Review: “Cabaret” musical debuts at Kayenta

IVINS — The Center for the Arts at Kayenta debuts their newest musical theater performance of Cabaret beginning tonight, November 12.

The show runs today through November 12 to 21. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays 6:00 pm. Tickets are $35 for adults and $10 for children.

The show stars Heather Oram in the role of Sally Bowles, Tyler Price in the role of Cliff Bradshaw, Aaron Naylor as the role of Emcee, and lots of other familiar faces from the St. George theater scene.

I got to see a preview showing of a dress rehearsal, and I was blown away! The show was so much fun to watch. It’s a flash of bright colors, sequins, and shimmering outfits. The music is brassy, bold, and incredibly earwormy.

Cabaret takes place in 1920s – 1930s Berlin at the tail end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of the Nazi Party’s rise to power. An American novelist (Price) comes to Berlin to finish his novel, and is swept into the wild and raucous life of 1930s Cabaret bars.

Cabaret takes the audience to a world of relaxed social mores, sexual liberation, and hedonism inside the clubs.

The show has a jarring juxtaposition of the glossy “anything goes” lifestyle of the Cabaret bars and the dark and foreboding rise of Nazi power in Germany. You get a sense of emotional whiplash as the scenes dart from everyone having fun in the club to a sudden anti-semitic barb from one of the characters.

The show brings up thought provoking questions about political power, marginalization, art and entertainment, and happiness.

Every character is acted well. As a first timer to Cabaret, I felt really invested in their stories, hurt at the betrayals, and surprised at the plot twists. This is the one of the first on-stage shows at Kayenta since the pandemic began, and the excitement of the cast, stage crew, and producers to be back on stage was palpable. Everybody felt so happy to be back doing the thing they love.

And the feeling was contagious! The audience and I were having a great time, laughing and clapping along.

It has the feel of a big-time musical with a lovely dose of small-town charm. I’m so glad to live in a place where musicals like this are being put on. Go see it!

Content Advisory:

The musical centers on a cabaret bar, so depictions of alcohol and smoking are present throughout. Several of the musical numbers contain some sexual innuendo. There is one instance of brief strong language. If it were a movie, it would be PG-13.