Reviewed by May
Morishima/Sacramento
Stage & Theatre
Jacquelyn Piro
as Sally Bowles and Perry Ojeda as Clifford Bradshaw in the 2005 Music
Circus production of CABARET at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Aug. 16-21. Photo
by: Charr Crail.
"Willkomen!
Bienvenue! Welcome!" announces the emcee
as he is lowered on a swing opening the cabaret at the Kit Kat
Club.
Under the direction of John Simpkins, Cabaret is a
highly
charged musical set in the ~ 1930's. Exhilarating choreography,
singing and impressive period costumes involved the audience for a
thrilling night at Music Circus.
Energy filled the air as the
emcee sings invitingly of "leaving your troubles outside because in
here, life is beautiful". As Simpkins stated "…Cabaret is about a
group of people in a country who weren't paying attention to what was
really happening."
Max Von Essen is a definite treat as the
animated emcee whose
Jacquelyn Piro
singing rolled smoothly with a strong and consistent performance
throughout the show. Perry Ojeda fit the role of Cliff, the
naïve American novelist in search of inspirational experiences to
pen.
Jacquelyn Piro as Sally, the star of the Kit Kat
Club and Cliff's love
interest, portrayed a person who lives for the moment. Her most
memorable performance was when she sang the emotionally charged
"Cabaret."
Fraulein Schnieder (Ralston) and Herr Schultz
(Zimmerman) sweet duet
"It Couldn't Please Me More" added innocence to their love but sadness
prevailed in Schnieder's bittersweet song "What Would You
Do?"
"Tomorrow Belongs to Me" sung by Fraulein Kost
(Wright), Ernst
(Eakeley) and Company communicated well the mixed emotions the song
generated from the Company.
High-spirited aggressive choreography added to the
excitement
especially the Charlestons performed during Act I and the Kick Line in
Act II. The creative costumes and imaginative use of color
and pattern evoked the time period. The sets were simple yet effective
and did not detract from the
performance.
It was an evening where you could leave your
troubles outside and enjoy
Cabaret. Very limited seating
is available for Cabaret. Ticket prices for all Music Circus shows are
$49 for Friday and Saturday evenings, $46 for Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, and Sunday evenings and Saturday matinees, and $34 for
Thursday matinees. Tickets
can be purchased at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box
Office, 1419 H Street, Sacramento, by phone at (916) 557-1999 or online
at www.SacramentoMusicCircus.com.
Tickets are also available through Tickets.com.
