Mixing an historically significant period with a mischievous nightspot, “Cabaret” is one of the bellwethers of classic musicals.
Revolving around the bawdy Kit Kat Klub of 1930s Berlin, “Cabaret” opens its doors at Munster’s Theatre at the Center for a May 4 through June 4 run.
The original Broadway production from five decades ago was the Tony Award winner for Best Musical.
“Cabaret” is set in an unsettled, darkening time when the storm clouds of global unrest are methodically rolling in.
Known for choreographic sizzle, “Cabaret” boasts memorable numbers that include “Money, Money,” “Maybe This Time,” “Willkommen” and the buoyant title tune.
“I first saw Cabaret when I was in high school, and the show really had an effect on me,” said Linda Fortunato, director and choreographer of the Munster production.
She noted that “although we are doing the most recent version — which is the version that opened on Broadway in 1998,” the tone struck by Theatre at the Center will give a nod to “the original production.”
Fortunato said, “the most recent version that’s on Broadway is very adult and very racy.”
But a different tack is being employed for Northwest Indiana audiences.
“I think our production is going to be more suggestive than racy,” she said. “I find that in my personal taste, something is more exciting when it is the suggestion of it, the hint of it, the tease of it, as opposed to completely in your face — bawdy.”
The ribald nature of the cabaret is set against the uncertainty of the outside world, where political winds of change are rustling.
“There’s definitely some tension in the air,” Fortunato said. “The people in the story don’t know what they’re on the brink of. Things are beginning to happen in society that people are noticing.”
Debuting on Broadway in 1966, “Cabaret” is set in an era of Berlin when the Nazi Party is slowly crawling to power in Germany.
It is a political climate that does not mesh with the free-wheeling hedonism of the cabaret.
Fortunato points to the club’s “all-out, full-performance musical theater style” that contrasts with the much different world beyond the walls.
“The scenes outside of the club are much more honest and much more real, and deal with more serious subject matter,” Fortunato said.
She guides a cast of 16 that is anchored by multiple Joseph Jefferson Award winner Danni Smith, who plays cabaret singer Sally Bowles.
“She’s a English girl,” Smith, a Chicago resident, said of her character.
Bowles is an aspiring performer striving to basically do “grand things” and “get noticed,” Smith said.
“She’s willing to do whatever she has to do” to make that happen, Smith said. “Sally goes through a lot in the play. Her relationship with men can be a bit tumultuous. She sort of jumps from one to the other to survive — to have a place to live and to have food to eat.
“She’s always making jokes and she’s always poking fun, and I think it’s a mask for all of the hurt and the pain underneath.”
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Smith brings acclaimed stage abilities to her upcoming role at Theatre at the Center, which is housed in The Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster.
Her acting in a production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Passion” at Chicago’s Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre garnered one of her Joseph Jefferson Awards, which are the Windy City’s answer to the Tony Awards.
Spreading her influence, Smith — along with Harmony France — founded the Chicago-based Firebrand Theatre, which Smith said is designed to “create more opportunities for women in musical theater.”
Smith, meanwhile, will have her vocals showcased in “Cabaret,” which will utilize a six-piece band, Fortunato said.
The dancing of Smith and the rest of the cast will be guided by Fortunato, an admirer of Bob Fosse, who directed the Oscar-winning 1972 film version of the musical, and also put his choreographic stamp on it.
“The challenge for me is to be mindful of that choreography, which I think is so brilliant, but yet make it completely my own,” said Fortunato, a resident of Evanston, Ill.
She also said her choreographic task is “to make it something fresh, to make it something that fits the people in our production.”
Thriving for more than 50 years, “Cabaret” boasts the music and lyrics of John Kander and Fred Ebb.
“I think the music is terrific,” Fortunato said. “It’s a great score.”
The director said there are “many songs that people will recognize.”
The Munster production features Patrick Tierney in a starring role, as he portrays Cliff Bradshaw, an American writer.
Tierney appeared in Theatre at the Center’s 2015 production of the comedic “Monty Python’s Spamalot.”
Bob Kostanczuk is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
‘Cabaret’
Where: Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster
When: Thursday, May 4, through Sunday, June 4: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays; 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; and select Thursday and Sunday evenings and Saturday matinees
Tickets: $40 and $44; students $20; group discounts available
Information: 219-836-3255, www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com