Rachel Chase, Anthony Franko and Jordon Crenshaw play in Cabaret. Photo by Beth West.

“Leave your troubles outside . . . Life is disappointing? In here, life is beautiful.” —Master of Ceremonies, Cabaret

In one of the first speeches of the play, the Master of Ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub—a night club in Berlin and the central setting of Cabaret —points to one of the main reasons we attend a theatrical performance. For most of our hours, we are faced with decisions, problems, troubles. But for the few hours we allow ourselves to spend at a play, those troubles don’t (or at least shouldn’t) get to come with us. As much as a play should serve as a diversion, it must also present its own decisions and problems for audiences and characters alike to work out. Cabaret, currently running at the Murfreesboro Center for the Arts, succeeds in giving audiences an entertaining evening. But it also fulfills an obligation to audiences with a bent towards plays which call us to action. Director Denis Pessar and his cast and crew also succeed in considering the play’s larger conceits: the dangers of complacency in a world of socioeconomic and political turmoil and the pain of knowing that sometimes love is not enough.

I arrived at the Murfreesboro Center For the Arts about half an hour before curtain of the Sunday matinee performance of Cabaret. Lingering around the gallery area (which is currently exhibiting a fascinating selection of works by Rhett Moser and Kelly McCormack called “Converging Paths”), I overheard the cast and director Denis Pessar playing and singing through scales and briskly warming up their vocal cords. I also noticed a distinctive bustle amongst the early-arriving audience members. “Ready for some theater?” an older lady excitedly asked her companion. The question was clearly rhetorical, and the majority of the three-quarters capacity crowd at the CFTA seemed to share the sentiment. The audience had come out expecting a diversion on their Sunday afternoon, and on the whole they seemed to have had their urges sated by the end of the show.

Set in 1931 Berlin as the Nazis are rising to power, Cabaret explores the salacious nightlife at the seedy Kit Kat Klub. The action revolves around an aspiring American novelist Cliff Bradshaw, played by Jordan Crenshaw, and his relationship with the young and alluring singer, Sally Bowles. Rachel Chase is often electrifying as Sally, particularly in the first number “Don’t Tell Mama.” Crenshaw’s performance of Cliff elicits the type of “aw-shucks” persona that can at times be endearing. But Crenshaw doesn’t find chances to explore other personality facets of Cliff often enough throughout the play. If he can find a few more moments to access emotions more acutely, he would supplement a fantastic singing voice with a skillfully realized character.

A sub-plot involves the doomed romance between German boarding house owner Fräulein Schneider and her elderly suitor Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit vendor. Played by Chris McLaurin and Katie Boothe respectively, Schultz’s courtship of Schneider serves as a pleasant contrast to the opulence of the Kit Kat Klub scenes. Overseeing the action is the Master of Ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub, played very nicely by Anthony Franco. Ted Verbeten and Sherry Sunday-Booth are also highlights of a very large cast.

As a diversion, this rendition of Cabaret works quite well. For the most part, the musical numbers are executed effectively and with a lot of heart. The set, by Pessar and Bill Stewart, serves as an enticing image at the rise of the curtain and then blends into the performance effectively. Set changes were smooth, even with the need for an extra hand to wipe down a spot on the floor from a leaky roof. Todd Seage’s lighting was also well-executed, with an effective scrim and crisp lighting cues. However, I found myself at times wanting for a little more variation in levels—the lighting in the club did not seem to differ enough with that of other settings at times.

Pessar serves double duty as both director and musical director. Such a task for a show of this size and complexity is daunting to think about, and Pessar performs admirably. However, with so much going on, I am afraid that at times the actors seemed to not have clear motivations for their movements. At other times, I found myself wishing that some actors would look for more levels in their dialogue. It never quite felt like the actors were saying lines to get to the next song instead of acting, but I do think a little more time could have been spent working on clarifying movements and considering the weight of their spoken dialogue. By contrast, the musical numbers were compelling. Crenshaw and Chase deserve high praise for their singing as the leads, but I would also mention McLaurin for his vocal range and Franco for his engaging and eminently watchable performance.

Audiences expecting a version of the famous Bob Fosse/Liza Minelli 1971 film should alter their expectations, not on account of the quality of the performance (which is quite good), but due to the fact that the film and stage versions are quite different. This is not news to most musical theater lovers, who tend to be fans of both. Fans of the film would be doing themselves a disservice not to see Cabaret on stage.

Cabaret continues at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 and 25, and 2 p.m. Feb. 26. Click here for tickets

MARCH PRODUCTIONS
Blithe Spirit
March 2-3, 9-10, 16-17
The Swan Performing Arts Center
(615) 617-3784

The Ransom of Red Chief
March 2-4
The Theatre at Patterson Park
(615) 867-7244

Dinner with Friends
Out Front on Main
(615) 869-8617

Camelot
March 9-24
The Arts Center of Cannon County
(615) 563-2787

Beauty and the Beast
March 9-25
Murfreesboro Center for the Arts

Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing
7 p.m. March 10
The Theatre at Patterson Park
Presented by members of Nashville Opera’s Mary Ragland Young Artist Program
(615) 867-7244