BWW Reviews: Street Theatre Company's MACABARET

If you've a hankering for some wickedly good fun this Halloween season, you need look no further than Street Theatre Company's wonderfully staged Macabaret, a musical send-up of all things ghostly, that features a terrific cast under the direction of one of Nashville's most beloved director/choreographers. Even if you're not a big fan of Halloween, you must at least make the trip to Street Theatre Company's new performance space to revel in the spectacle heretofore known as the lovely and talented Megan Murphy Chambers.

Pam Atha returns to the theater with a vengeance (okay, it's hard to think of Pam as a vengeful person, but it adds to the show's overall feel and effect to portray her as that) to bring this devilishly fun evening of entertainment to its onstage life. Her trademark wit is apparent throughout the evening, as she puts her terrific troupe of performers through their paces with a generous dollop of ghoulish glee. Macabaret is an off-kilter, though definitely on-target, salute to the Halloween season and Atha's five-member cast (not the least of whom is the aforementioned Mrs. Chambers) will knock your socks off with their humorous, wink-and-a-nod take on any number of frightening, seasonal archetypes.

While Megan Murphy Chambers should probably claim top honors in the entertainment sweepstakes among Atha's five actors, the remaining members of the ensemble are clearly no slouches themselves. In fact, this five-member cast is so uniformly good that we'd be tempted to go see them do this show again if our calendar wasn't already filled to overflowing. And we can't play favorites, can we? Hell, any cast that features Scott Rice (who seems to get better every time he steps onstage - the man is, in a word, amazing), Erica Haines Cantrell (who simply cannot look bad no matter how much makeup you throw on her exquisitely beautiful face and whose way with a sultry blues number is impressive), Tyson Laemmel (who astonishes with his gorgeous voice then delivers the knock-out punch with an unbridled comic performance), and Janna Landry (who plays the role of the over-the-top diva to perfection), is gonna rank among my favorites.

But for my money, it's Chambers' show. She gives such a vividly off-the-wall performance that you can't take your eyes off of her; her big Act Two number, in which she sings of being "Possessed" is a comic tour de force and the versatile Chambers chews up every last piece of scenery with a self-assured charm that is dazzling.

Here's the basic scenario for the show: The audience ostensibly arrives for a performance of Cabaret only to discover that the theater is dark, save for the ghost light (how apropos is that?) which illuminates the now-dead and decaying cast members brought back to life to perform, well, Macabaret. It's all in silly, good fun, of course (but look out for those pesky zombies, who reportedly hate musical theater), and the show features some terrific songs by Scott Keys and Rob Hartmann that recall some of your favorite showtunes.

It's a delightful evening of theater with a Halloween twist and Keys and Hartmann serve up all the seasonal chestnuts (like zombies, vampires, werewolves and their ilk) while calling upon every scary stereotype (think Freddy Krueger and Jason) you can possibly think of; plus, there are enough contemporary topics (the sexy bloodsuckers from True Blood and Twilight are given their due) to keep anyone engaged.

Rolin Mains' music direction, coupled with Atha's strong stage direction and cleverly inventive choreography, ensures a very credible musical production (kudos to the band for their peformance), while Jamie L. Scott's tongue-in-cheek costume design and Steven Steele's moody and evocative lighting design provides a formidable design aesthetic for the show. Credit is due, as well, to sound designers Katie Gant and JJ Street for their laudable efforts.

- Macabaret. By Scott Keys and Rob Hartmann. Directed and choreographed by Pam Atha. Presented by Street Theatre Company, 1933 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville. Through October 30. Call (615) 554-7414 for ticket information. Visit the company's website at www.streettheatrecompany.org for further details.

Janna Landry, Tyson Laemmel and Megan Murphy Chambers in Macabaret

To post a comment, you must register and login.