Review of Cabaret

There is one bright light in this 'limited' production and that is Sally Kestelman as Frau Schneider who does credit to the songs originally written for the great Lotte Lenya. Otherwise this is pretty much a bust. Alan Cummings is OK as the MC, which is of course an overblown character, and he 'camps' it up appropriately. There is not much I can say about the rest of the cast. They are all playing way over the top, even for a theatrical performance, and most of them can barely hold a tune. You could make the justification that the original character was a bad performer, but Horrocks, who has done much better in the past, is quite awful here, and sings out of key way too many times. The so-called 'leading man' is an ugly little nebbish with zero presence. The staging is very limited and unimaginative as is the choreography. Granted it was all done in a small space, but so is the movie, and Fosse brought his own unique style to the limited dance routines.

All in all a HUGE disappointment considering the talents involved. Don't bother with the DVD. If you must see it, just go to youtube and watch it for free.