Stage Write

When audience members enter the Studio Theat er in the Carmel Center for the Performing Arts they are transported straight into the Kit Kat Klub in 1930s Berlin. Scantily-clad dancers say willkommen as they point you to your seats and the red lights set the mood. Cabaret is on stage now and the timing couldn’t be better.  Cliff (Eric J. Olson) is a young American author who finds his way into the city in the midst of a perpetual celebration.. He meets Sally Bowles (Cynthia Collins), a whirlwind of flirtatious energy and a singer at the Kit Kat Klub. Despite their drastically different temperaments, the two pair off.  Ben Asaykwee is the infamous Emcee and it’s worth hightailing it to Carmel for his performance alone. He steals every scene he’s in with a raised eyebrow and lascivious grin. His performance is more Alan Cumming and less Joel Grey, but with its own unique feel. Whether he’s teasing the dancers on stage or posing with a pineapple, you can’t look away. ...

Cabaret has always been one of my favorite musicals. The first half of the show is racy and fun, but in act two the plot takes a darker turn. Woven into the mix of fishnet stockings and cheeky lyrics is a serious tale of prejudice and ignorance. Set in Berlin in the 1930s, the heart of the musical lies in the Nazi uprising and the danger that meant for Jews in the country. Cliff, a poor American writer, travels to Berlin to write a novel. He finds a decadent world on the brink of disaster. After a trip to the infamous Kit Kat Klub, he meet a British singer, Sally Bowles, and his life becomes much more complicated. All Sally wants is to live life to the fullest and have fun, but her refusal to acknowledge the dire situation caused by the changing political climate in Germany leaves Cliff baffled. After seeing multiple productions of this show over the years I’ve come to realize that its success always hangs on the performance of the emcee. The androgynous character, originated by Joel G...