Come to the (Outdoor) Cabaret

PCPA is bringing Cabaret’s Kit Kat Klub to the sleepy Danish village of Solvang, where the denizens of the famous decadent sanctuary – artists and performers, misfits and outsiders – will perform outdoors under the stars at the Solvang Festival Theatre August 2-25. The Kander & Ebb musical is set in 1929-30 Berlin during the Weimar Republic, at the confluence of the twilight of the Jazz Age and the early days of the Nazis’ rise to power. While the story focuses specifically on an American writer’s relationship with cabaret singer Sally Bowles, the bland indifference to rising fascism within the club’s hedonistic nightlife actually accelerates a Nazi takeover energized in part by  the club’s, and by extension the Weimar Republic’s, boldly permissive lifestyle. The carrying on at the Kit Kat Club in the face of growing historical disaster serves as something of a metaphor for the Weimar’s laissez-faire response to the ominous political developments. 

The original 1966 Broadway production was a box office hit that also won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, as did the 1998 revival. Emma Stone, Michelle Williams, and Sienna Miller all portrayed Sally Bowles in another Broadway revival in the 2010s, and a current production in New York stars Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne as the Emcee. Will the open-air venue alter the mood of the simultaneously entertaining and disturbing musical? PCPA says Willkommen for you to find out. Info at (805) 922-8313 or www.pcpa.org.