“Willkommen – to a fabulous inaugural opening night performance of the titillating, tantalizing and tempestuous Kander and Ebb classic that’s as timely now as ever.”

Usually, a fledgling musical theatre company with a limited budget and fewer resources mounts a simple, small-scale show as its first production. Hats off then to Toronto’s newest not-for-profit community theatre group Horrowshow Productions. It has bucked the trend and presented a thoroughly enjoyable night at the theatre, leaving me with the exhilaration of having experienced a big professional Broadway musical.

Back in 1965, ‘Cabaret’ made household names of its original Broadway stars Joel Grey, Jill Haworth and Bert Convy. Many versions followed in succeeding years, including the grand 1993 West End revival starring Alan Cumming as the Emcee and Jane Horrocks as Sally Bowles. Currently, Adam Lambert is enjoying an extended run playing the Emcee on Broadway alongside Auli’I Cravalho’s Sally Bowles. Of course, Bob Fosse’s brilliant Oscar-winning film version made instant stars of Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles and Joel Grey, reprising his Emcee role.

Based on Christopher Isherwood’s largely biographical novel, “Goodbye to Berlin,” “Cabaret” takes us to the German capital in the early 1930s during the twilight of the Jazz Age as the Nazi party is rising to power. The focus is the hedonistic nightlife at the seedy Kit Kat Klub and revolves around American writer Clifford Bradshaw's (Emrik Burrows) relations with English cabaret performer Sally Bowles (Jessa Richer). There’s a tender but tragic subplot involving the doomed romance between German boarding house owner Fräulein Schneider (Jill Louise Léger) and her elderly suitor Herr Schultz (Cyril Johnston), a Jewish fruit vendor.

Overseeing the action is the Emcee of the Kit Kat Klub (Taylor Long), at the centre of taboo subjects like bisexuality, homosexuality, sado-masochism and other lurid activities. The club serves as a metaphor for the ominous political developments of the burgeoning Third Reich. Heady stuff for a local community theatre to face head-on! Strangely, though, there are unsettling parallels between our politics today and Germany’s of the early twentieth century: divisive ideologies and threats by inside and outside forces attempting to fracture our social structure. As directors Jack Phoenix and Reba Pyrah proclaim in their program notes, this production urges us to “consider our political engagement, our accountability, and our courage to stand with others.”

Hats off to Horrowshow for their fabulous re-creation of the seedy, sexy and subversive Kit Kat Klub, where “life is beautiful” and sensual proclivities run amok. Stellar performances from an uber-talented cast of leading players and a dazzling ensemble of dancing and singing boys and girls high-kick this non-professional production to new heights. This is as close to professional as community theatre gets.


Directors Phoenix and Pyrah have cleverly added a 45-minute pre-show of 1930’s 1930s-era jazz singing and dancing. The Kit Kat Klub is in full swing as we enter the theatre. Cast members slink through the aisles, lie about on the steps and couples lounge in unoccupied seats. Authentic tunes of the 1930s, such as “Georgia on my Mind,” “Singin’ in the Rain”, and “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love,” are crooned on stage by the luscious voices of scantily clad young men and women, some of whom dance and play instruments at the same time. It’s a smoky, dingy underground speakeasy that effectively preps us for the hedonistic world of excess we’re about to enter. Clearly, these co-directors have a finely tuned sense of the allegorical meaning of the Kit Kat Club. Their inspired and carefully derived storytelling depicts a small safehouse of sexual and political freedom, trying in vain to bar its doors from the fangs of the fascist wolves on the outside.

The black box set is simple and effective, with two staircases leading up to a wide platform upstage. A sheer curtain below and between the staircases allows for entrances and exits for the club and multiple other scenes. Actors also come and go from the outer edges of the structure. The on-stage orchestra splits its numbers to the far left and right of the main set. At first, I thought this division might diminish their overall sound, but I was happily proven wrong.

