CABARET at the Kit Kat Club (2024) Opening Night Critics' Reviews- Page 14

[lopside]

Posted: 5/12/24 at 4:03pm

Liza Sadovy fro

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 5/14/24 at 11:58pm

Saw this tonight and thought it was absolutely exhausting, from nearly the beginning to the end. I don’t really understand what all that overdirection (and underdirection during the book scenes) was in service of.

Can’t say I really cared for the performances. Gayle Rankin had her moments in the book scenes, but the production doesn’t actually feel all that interested in Sally and she felt very much lost at sea. Eddie Redmayne is doing everything and the kitchen sink and is in near constant movement for no reason at all. Bebe Neuwirth and Steven Skybell are fine - especially him - but they ultimately don’t really register. Ato Blankson-Wood barely registers.

I just don’t know what all the choices were meant to add up to. Even the preshow promises an all-encompassing, seductive experience, but the show itself never delivered for me. I know many people feel the same, but the audience around me was absolutely raving and I was so turned off by the whole thing.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 5/15/24 at 10:12am

Emcee Squared: Joel Grey and Eddie Redmayne on ‘Cabaret’

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/15/theater/joel-grey-eddie-redmayne-cabaret.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sE0.cV3F.bg_eYQoOov2q

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 5/15/24 at 6:46pm

Well just saw the matinee. My seat was in the fake section of tables 3rd row. Yes, it’s tight in there.

This was a big MEH for me. The Sam revival was just amazing and you felt once Alan Cumming opened that door you would enter a crazy world. This did nothing for me. Gayle was “ok” I felt Sally was in the background shadowing the whole time. Gayle’s cabaret was lackluster and the audience was not having it (little applause). Eddie has no presence, his costumes were fun but something was missing. I never felt he was a master of ceremonies

I was kind of hoping Alan or Natasha (from the heavens) would come on the stage and say, “This is how you do it”  Bebe, Steven, and Ato (yes yes) were giving an excellent performance. 
The pre show was ok nothing thrilling in anyway. The audience had no clue were to go half of the time being cattled to the stairs and through this door and that door (a door being behind a curtain did not help) 

The drink prices are $$$. My partner and I decided to get one and it’s not worth the $30 (plus tip) we paid for. 
 

This cabaret is not the one we were waiting for. 

Updated On: 5/15/24 at 06:46 PM

[MezzA101]

Posted: 5/19/24 at 6:58pm

Eddie Redmayne on the staying power of Broadway’s ‘Cabaret’ - Gothamist

 

https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/eddie-redmayne-on-the-staying-power-of-broadways-cabaret

[MezzA101]

Posted: 5/20/24 at 10:03pm

Cabaret Transforms a Classic NYC Theater Into an Uninhibited German Underground | Architectural Digest

 

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/cabaret-transforms-a-classic-nyc-theater-into-an-uninhibited-german-underground

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 5/21/24 at 6:18pm

Updated On: 5/21/24 at 06:18 PM

[mikey89]

Posted: 5/24/24 at 2:25pm

I just saw the matinee on 05/18/24. I sat in one of the front tables with the dining packages. I honestly thought it was one of the most incredible shows of my 30 years of theater going. I have seen the Mendes revival and loved that as well. I thought everything was so creative, fun and wild. From the prologue flash mob to the vibe and mood of the piece it was something so special. It will never tour and be seen anywhere other than a sit down production. 

I thought Eddie Redmayne was amazing. You could feel his presence anytime he was onstage. He had menace, and comedy and pathos with even the most simple gestures. I thought his singing voice was great. He runs a marathon during this show and by the finale when he is in the suit and turns back into the emcee, both my friend and I were amazed. I fully believe he deserved his Tony nomination. 

Next, Gayle Ranking I thought was absolutely fabulous. She was seductive, funny, heartbreaking and her performance of the title song was the most thrilling number we saw on our 4 day theater trip. At least at the performance I saw, it completely brought down the house with thunderous extended applause after she had gone down the trap door. 

