Celebrating Our 49th With A Dynamite Columbus Children's Theater Production of "Cabaret"

      I always wanted to see "Cabaret." I don't mean the movie with Joel Grey and Liza Minelli, which I've seen three or four times,

 ...but a live stage performance.
       Having listened to both the movie and the Broadway soundtracks probably close to a hundred times (I do not exaggerate), I had the impression that the stage version of "Cabaret" was quite different from the screen version. And from what I'd read, the more recent iterations of "Cabaret" from the last few years' Broadway run were given twists particularly relevant to the times we live in by using gender queer characters to populate the expressionistic fictional night spot called the Kit Kat Klub in 1930's Berlin where the good times - and metaphors - rolled while Germans went about their lives oblivious to, ignoring, or embracing the authoritarianism and oppression that was creeping into their society. ​

           I got my chance to see "Cabaret" on stage a few weeks ago.
           I'd seen an ad for a local run of the show. To be presented by the Columbus Children's Theater.
           Now, the idea of "Cabaret" being performed by a children's group gave me pause. But only for a moment. I figured that a cleaned up, kid-friendly version of "Cabaret" was better than no version of all. So I bought tickets for myself and my mate Tom for the Saturday, February 21, 2 pm matinee.
            Planning an outing for this date served another purpose: It gave Tom and me something to do to celebrate our 49th anniversary. Our actual anniversary is February 19, but we figured celebrating on the 21st was close enough.
             Tom and me on our wedding day in 1977,

...and in 2026.

         All we'd need besides our afternoon at the theater to make our anniversary celebration official would be a cake to eat afterwards.
​         To this end I procured a cake from Resch's, an old Columbus family bakery that makes the absolute best cakes on the planet, and that by good fortune moved its operation a few months ago from the city to a new suburban location two blocks from my house.

       Our Resch's 49th anniversary cake.

      (A side note of possible interest to cake afficionados: My town of Gahanna, Ohio, now happens to have to have excellent cake karma; for along with Resch's we also have the Golden Delight Bakery, 

...which makes a sublime, lighter than air, unique unto itself layer cake topped and filled with a sublime, lighter than air, unique unto itself frosting and fresh sliced strawberries. A Golden Delight cake, as this confection is known in  Gahanna, is a common staple at graduations and other cake-requiring events, 

...though I imagine the Golden Delight cake may now be in for some serious competition with the Resch's cake.
         In any case, one of our friends surprised Tom and me with a Golden Delight cake on the actual date of our anniversary, so we were able to enjoy the best of both cake worlds.

 And enjoy we did).
​       When Saturday afternoon, February 21, rolled around, Tom and I headed for High Street in downtown Columbus,

....to the Riffe Center, a beautiful government center and theater complex,

...where "Cabaret" was staged in Studio Two, a small, intimate space with a minimalist set and the orchestra stationed up in the loft.

     In the entryway to the theater there were posters that gave a preview of the interpretive approach taken by this particular production of "Cabaret." While looking at the posters It occurred to me that mayhaps this was not going to be the sanitized, kid-friendly "Cabaret" production I had envisioned, but rather a work of political statement,

...social commentary,

...and protest,

...all if which it turned out to be, along with being dynamite entertainment.
​        In this production, identified as part of the company's Professional Series, most of the cast were college students or young adults, with a few older adults in the older adult roles. Nonetheless all were already seasoned veterans of musical theater.

       The young, energetic singers and dancers brought terrific life and exuberance  to their colorful roles of the Kit Kat Klub Cabaret "Girls" and "Boys."​

      Especially effective - and surprising -  was the creative decision in the casting of  the roll of The Emcee, usually portrayed as a sort of malevolent clown who represented the moral depravity of Berlin in the 1930's.

       
​      In this production, however, the role was played by a young woman, free of clown makeup.

Juliette Marcella as The Emcee

      Watching their performance one felt that, rather than symbolizing the society of their time, these particular Kit Kat Klub characters were standing up to its cruel oppression, which was the true immorality of Nazi Germany; and that the young actors who portrayed them were, in their interpretation, standing against  intolerance in our present day society.

         ​   It was an outstanding, thought-provoking performance that posed questions for the audience.

      The story ended with all the characters, singers, dancers, queer, straight, German, Jew, Nazi, taking off their shoes and leaving them in a pile on the stage, perhaps symbolizing that once upon a time a repressive, murderous regime, in stealing the lives of those it murdered, stole the life of its whole society as well.

     
​         After the show we walked a block down High Street,

...to the Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner.

      Though it was before 5 pm when we arrived, the restaurant was already so crowded,

...that without a reservation the only seats available were at the bar. So we happily joined the folks sitting at the bar.

       The service was quick and good, and soon thereafter we were chowing down  on the soft, warm, out-of-this-world bread with the herb butter that is the Spaghetti Warehouse hallmark,            

...followed soon thereafter by salads and a split order of delicious 15-layer lasagna.

      By the time we left the Spaghetti Warehouse even the bar area was filled.

       We then walked back through town,

...and headed home to dig into our cake and finish off our anniversary, appreciative that we still lived in a time and place where we were free to carry on with "the daily things of life that are so dear."
​       At least for the time being.