Wardrobe and Costuming by Mickey Agnelli are mostly shades of black and, unfortunately, an inconsistent mash-up of eras. Kit Kat men (including the musicians) are clad in black pants, suspenders, and sleeveless leather vests, while others sport bare chest or white tank tops. Sally Bowles and the Kit Kat girls are scantily clad in black fishnets, garters and lacey teddies, looking like they raided a Victoria’s Secret store at the mall rather than sporting the vintage Triumph or Fortuna styles common in Europe of the 30s. Suits, hats and overcoats were a bit too modern, and Fraülein Schneider’s poodle skirt shouted 1950s housewife.

Elysée Kazemian’s hair and makeup are on the right track but a bit too contemporary for such a seedy and lascivious tale. The Kit Kat girls are just too beautiful. While some sported darker eye makeup and overly rouged cheeks, more exaggerated and grotesque looks would seem more acceptable here.

Lighting design by Connor Price-Kelleher added an overall dimness to the club while nicely washing the centre stage for other scenes. Backlighting the white sheer curtain added effective and startling silhouettes. Unfortunately, those same lights became blinding orbs at the top of Act Two and kept me from seeing most of the shadow puppet sequence. Props by Kelly Walters were functional, but a period label on the whiskey bottle and a leather briefcase rather than a contemporary hard-attache case would have completed the scenes.

As stated earlier, the orchestra was near note-perfect under Jake Schindler's expert musical direction. Instruments blended nicely, and accompaniment tempo was spot-on. Some improved sound balance is in order, as volume sometimes overpowered vocalists.

First-time choreographer Maya Lacey is a revelation for her innate storytelling ability through dance. Her work is intentional with a more advanced technique and a higher level of difficulty than you’d generally see at the non-professional level. Her extraordinary creativity is on full display in her intricate formations and hard-hitting unison. Not a step wasted or without purpose. She effortlessly moves a large cast on a comparatively small stage. No easy feat. Kit Kat dancers are salacious, strong, athletic, confident and technically outstanding; not a single dancer gives less than 100%. Oh yeah, they all sing really well, too!

But what really makes this production special is the strong cast of key players. As the Emcee, Taylor Long is exuberant, sassy, dark, comedic, sinister, vulgar…yet loveable. He has a strong presence and is playful and mysterious with a fluid voice. Jessa Richer is a powerhouse triple threat as Sally Bowles. As skilled a dancer as she is a vocalist, her song rendering of solos, “Maybe This Time” and “Cabaret,” are multi-dimensional and breathtaking. Such mature performances from someone so young. Slower dialogue delivery in her scene work would garner full points from me.

As Cliff Bradshaw, Emrik Burrows is likeable enough but needs to modulate his speaking voice to avoid monotone. Jill Louise Léger as Fraulein Schneider and Cyril Johnston as Herr Schultz are cute and affable in their courtship scenes. Rounding out the cast is George Marino as Ernst Ludwig, sporting an excellent German accent, and Alexandra Nunez as the promiscuous, accordion-playing prostitute Fraulein Korst.

This “Cabaret” is a fine example of focussed direction and high-calibre performances from a not-for-profit theatre group. The production is tight, the songs sound and move with the speed that they should, and the staging and dancing are brilliant! All this adds up to a quality production you really shouldn’t miss. Grab your tickets to the Kit Kat Club at the Alumnae Theatre before it bids auf wiedersehen to Toronto’s arts scene.

Running time: Running time, approx. 2 hours, 45 minutes with one intermission.

The production runs until December 7 at the Alumnae Theatre 70 Berkeley St. Toronto’
For tickets call the Box Office at 1-414-364-4170 or email https://www.horrorshowproductions.com/

Horrowshow Productions Presents The Kit Kat Club at the Alumnae Theatre

Kander and Ebb’s “Cabaret”

Produced and Directed by Jack Phoenix and Reba Pyrah
Choreographed by Maya Lacey
Music Direction by Jake Schindler
Wardrobe/costuming by Mickey Agnelli
Lighting designed by Connor Price-Kelleher

Performers: Taylor Long, Jessa Richer, Jill Louise Léger, Emrik Burrows, Cyril Johnston, George Marino, Alexandra Nunez plus other local community artists in the ensemble.