Bebe Neuwirth and Steven Skybell were also amazing. Their love story is the heart of the piece and "What would you do" stopped the show as well. I really hope Bebe pulls through with another Tony win. 

The onyl performance that was "meh" was Ato Blankston Wood as Cliff. I know its a thankless part but he really just didnt bring much to the table. He didnt seem into Sally at all despite Gayle really trying. 

We met Eddie Redmayne at the stage door as well as Mr. Skybell. They were both so gracious and spent so much time with everyone chatting about the show and how we liked it. 

If you have a chance to experience this show here in NYC, I know its expensive and a splurge, but it was one of my favorite nights of theater ever!

Updated On: 5/24/24 at 02:25 PM

[starlightlocamotion]

Posted: 5/24/24 at 6:01pm

I do wonder if the tides are shifting for Gayle. I saw it in previews & thought she was very strong. Friends that have gone recently hav said that she has blossomed in the role. I think she may be more in the mix than we think. 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 5/29/24 at 9:27am

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club | 2024 Tony Award Nominee - YouTube

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oxnpELiey0

[Huss417]

Posted: 5/29/24 at 12:11pm

Cabaret is already up at TKTS for the matinee. 30% off $80.00-$150.00

[Kad]

Posted: 5/29/24 at 9:15pm

I saw the matinee today and found it to be a singularly frustrating production that seemed to be actively undermining my attempts to like it the entire time. Every time I thought a moment was strong, a scene was good, a visual was compelling, it felt like it immediately was followed by something baffling. And how can a production get rid of all the subtext of a show and end up with something that is less clear than it was?

Preshow is barely worth mentioning- pointless, except that the theater is nice and cool so you can beat the summer heat.

I do not understand this concept of the Emcee at all. Is Redmayne good or bad? I don't know, but he is Performing. It's a strange, but committed, and otherwordly performance, but the decision to turn the Emcee into an allegorical figure rooted in imagery and symbol over any discernible human element turns a seductive, grounded character into inscrutable performance art, one that left me trying to discern what, exactly, was being said with these choices. And these choices extend to all of the Kit Kat Club songs- weird tempo, confusing staging, gimmicky visual conceits. The lack of clarity around this central pillar of the musical ends up knocking the legs out from under the whole production for me.

I thought Rankin was excellent... in her book scenes. Her Sally is a layered, subtle, and deep characterization- believable, pitiful, desperate, and ultimately tragic. But then when she's doing one of her numbers, she is straitjacketed by Fracknell's conceit for the number. The title song is contortions and shouting, "Mein Herr" is languid and muddy.

Bebe and Skybell, both excellent as well.

Pedro Garza was on as Cliff and I thought he was very, very good! He leaned into Cliff's less pleasant characteristics- this is really the first time I realized that Cliff is kind of a dick to Sally, forcing his expectations onto her. It gave him more depth.

But overall I was just... frustrated. Frustrated because this should've been better. But ultimately, it felt like it was created by people who have never even been to a nightclub.

[east side story]

Posted: 5/30/24 at 6:00pm

New York audiences are really not into this production. I think the missing ingredient is Jessie Buckley, because this show (and Eddie) was the toast of London in the winter of 21/22.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 5/30/24 at 6:12pm

east side story said: "New York audiences are reallynot into this production. I think the missing ingredient is Jessie Buckley, because this show (and Eddie) was the toast of London in the winter of 21/22."

 

As is clearly evidenced by the nearly $2M weekly grosses.

 

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 5/30/24 at 10:03pm

Tonight’s show paused after So What for an “emergency in the house” and actors were asked to leave the stage. It probably held for like 10 minutes before resuming. I could an area with flashlights before and then that row was empty 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 6/2/24 at 8:44pm

How ‘Cabaret’ became Broadway’s hottest ticket — and most divisive show

 

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/cabaret-became-broadway-hottest-ticket-185338427.html