I saw the original cast.
I liked the supporting performances, particularly Liza Sadovy and Anna-Jane Casey. I thought the direction was intellectually sloppy, a two-act game of "hey, wouldn't it be cool if we...?" that didn't have enough of a unifying concept behind it to bring all the different threads together, and I *hated* the two leads, both of whom gave toxically self-indulgent performances at the (late) preview I saw.
And while I have no particular objection to the word itself, and can hardly claim I never use it myself, I don't ever need to hear a Sally Bowles sing "toodle-f***ing-ooo" in Mein Herr again.
(In a revival of Cabaret, I also don't particularly need to hear Mein Herr as well as Don't Tell Mama, but that ship appears to have sailed.)
And I think there are some *issues* with turning a show about the insidious rise of fascism in Weimar Germany into an expensive, exclusive-ticket theme event with a lobby preshow and a cash (well, contactless) bar. For me, the production came down on the wrong side of the line, massaging the audience rather than implicating them.
A lot of people liked it a lot more than I did, including friends whose taste I respect, but for me it didn't really work on any level. |
