For example, I can't help but laugh just about any time I see actor Ben Stiller. Whether he's playing an air-headed model, a hapless Focker or a Tom Cruise stunt double, the guy inspires bemusement by simply being, let alone engaging in any of his off-the-wall antics.
Last Wednesday night, during Drury Lane Theatre's production of Cabaret, I had a similar experience. The emcee, played by Patrick Andrews, put on a dazzling performance that had me grinning, ear-to-ear, every time he appeared onstage.
Andrews' emcee (pictured, to the left) provides maximum levity amid the unfolding tragedy in Berlin, 1930, the time and place for the tale (based on Christopher Isherwood's novel "The Berlin Stories" and John Van Druten's play I Am a Camera.
Between his voice, tinged with a German accent, his larger-than-life smile and his comedic dance numbers, Andrews is charismatic, delightful, sublime.
His welcoming spirit fills a desperately needed gap, given the story's sinister backdrop. The Nazi Party's rise to power, with Adolf Hitler at the helm, is picking up momentum. Meantime, earnest, budding American novelist Clifford Bradshaw falls head over heels for Berlin and, a short time later, an English nightclub singer named Sally Bowles.
Jim Weitzer, as Clifford, and Zarah Mahler, as Sally, (right) have their moments, to be sure. However, they did not stir much romantic chemistry and a Sally with more whimsy--more out-and-out flightiness--could help set the stage for the unraveling that is to come.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Finnegan (as Fraulein Schneider) and David Lively (Herr Schultz) shine. With rising intensity, humor and pathos, they create especially powerful scenes as they awkwardly and tenderly navigate their budding romance in the shadow of the Third Reich's ascent. Their loving serenade of a pineapple is a gem, capped by Schneider's declaration that she is "overvhelmed."
Later, by despairing contrast, Schneider (left, in red dress, in a scene with Christine Sherrill) utters one of the most poignant, unforgettable lines of the production:
"I...regret...everything."
WHERE: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace; 630-530-0111.
WHEN: 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 1:30 and 8 p.m. Thursdays; 8:30 p.m. Fridays; 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 2 and 6 p.m. Sundays; through Oct. 11.
HOW MUCH: $29 to $38; for dinner and a show, prices range from $43.75 to $61.
For more information, visit Drury Lane Oakbrook.
PHOTO CREDIT: All photos by Johnny Knight.
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