CABARET at the Kit Kat Club (2024) Opening Night Critics' Reviews- Page 6

[JasonC3]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 5:19am

When any show's concept or conceits don't hook or work for someone, they often are grating (sometimes increasingly so) for the two hours or so of a production. 

Instead of being pulled into the performance, you can find yourself increasingly disconnected, maybe irritated, and thinking more about what could have been rather than feeling connected to what is happening on stage. 

Sounds like that is the case for some when seeing this version of Cabaret.  I'm not totally surprised given Fracknell is the director.  When her choices have clicked for me, it often is quite great.  But when they haven't, they really haven't by a lot.

[OhHiii]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 6:00am

imeldasturn said: "People here tend to forget Sunset got mostly 3 or 4 starreviews, positive but hardly raves. The New York Times liked it better than any critic in London"

Including you apparently because the lion’s share of their reviews were indeed 4/5 stars. It got some 3 stars, yes. A simple google search would tell you as much. But we know that production has the knives out for it, so keep talking I guess. 
 

Anyway, Eddie Redmayne has never been someone I had any desire to see perform live because of how much I hate his film performances. The review that said his emcee amounted to a bunch of costumes and awkward poses is the nail on the head. He was a model before he was an actor, and you can tell he acts from how he looks first. And outside-in performances can fly sometimes, but now the as consequential of a character as the emcee. 

[Dolly80]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 6:12am

I’m glad that NYC critics have seen through this production. It completely mystified me how they got away with it in London. 
 

As one review says, Redmaynes Emcee is just a collection of outlandish costumes and nothing more. That sums up the whole production- just a collection of ideas, none of which hang together.

 

Sunset Blvd is in another league. There’s a vision for the whole piece that is consistent , and will killer performances. That’s going to be just fine.

[Owen22]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 6:35am

A London theatre website tries to make sense of it all:  

https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/what-is-going-on-with-the-cabaret-reviews_1594068/

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 7:11am

Mordden, Ethan, (2001), Open a New Window, page 157

On the original production in 1966

"The critics didn't get the show. A few responded to the sheer theatricality of the event, but the ones with intellectual pretensions were thrown by the paradoxes, the seriousness of the spree. A unique work is seldom understood when new. Critics prefer an important work to be the ninth or tenth of its line...

A few of them bashed (Jill) Haworth, one of the best Sally's I've seen; even Prince ended in resenting her... In Boston, Haworth was little-lost-girl blond, dressed in prom-dress white, till Prince put her into a black wig and garish bugle-beaded skirts in reds and greens... "It's the only way I can get her to play it."

Updated On: 4/22/24 at 07:11 AM

[DAME]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 8:56am

lopside said: "The New York Times review for Sunset was written by Matt Wolf, who is the London critic and had loved Cabaret too. The NYPost though, did love Sunset."

Audiences loved it .  Audiences are not loving this .  Sunset will do very well.   

[Huss417]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 9:02am

I know people are saying that it should sell well while Eddie Redmayne is in the show. Is he really that big of a draw? Prior to the reviews I was going to wait for him to leave and hope prices come down.

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 9:16am

Owen22 said: "A London theatre website tries to make sense of it all:

https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/what-is-going-on-with-the-cabaret-reviews_1594068/"

I think the article is right about one point that here in the US fascism is currently less "fascinating" because it's so close to home. 

[lopside]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 9:19am

Audiences in London loved (love) Cabaret too, so not sure how same reception in London for both is supposed to indicate that Sunset will do better?

[DAME]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 9:20am

Maybe they can do what they did with Funny Girl.  Bring Lea in as Sally to save the day . And wouldn’t it be neat if Jake Shears reprised his turn as his Tammy show plays a few blocks away?

Updated On: 4/22/24 at 09:20 AM

[Owen22]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 9:37am

It is also weird that Adam Feldman does not seem to understand the concept of color blindcasting...

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 9:41am

I saw the London production and thought it was over-hyped. I agree with the NY reviews. I kept waiting for the show to blow my mind and while there were moments of brilliance it never felt cohesive. I thought the Mendes production was stronger. I also found “Guys & Dolls” disappointing especially after all of the raves it received. 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 9:45am

Owen22 said: "It is also weird that Adam Feldman does not seem to understand the concept of color blindcasting..."

He clearly does, he’s just saying he doesn’t think it works well in this context given the subject matter. Considering casting Cliff with a POC seems to be a deliberate choice for the production, it’s worth considering when the story requires the character to associate with a Nazi. 

Updated On: 4/22/24 at 09:45 AM

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 9:49am

MemorableUserName said: "Oh boy. It seems like for any show this year with a woman-led creativeteam that gets anything but raves, people have complained that the critics aren'tshowing proper appreciation for woman-directed and created work. And sure enough, one of the comments on Vulture's review is just that, even though the review is by a woman. Seriously, critic haters, get a new schtick.

