WILKOMMEN TO THE CABARET @ Monument Nat'l.

The 2009-2010 season of public performances of the NTS graduating class is an excellent opportunity to catch future artists of the Canadian stage in action just before the beginning of their professional careers. Graduating actors, playwrights, directors, designers and production personnel work year round with professional guest directors to present a varied season that will hone the skills and talents of these new artists.

The 2010 English graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS) presents the second production of its 2009-2010 season. Cabaret, directed by Jillian Keiley, Ludger-Duvernay Theatre of the Monument National, 1182 St. Laurent Boulevard, 8pm December 8 - 12, 2009.

One of the most beloved musicals of our time, the original 1966 Broadway production of Cabaret won eight Tony awards of the ten for which it was nominated. Seven years later, Bob Fosse's film adaptation repeated that feat with Oscars at the Academy Awards. Cabaret was revived on Broadway in 1987, then again in 1998, each time garnering more awards, more critical acclaim and greater audience devotion.

Based on John Van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera, which in turn was adapted from the novel Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood, Cabaret depicts nightlife at the seedy Kit Kat Klub and revolves around the relationship between 19-year-old English cabaret performer Sally Bowles and Cliff Bradshaw, a young American writer new to Berlin. Their story unfolds against the backdrop of the social upheavals afoot in Germany at the time, the tragic consequences of which audiences are all too aware — unlike the characters they are watching.

About This Production: What A Difference A Decade Makes: Director Jillian Keiley sees Cabaret very differently.

That audience omniscience has always disturbed director Jillian Keiley. "I love this play," she said, "but I’ve always thought it engages the intellect more than the heart, and I think that’s because of the way it has been staged; in every production I’ve ever seen, the audience has that superior vantage point." Her solution to this was simple: set the action a decade later. It’s not 1931, it’s 1941. The Nazis aren’t beginning to gain a following; they’ve been in power for eight years, which makes everyone who worked at the Kit Kat Klub a fugitive from the law. When the Emcee sings the opening number, "Wilkommen," he sings it as an invitation to all the dissidents, deviants and demimondaines of his cabaret to come out of hiding and reunite in song and dance and safety in numbers. Once everyone has gathered in the bombed ruin that used to be their nightclub, the story they agree to perform, to entertain each other, is that of Sally and Cliff.

Keiley promises, despite this radical shift in perspective, to stay true to the text, not a word of which has been altered. As such, Sally Bowles, who never left Germany, is one of the fugitives at large, and plays herself. "The actors create everything," Keiley explains. "Instead of a series of scenes interspersed with cabaret numbers, what audiences witness is performers ‘improvising’ the story they tell each other, but in this production, they DO know how it all ends." That, Keiley believes, ups the poignancy of the story for the audience: "They’ll leave with more than just a sense of historical inevitability."

The production has a great multipurpose stage design that is very functional and well utilized to the hilt by all characters. Costumes and set are also very well designed and multipurpose. A very creative use of the space, which is in the 'big' stage at the Monument. Lighting at times was not clearly illuminating faces however, therefore loosing some expression. For some, but not all, of the play it was difficult to hear some of the dialogue which is surprising since the performers are wearing microphones; This was particularly evident with some of the songs especially those sung during act one.

Of course placing ten performers into the main roles and chorus of a play with an ensemble that is usually produced with double that quantity is always a challenge. Added to that challenge is having to fill those roles with only the students in the class. For the better part these balance out quite well, however some roles cast are a little less convincing unable to surmount this unavoidable challenge. Since we are so familiar with many of the cherished characters, either having seen the production numerous times on stage or on screen in the Oscar winning film, it is challenging to overcome the typical type casting images we hold in our memories. Also, these are actors, not necessarily the triple threats (act, sing, dance) that would normally be up to fill these parts. However most of the songs essential to the play are well performed despite this additional challenge. The music played by the on stage band of actors was very enjoyable and it was very interesting to see how the accompaniment to the piano by many of the performers was cleverly integrated into the action with humor and precision. What was most lacking was in the realm of choreography, with only a minimal amount attempted. I would have like to see more attention to this element.

Where I had the most difficulty with this production of Cabaret was with the attempt to change the period in which the story takes place. In act one this was somewhat more transparent but as act two commenced it became clear that a time change didn't work. You can't change history, even when adapting a text, changing the time period of a story and not changing the text to match is difficult enough, but one can not do that and not directly effect the historical facts too. The Nazi's were in power in Germany, and the war was already in progress, with many countries already occupied by 1941. Much of the dialogue and references that apply to 1931 just do not work when applied ten years later.

CAST: Nathan Barrett, Simon Bracken, Brandon Crone, Leah Doz, Will Greenblatt, Chala Hunter, Ron Klappholz, Meilie Ng, Thomas Antony Olajide, Gia Sandhu.

DESIGN/PRODUCTION TEAM: Nancy Perrin (Set Design), Veronique Boileau (Costume Design), Kate Sandeson (Lighting Design); William Fallon (Sound Design); Kira Maros (Production Manager), Nicole Olson Grant-Suttie (Technical Director), Kai Yueh-Chen (Stage Manager). Photo: Leah Doz; credit Maxime Côté.

Tickets: $9. available at the Monument-National Box Office (1182, St. Laurent Blvd.). Call (514) 871-2224. (A $3.25 handling fee applies to tickets reserved by phone.)