WOW! Ball State University's CABARET!!!
WOW! Ball State University's CABARET!!!
Swing Joined: 4/2/06
WOW! Ball State University's CABARET!!!#0
Posted: 4/2/06 at 8:36pm
Wow! I just returned from Ball State University's Theatre programs production of Cabaret and it was absolutely amazing! My sister went there and read about the production, so I decided to make a four hour trip with her (I am from Chicago) to go see it, and it was as entertaining as the Broadway production I saw with Alan Cumming five years ago! Working at a theatre in Chicago and having seen many awful productions of this, it was an enjoyable night, what an amazing Theatre program! If anyone lives around the Indianapolis area (it's about 50 min. Northeast of Indy) I strongly recommend you go see it!
Updated On: 4/2/06 at 08:36 PM
re: WOW! Ball State University's CABARET!!!#1
Posted: 4/2/06 at 9:45pmCan you give any details about the greatness of the production?
Swing Joined: 4/2/06
re: WOW! Ball State University's CABARET!!!#2
Posted: 4/2/06 at 10:08pm
The set is a two-story steel platform in black with a spiral staircase on the center stage left side of it, and ladders coming down the other parts of the platform. There are four doors on the bottom platform, one of the doors flips down and becomes Clif's bed in his bedroom. What I think was amazing was that the whole center platform which almost is the length of the entire stage, noiselessly moves back and forth as if it is slowly sliding on ice. It was by far the best lighting I had ever seen for a University production. They used many specials and it looked as if they had floor LED lights.
The production starts with the stage in complete darkness only with a single special focused on a red bar chair with a top hat on it. You can make out Cliff in the distance descending a dark spiral staircase. He slowly approaches the chair, picks up, the hat, and the usual drum roll that starts the show begins as he picks up the hat. Then we see the emcee light on a match in silhouette, and as the lights dimly come up the Wilkommen music starts, and the entire center section starts to move downstage as the emcee begins the show. The costumes were beautiful. They approached the kit kat girls with a more glamorous lounge girl look (more true to the original Broadway production than Roundabout Broadway revival), they had on different detailed corsets with very-short poofy skirts, and the Kit kat boys were quite revealing. The opening number was beautifully choreographed, and was a show-stopper from the beginning.
The two stand-outs in the show were the actors playing Sally Bowles and the emcee. The emcee sounded and looked an awful lot like Joel Grey. The actress playing Sally Bowles had a powerful voice without overdoing it, and had a flawless British accent. One of the biggest show-stoppers was Don't Tell Mama, with the brilliant fast-paced choreography with all of the Kit Kat girls backing up Sally Bowles.
I went on Saturday night and the theatre which looked like it held roughly 400 seats was sold-out with a line out the door. I still simply could not believe I was watching a production at a college. I have seen many Broadway shows on tour and in New York and this was up there with them. A great night at the theatre!
re: WOW! Ball State University's CABARET!!!#3
Posted: 4/2/06 at 10:17pm
YAAAY!
I have a good friend who's in this show playing Freulien Schneider.
So happy to hear that it's a good production. 
re: WOW! Ball State University's CABARET!!!#4
Posted: 4/3/06 at 12:05amI've got a friend in the chorus, unfortunatly, I cannot make it out there...thanks for the review though!
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/19/05
re: WOW! Ball State University's CABARET!!!#5
Posted: 4/3/06 at 5:18amChoreo.... Original or Fosse knock off?
Swing Joined: 4/2/06
re: WOW! Ball State University's CABARET!!!#6
Posted: 4/3/06 at 9:46amIt was all original choreography. The only thing that possibly resembled Fosse was Wilkommen. That's why I loved this show was because it didn't feel like a production that was trying to be a great carbon copy of the Broadway productions, it very much had it's own style and feeling to it, which is how it should be.
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