On Stage: Life is a ‘Cabaret,’ old chum, for Arizona Repertory Theatre

The lost soul is at the center of Kander and Ebb’s musical “Cabaret,” which Arizona Repertory Theatre opens in previews Sunday, Oct. 18.

Danny Gurwin directs the cast of University of Arizona students in this production, which has had many Broadway revivals, been staged locally several times, and was a movie starring Liza Minnelli.

There have been a couple takes on Sally Bowles and “Cabaret” — a cheery one, and one that underscores the darkness of the story that tells of life inside Berlin’s Kit Kat Club, which is a refuge from the outside world, where Nazism is on the rise.

“I tried to blend the two ideas,” says Gurwin, a Broadway veteran and an assistant professor in the UA’s theater school.

“The audience will get what is dark and so terrifying, the precipice the story is on — the rise of the Hitler regime,” says Gurwin. “But it won’t be totally dark.”

His take on the production:

The musical’s staying power: “Cabaret” was written in the 1960s, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, and takes place the decade before World War II erupted. During both periods, turmoil reigned. “Inside (the Kit Kat Club) life is beautiful while the world is falling apart,” says Gurwin. In a way, he added, things continue to fall apart. “We still have Ferguson, Freddie Gray, the crisis with ISIS, the Syrian situation. It’s not to the extreme of the genocide of the Holocaust, but there are parallels now, which is why ‘Cabaret’ is so effective. … I like to think we’ve come so far, but we are still fighting. There are just different masks.”

The Kit Kat Club: The nightclub is where showgirls flirt, customers drink, and life has no cares. As the Emcee says, “We have no troubles here. Here life is beautiful... The girls are beautiful... Even the orchestra, is beautiful.

“We never see the outside world (in the play). There are images of the Nazi regime, but the whole idea for the show is we have to make the audience forget their troubles,” says Gurwin.

“The audience will feel the tension of the period, the impending doom through what (characters) say about the situation.”

The impact: “The power of ‘Cabaret” is creating a play where audiences root for all the characters, so they are shocked and surprised by the end. We hope to really entertain, put on a great show, and at the same time be true to this amazing script and story that captures this terrifying time.”

Playing dark and sexy: “Cabaret” captures the sex-charged hedonism of pre-war Berlin. “Students sometimes forget that theater isn’t always nice and that characters don’t have to be squeaky clean,” says Gurwin. “It’s when you allow yourself to be raw and vulnerable that the best work can be done. I think the students are loving it. … They are embracing what is heavy about the show and how to balance what is joyful, as well.”

And in the end: “There are infinite levels to this piece. My hope is the audience will go on the journey with us, that they will laugh, enjoy and be entertained. I think they’ll be surprised by it.”