CABARET at the Kit Kat Club (2024) Opening Night Critics' Reviews- Page 3

[Ensemble1713124420]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:11pm

These are so all over the place! Like critics saying exact opposite things about the same show. Wild. 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:11pm

LA Times

Review: 'Cabaret' with a kinetic Eddie Redmayne can't redeem a faltering Broadway revival

https://www.aol.com/news/review-cabaret-kinetic-eddie-redmayne-013048700.html

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:13pm

Variety is mostly positive

‘Cabaret’ Review: Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin Lead High-Style Revival That Cuts to the Bone

https://variety.com/2024/legit/reviews/cabaret-review-broadway-eddie-redmayne-1235977702/

"All that stripped-down humanity onstage — from the entrails of broken lovers to the dancers’ carnal gyrations (choreography is by Julia Cheng) — make Redmayne’s Emcee a jarring exception. An otherworldly salamander of a narrator, he hunches over, Gollum-like, gnawing on every syllable as if it were his last meal. It’s a fiercely committed performance, but a mannered one, too. For the Emcee to exist as a creature apart makes narrative sense, but Redmayne’s remoteness drains some of the force from what is otherwise a grounded, gut-punching take on a disturbingly timely story."

[Azúcar!]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:14pm

Ensemble1713124420 said: "These are so all over the place! Like critics saying exact opposite things about the same show. Wild."

But they’re really not all over the place. They’re mostly bad!

[akhoya87]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:15pm

Maybe Cabaret should take out an ad with competing pull quotes with the headline, "True art sparks debate."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:16pm

Queerty is positive

Eddie Redmayne leads a dazzling & dangerous ‘Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club’

https://www.queerty.com/eddie-redmayne-leads-a-dazzling-dangerous-cabaret-at-the-kit-kat-club-20240421

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:16pm

akhoya87 said: "Maybe Cabaret should take out an ad with competing pull quotes with the headline, "True art sparks debate.""

Not a bad idea!

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:18pm

Some of these reviews are…strange! 
 

and no, this isn’t an invitation to reach and discuss Lempicka. 

[Ensemble1713124420]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:18pm

Azúcar! said: "Ensemble1713124420 said: "These are so all over the place! Like critics saying exact opposite things about the same show. Wild."

But they’re really not all over the place. They’re mostly bad!"

Well, there are a few positive, a few negative, and a lot of mixed, but what I meant was that they’re saying literally opposite things, like is Eddie Redmayne awful or is he the only reason to see the show? Same with Gayle Rankin. It’s like different critics saw different shows, lol. 

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:20pm

Stay tuned for tomorrow when Heart of Rock and Roll gets the best reviews of the season or something else ridiculous lol

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:20pm

Now I’m even more curious to see how this does with the Tony nominations next week. 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:20pm

That Jesse Green review made me laugh out loud repeatedly. Thats a real pan, and a considered, measured one at that.

"Frecknall gives us a Sally made up to look like she’s recently been assaulted or released from an asylum, who dances like a wounded bird, stretches each syllable to the breaking point and shrieks the song instead of singing it." lol.

[inception]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:22pm

These were the reviews I was expecting.   New York is more conservative than London. With something like Cabaret, which is so well known, the problem is that to sell tickets it needs to be different enough, yet not step over the line.  This version simply goes too weird in the wrong direction. 

Enough people will want too see this for themselves, that they should be good for a while, but I doubt they make their money back.  Even if they get name replacements, I think people will tire of the gimmicky production.

Sweet shows like Beautiful & Waitress are what draw repeat audiences in New York.  Not a death clown Emcee.

[DAME]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:24pm

The  LA times review is right on point .  I can’t link it for some reason .  

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:24pm

And also, repeat audiences don’t typically drop $300 - $500 on shows a second time. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:25pm

I also had a feeling American critics wouldn't respond to this as well as they did in the UK, but some of these are certainly much sharper than I expected. Sara Holdren, who is usually my favorite critic, seemed unusually sharp. She really tore into Redmayne. 

I still think this will rack up nominations and it's definitely still in the conversation for some wins. But Revival, which seemed to have been becoming a tougher competition for a moment there, now seems squarely back in Merrily's camp. 

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:25pm

"New York is more conservative than London."

It's interesting you phrase it that way. I see what you're saying but I think I draw the opposite conclusion. What is so often is called "Bold!" in London just feels obvious and smug here.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:27pm

inception said: "
Sweet shows like Beautiful & Waitress are what draw repeat audiences in New York. Not a death clown Emcee."

But Cabaret ran here in NYC for a decade, and then came back for another year. It was lauded and loved. So I dont follow?

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:27pm

DAME said: "The LA times review is right on point . I can’t link it for some reason ."

It's at Post #51.

[yyys]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:28pm

TBH when I saw it last week, I didn't think Eddie Redmayne should even be nominated for the Tony's....but it's a weak season.

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:31pm

These nasty reviews are mirroring my opinions on seeing this in London, amidst the critical raves there.  I wonder if Sunset Boulevard will be similarly received here, in contrast to the London love.  I was firmly in the negative on that one too and have been baffled by the acclaim and awards for both shows. 

Updated On: 4/21/24 at 10:31 PM

[BroadwayPhan]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:31pm

It’ll be interesting to see if Sunset Boulevard suffers the same fate as Cabaret in the fall. Potentially divisive reaction but will NY critics praise it as much as the raves in London?

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:32pm

Jordan Catalano said: "And also, repeat audiences don’t typically drop $300 - $500 on shows a second time."

Exactly. I ADORED this in London (I'll be seeing it in May here) and I would definitely consider going for every replacement cast to see what they do with it, like I do with Hadestown... but not for a MINIMUM of $100. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:33pm

The Friedman Sisters will sleep well tonight after these reviews...unless the voters are REALLY off from the critics.

[DAME]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 10:33pm

MemorableUserName said: "DAME said: "The LA times review is right on point . I can’t link it for some reason ."

It's at Post #51."

Thank you.  This particular quote I agree with whole heartedly.  

“There’s a school of thought that Liza Minnelli, who won an Oscar for her rendition of Sally Bowles in the brilliant film adaptation of “Cabaret,” was too accomplished a performer for the role. I’ve never given much credence to this argument, believing that movie musicals, like musicals generally, are elevated by virtuoso singing and dancing.”