Cabaret at the Smith Center, Las Vegas, Saturday June 18, 2016

I've been a fan of the Liza Minnelli movie version of Cabaret pretty much since it was released but have never before seen a stage presentation. The version performed at the Smith Center is updated from the original and has simple yet effective staging and fine costumes that reflect the previous take without copying it.

Here the story doesn't simply revolve around Sally Bowles (Andrea Gross) and Clifford Bradshaw (Lee Aaron Rosen), but seems to take more from the original book of short tales, Berlin Stories, as it explores the budding relationship of the inn-keeper (Shannon Cochran) and her Jewish beau (Mark Nelson) along with friend Ernst (Ned Noyes) and the prostitute Kost (Alison Ewing), and, of course, the Emcee (Randy Harrison). While the iconic songs remain, there are many that did not appear in the movie, as they revolve around the other characters.

I enjoyed this adaptation - there are enough variations to keep it fresh, but still keeps the feel of the original. The Smith Center brings some superior productions and, if you don't mind the upper strata, you can get seats at a reasonable price (a number of our punk rock friends were in the same area as we were).