A CABARET IN THE HEART OF THE CASTRO
Cabaret is a masterpiece of American musical theater that has been presented in a vast variety of musical and physical shapes and sizes since its premiere on Broadway in 1966. John Kander and Fred Ebb’s score and Joe Masteroff’s book has been cut, added to, and shifted around, and the mood and look have been countlessly revised. In that vein, Theatre Rhinoceros, the longest running queer theater in the nation, has has set up shop right on 18th Street in the center of the Castro district. Despite the tiny space, they’ve taken on this big show with a small cast — and it works. With limited seating, the entire room has been converted into the infamous “Kit Kat Club”.
Set in the morally and politically turbulent city of Berlin in 1931, on the brink of the Nazi takeover of Germany the next year; Hitler’s authoritarian rule is an impending threat spreading through Germany. An American writer, Clifford Bradshaw (a very limber Brendan Looney), has arrived in town and is staying in a somewhat rundown lodging house run by Fräulein Schneider (Stephanie Field), who will navigate a romantic relationship with a Jewish fruit-shop owner, Herr Schultz (Gabriel A. Ross).
(back) M.C. Mendonca as Fräulein Kost, Gabriel Ross as Herr Schultz, Rudy Guerrero as Emcee,
Stephanie Fields as Fräulein Schneider; (front) Megan Soledad as Sally Bowles,
Brendan Looney as Clifford Bradshaw, Landyn Endo as Ernst Ludwig
Another lodger is the young and beautiful Fräulein Kost (M.C. Mendonca), who enjoys not so secretly entertaining sailors in her room. The budding novelist Clifford is invited by his new friend Ernst Ludwig (Landyn Endo), to whom he will teach English to make money, to spend his first night in town at the infamous local nightclub, The Kit Kat Club. Our guide throughout the musical is the club’s smarmy entertainer, known only as the Master of Ceremonies, the role that made Joel Grey a star. Rudy Guerrero gives the flamboyant and sexually ambiguous Emcee a commanding presence, especially with his striking features and Lynell Aldafari‘s colorful wardrobe..
The opening number “Willkommen” introduces the audience to the small but talented ensemble of young, nubile dancers and singers. With their svelte figures, makeup and androgynous looks, we realize that these are no ordinary performers. And that his is also no ordinary club – even for the Weimar Era. Cliff is immediately smitten by the lead singer, Sally Bowles (Megan Soledad), a feckless chanteuse from England, who soon moves in with Cliff.
Director John Fisher clearly told all his actors to give it their all. It’s a small 9-member cast, so actors double up as dancers – and everyone has the talent to back it up. This very talented ensemble is amazing to watch. Adin Walker’s choreography is a joy, whether the dancers are slinking up and down the stairs of the club or performing in sync as a chorus line. Gilbert Johnson’s set design maximizes the single room set that serves as the Kit Kat Klub and the boarding house.
A small band is also crammed into the space, adding the perfect atmosphere. Pianist Armando Fox does double duty as Music Director, and is joined by Tim Vaughan, Kyle Wong and Kumi Maxon.
You will be hard-pressed to find a more intimate production of Cabaret. We feel like we are literally sitting in the front row of the Kit Kat Klub. And in today’s world with antisemitism and transphobia on the rise, the musical still resonates. Come and spend a few hours at this Cabaret where, as the emcee and performers remind you, “Here Life is Beautiful”!
photos by Scott Sidorsky
Cabaret
Theatre Rhinoceros, 4229 18th St. in San Francisco
ends on December 15, 2024 EXTENDED to December 29, 2024
for tickets ($17.50-$35), visit The Rhino
