Madison College’s production of Joe Masteroff and Fred Ebb’s production “Cabaret,” directed by Meghan Rudolph, opens its five-show run at the Mitby Theatre on Friday, March 7, and the timing couldn’t be more eerie.
“…Politics? But what has that to do with us?” asks Sarah Trejo Nava in her portrayal of Sally Bowles.
“You’re right. Nothing has anything to do with us. Sally – don’t you understand – if you’re not against all this – you’re for it. Or you might as well be,” said Clifford “Cliff” Bradshaw, portrayed by Jake Samojla.
It’s the kind of conversation you might overhear anywhere, at a coffee shop, around the family dinner table or even the hallways of Madison College. “Enough with the politics.” “I can’t pay attention to that stuff, it’s too upsetting.” “The election is over; I don’t want to think about it anymore!”
“Cabaret” follows a series of characters in 1929-1930 Berlin, faced with the rise of fascism, racial hatred and economic hardship. They seek a respite from the disturbing new reality they inhabit finding solace in the Kit Kat Club — a sleazy but vibrant nightclub featuring drag, gin, burlesque and sex work.
The show is by no means all doom and gloom though, as it begins with a light-hearted and hilarious opening number. As cast-member Shaelyn Clostermery (Texas) said, “You will walk into the theater and leave the first number laughing and maybe leave the last number crying.”
Despite the show’s heavy message, nothing can hold down the cast’s buoyancy singing and dancing along to each other’s numbers on the wings. There’s an undeniable and infectious atmosphere throughout the studio of people who care, root for and love one another and what they’re doing.
Most of the actors, though, are called on to play characters they wouldn’t want anything to do with in real life: Nazis, or Nazi-sympathizers.
“I feel extremely privileged to be able to be performing in a play like this at a time like this politically,” said Trejo Nava. “Even though I’m playing a character of a person that I wouldn’t be during this time, I think it’s a great point of view to show because it is so relevant to how people react nowadays.”
“It’s important to play him as well as I can.” said actor Trey Danis III, who plays Ernst Ludwig, a Nazi character. “I want to be just as terrifying and evil and gross as I possibly can for the audience.”
The sense of duty these actors feel is palpable, the gravity immense. In a tense scene during rehearsal, a turning point in the show when Nazism is finally made overt, you could hear a pin drop. While they’ve rehearsed the scene before, there’s still a terrifying power in the portrayal.
“It’s something I think every audience needs to see, needs to hear, needs to feel.” says Samojla, a Marquette student who commutes to Madison to participate. “Because if they don’t, then they’re living in “Cabaret,” referring to a line in the play.
For some students, ignoring the news is a luxury they cannot afford. Actor Jada Ramos, who plays Victor and also leads Madison College’s Mi Gente Unida Latino club said, “We’ve had to cancel our out-of-state trips [for the Latino club], because it’s just not safe. This show is just so important to be telling right now. I’ve heard the exact line ‘But why, why should I care about politics?’”
Madison College’s “Cabaret” is a triumph not despite, but because of its grave, relevant message. “It’s crazy to portray this history while it’s being repeated and erased at the same time in our own country,” said Kai DeRubis, who plays the morally gray, omnipresent Master of Ceremonies.
LGBTQ+ rights are under a daily attack in America, presenting this show today is an act of radical resistance. Given today’s political climate, it could be considered obscene or illegal.
“It’s a very queer show,” said Emma Bartholomew, who plays Rosie, “in the way that it blurs lines…there’s a lot of fluidity in gender and sexuality.”
The directing reflects as much as the show was cast by gender-blind criteria.
It’s a show that is important, fun and heart-breaking. The cast and crew approach their assignment with severity and joy, for it is a show that contains multitudes. It is a story of nuance, and making impossible decisions in an impossible environment, one that sadly is far more possible today than it was yesterday.