UGA Theatre presents "Cabaret"

The Tony Award-winning musical detailing the lives of an aspiring novelist and a wannabe starlet looking for love in 1920’s Berlin under the rising shadow of Nazism, "Cabaret" continues through this weekend at the Fine Arts Theatre:

Based on Christopher Isherwood’s semi-autobiographical novella "Sally Bowles," Cabaret creates a chilling portrait of life in Germany under the rising shadow of Nazism. The vibrant characters, including the sensitive ex-patriate British writer Cliff and the beguiling, free-spirited British Cabaret singer Sally Bowles, become increasingly entangled in their bohemian, decadent lifestyles, trying to ignore the ominous political changes taking place around them that threaten to upend their lives — and the world.

UGA Theatre has enlisted artistic director of Actor’s Express Freddie Ashley to helm this contemporary-yet-classic vision of Kander and Ebb’s Tony-Award winning musical. “Cabaret pulses with life as urgently as it did when it premiered half a century ago,” said Ashley. “With its dynamic characters, exhilarating score, and powerful narrative, it seduces audiences today into a world of beauty, sex, passion, and individualism — and then jolts them with a warning that it can all be taken away in an instant.”

Set in Berlin just prior to the onset of World War II, the play’s inhabitants vividly represent their unique moment of history, but at the same time resonate powerfully with our own time. “If you look at how the political climate has shifted in our own country and how artists have chosen to engage with controversial topics, I think the parallels are pretty easy to draw to Cabaret and Weimar Germany,” Ashley said.

Complete with live band, dancers and club goers, this production is geared toward fresh eyes experiencing the musical for the first time while maintaining fidelity to the original. A fantastic and timely production from UGA Theatre that reminds us of the power of art. Make sure not to miss this production.

Image: Promotional photo from UGA Theatre's production of "Cabaret."