kit Kat Club hoping for a place in the sun. Her love for bisexual would-be American novelist Clifford Bradshaw is so real that she dreams of a traditional marriage even if for just a nanosecond. Her rendition of the title song is luscious—and a little wicked.
And who wouldn’t fall for James Mercer II, a most humane, warm, wholly fleshed-out Clifford Bradshaw? The two have unmistakable chemistry.
Beth Wilmurt as innkeeper Fraulein Schneider and guitar-strumming Joshua Pollock as Herr Schultz, the tenant who falls in love with her, are winsome as lonely elders who allow themselves to hope but end up in despair.
Not much is seen about the destruction of the Jewish Schultz’s greengrocer’s store, which bears on the pair’s decision to go it alone, and, if there is a shortfall in the show, it’s that the tonal shift from happier times to less happy times could be more toxic and more explicit, with more boots on the ground or Nazi flags flying.
While the song “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” chills, only small details such as the swastika on the arm of Ernst Ludwig (the super-agile Megan Trout) and tenant Fraulein Kost’s (Ije Success) assent are the only indication of the impending takeover.
Ashley Renee’s costumes, sequined, feathered and worn, and the two suitcases that hold all of Sally’s and Clifford’s possessions and serve as their furniture speak to the times.
The actors handle Kander’s jazzy, Kurt Weill-tinged score superbly. Standout songs are the collaboratively snaky “Mein Herr” and audience-involved “Money Money” written for the film.
Oakland Theater Project’s “Cabaret” continues through Dec. 14 at FLAX art & design, 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. Remaining performances are sold out; visit oaklandtheaterproject.org/cabaret.
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