Co-Directors Christina A. Coakley and Michael Innocenti do a terrific job picking their way between these two models to find their own template.
Maria Rizzo has thrown herself into Sally Bowles…Rizzo has strong musical sensibilities and, more importantly, takes chances by coloring the songs to further each emotional beat of Sally’s journey.
The directors cast another company member, Bradley Foster Smith, against type as the “leading man” Clifford Bradshaw. This was a stroke of genius.
Christopher Gillespie as Ernst was so believable as the friend who introduces Clifford to Berlin, that it actually caught me by surprise when he revealed his more nefarious motivations.
Stan Shulman and Jane Petkofsky, stalwart ensemble members of Keegan, pull off a relationship both comedic and totally touching.
[Paul] Scanlan’s robust physique and tight jaw gives him a strong, even dangerous presence. He totally reinvents the Emcee…”
The directors have used the tightening of cast members to advantage…Songs are not just re-choreographed but reinvented. “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” becomes a number for Fraulein Kost [Sarah Lasko], the young woman in the boarding house, who seems to have a thing for sailors and a mission to bed these good German boys.
Rachel Leigh Dolan is a fine choreographer who isn’t afraid to borrow, then transform, the popular material of Cabaret into something new.
