The sparklers twinkled as I entered the theatre, slipping my earphones off my head, the echo of “Don’t Tell Mama” ringing in my ears. Excitement put a spring in my step as I searched for my great friend Fanni, who’d procured me a ticket to see Cabaret in the lovely Székesfehérvár theatre. I’d seen Cabaret on Broadway years ago with Mama, and I remember being incredibly impressed. The actor who played Emcee had dazzled me throughout his entire performance, and as the last man bowed, we found out that the poor man had performed so stunningly with a broken ankle!
I was thoroughly expecting something a bit different, seeing as our small town Hungarian theatre was nothing like the sparkling blacktop of Broadway; I was thrilled to find last night’s performance stellar! The theatre was set up a bit different than I’d experienced in New York. Instead of a very small theatre set up as if the audience was the Kit Kat Klub’s audience, the theatre in Fehérvár was set up in the normal fashion. The Cabaret actresses were dressed in today’s Cabaret attire rather than the period seedy attire that I’d expected – but this did not detract from the play itself. In fact, I think that the actress who played Sally gave a more commanding performance than Natasha Richardson from the original cast in Britain!
I enjoyed two fabulous cappuccinos during the intermission and completely enjoyed the second act. When the play came to a close, I was ready to jump to my feet! Fortunately, Fanni caught me before I gave my standing ovation – standing ovations aren’t de rigeur here in Hungary! And you won’t find the Hungarians crowding around the backstage door for autographs either…Fanni said if I did go to the door, I’d be sure to get them J
A sparkling night! For what good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play! Life is a cabaret old chum, come to the cabaret!
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