 Never mind that Merrily is also directed by a woman

Also, another favorite line from TheaterMania: "All of it primes the audience for an extraordinary night at the theater. And then Eddie Redmayne shows up."

[BETTY22]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 9:56am

I am still angry about that this director did to this brilliant show.

Disgraceful..  

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 9:59am

The what’s on stage article posted above just seems to end, like he really didn’t have a full point to share. Strange. 
I am shocked by the reviews, not what I thought. Let’s see if it has any effect on the box office in the coming weeks. 

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 10:02am

lopside said: "Audiences in London loved (love) Cabaret too, so not sure how same reception in London for both is supposed to indicate that Sunset will do better?"

I saw both in London and can only give my personal takes on both. I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about my reaction to both productions.

I think Cabaret is one of the greatest musicals ever written. The Mendes/Marshall production in 1998 was formative for me. But, even at the time, I thought they pushed the boundaries of what the show could withstand in terms of interpretation to the limit. Frecknall pushes even further and I think, at some point, this ends up not being Cabaret. Like...I hear the spoken words and the dirge-like music and I vaguely recognize it as the material that makes up the musical Cabaret, but the point of the show ends up being rather incomprehensible. 

On the other hand, I think Sunset Boulevard is a crap musical. I am a huge fan of the film (my Roman Empire is the 1951 Oscars and the battle between SB and All About Eve). I thought the stage show lost all of the wry, meta-commentary of the film and missed the here-and-now feeling it contained. The deconstruction by Jamie Lloyd and the insistence that Norma is Nicole and Nicole is Norma (down to Pussycat Doll choreo) demands that we experience SB as an in-the-moment experience. Some of it could get a little silly, but it was never less than enthralling. And, unlike this Cabaret, this musicality and vocal performances are out of this world. 

Basically what I'm saying is 'I'm the barometer of NY theater and you should all listen to me.' 

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 10:03am

The Merrily banner ad on Playbill this morning is an excellent troll

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 10:07am

Kind of nice that after all the ridiculous heat Feldman took from his Lempicka review, the comments about his Cabaret review are mostly praise and agreement.

https://twitter.com/FeldmanAdam/status/1782220557301199232

[Kad]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 10:32am

MemorableUserName said: "Kind of nice that after all the ridiculous heat Feldman took from his Lempicka review, the comments about his Cabaret review are mostly praise and agreement.

https://twitter.com/FeldmanAdam/status/1782220557301199232"

I think it’s because Lempicka was easily seen as an underdog- homegrown original musical, about a queer woman, no star casting, etc. Cabaret with its A-list star, exorbitant ticket prices, London pedigree, and huge amount of money behind it willing it to be the Hot Ticket and see-and-be-seen place to be is far easier to punch up against. 

Updated On: 4/22/24 at 10:32 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 10:42am

Owen22 said: "It is also weird that Adam Feldman does not seem to understand the concept of color blindcasting..."

I think it's worth having the conversation though that does color blind casting work in a historical show? Like sure the characters can be any race, but it is still dealing with actual historical events, so I could see how that might be a bit of a brain twister. 

[SuddenlyStanley]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 10:43am

Equity rules and cost. ER was the only name that really justified it and they have to pay for housing and a visa. Just isn’t worth it unless they are brilliant. 

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 10:49am

And Broadway's depressingly tepid musical season trudges on...

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 11:22am

Owen22 said: "It is also weird that Adam Feldman does not seem to understand the concept of color blindcasting..."

"he doesnt get it" is a convenient way to brush off criticism you dont actually want to engage with.

colorblind casting is great but gets tricky, and downright silly, when you have subject matter that centers on race, and you address racial issues, but then ask the audience to ignore the racial makeup of the people playing some (but not all) parts. Suffs is exceedingly guilty of this, as was the West Side Story revival. 

[BJR]

Posted: 4/22/24 at 11:28am

sinister teashop said: "Owen22 said: "A London theatre website tries to make sense of it all:

https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/what-is-going-on-with-the-cabaret-reviews_1594068/"

I think the article is right about one point thathere in the US fascism is currently less "fascinating" because it's so close to home."

I think these points they make are stronger:

"But I think there’s something more artistically significant going on here. Frecknall’s vision, influenced more by continental theatrical trends, interprets the material quite clearly through a class lens – the rise of fascism is tied to the acquiescence of the middle classes (the company all don greige suits as the show comes to a close, desaturating the earlier extravagance).

Nazi Ernst Ludwig is only able to continue his hate-fuelled work because those like cash-strapped writer Cliff Bradshaw are willing to take on lucrative jobs without looking too closely at unpleasant realities. The interpretations of numbers like “I Don’t Care Much” and “Cabaret” act as central tenets to the overall vision. Class discourse, invariably, feels more pronounced in the UK than the US."

All very fair points.