Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Right now, this Chicago-based trio is featuring a lead performance from Erica Stephan that deserves to introduce her to a much broader swatch of Chicago theatergoers than those of us who know and admire her already. She's simply a knockout Sally Bowles: vulnerable, empathetic, restless, relentless and pitch-perfect to boot. It's also an admirably Chicago-style piece of work, in that Stephan keeps a close eye on the ensemble in which she belongs. Sally is a denizen of the Kit Kat Club, the place that taught her what to do to survive. This show doesn't work if she is on a different planet from everyone else."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...The first third of “Cabaret” is filled with glorious cabaret numbers, backed by a terrific live onstage band conducted by music director Linda Madonia. The club’s infamous dancers are a Felliniesque crew resplendent in their scanties. (Costume designer Bill Morey’s flattering, intricate, perfectly tailored lingerie should be available to the masses.) Led by Stephan, songs such as “Don’t Tell Mama” is a cheeky delight; ditto the emphatically sex-positive cross-continential romp “Mein Herr.”"
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Establishing that contrast is essential in order for any of the second-act gut punches to land, and in that respect, director Michael Weber, associate director/choreographer Brenda Didier, and music director Linda Madonia leave bruises and draw blood. I found my eyes welling up with spectacle tears long before the first emotional blow, and I suspect that has to do with just how masterfully pieced together these musical theater elements are, from the crystalline vocals to the bombastic ensemble-wide numbers to the intimate conversations between (ahem) “roommates.”"
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...This oft-revived and -revised 1966 Broadway musical revels in the cultural openness and sexual freedoms of Berlin in the late '20s and early-'30s, while also ominously hinting how they would all be stamped out when the Nazis came to power. Cabaret also serves as a contemporary "never again" warning to audiences to be on guard for similarly destructive and hateful fascist regimes."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...Porchlight's Cabaret was masterfully Emcee by Josh Walker. Walker kept the seductive night of love and lust fun and entertaining. However, the threatening political developments of Hitler and the Nazis' invasion would radically alter the sexually erotic nights at the club, and Clifford wanted to leave before things changed but Sally, rehired as the leading performer at the Kit Kat Club, wanted to stay and continue her seedy hedonism stardom."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Porchlight Music Theatre’s “Cabaret” is an outstanding piece of work. This amazing musical based on the book “I Am A Camera” by John Van Druten and Christopher Isherwood’s “Goodbye to Berlin” is unique in every way. Director Michael Weber has assembled a cast that is different than the standard “look” one might expect, but each and every character is portrayed to perfection. The choreography by Brenda Didier is wonderful and while we don’t expect a big line/kick number, she manages t bring them to us with style and grace."
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...One final note: If, like me, you have seen both the original Broadway production (with the amazing Joel Grey as the emcee and Lotte Lenya as Fraulein Schneider), as well as the film version (starring Grey, with Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles), you will be fascinated by the powerful realism and intimacy of this Porchlight production. I definitely recommend that you come to this "Cabaret.""
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...Fewer theatrical experiences are more thrilling than a Kander and Ebb musical done well. Porchlight's revival of 'Cabaret' delivers the exact kind of razzle-dazzle audiences expect when they think of the Kit Kat Club. Directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber and choreographed by Brenda Didier, this production scrubs off some of the grit that's become a hallmark of the iconic Rob Marshall Broadway revival. By using the same script, and borrowing some of the aesthetic, there's a really satisfying buoyancy about Porchlight's approach to this essential musical."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...This production is also a visual extravaganza. The costumes, designed by Bill Morey, are a spectacular explosion of color and texture. Silk, feathers, velvet, pearls, sequin, nylon, garters and even some lederhosen! For most of the musical numbers, the scantily clad ladies proudly and unapologetically shake their money makers. Morey has dressed them up for fun and pleasure."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Cabaret remains timeless because the human struggle to consolidate security and freedom will be ever bloody. At the outset of endemic terror, the wanton revelry of an ignorant public perpetuates victimhood and subjugation—in refusing to acknowledge the cycle of violence beginning anew, we are doomed to live out the inevitable conclusion. Thus, in bearing witness to a grim, stark reminder of humanity’s frightening shortsightedness, Porchlight enlightens and reflects for our sake, lest we let the cycle continue."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...Every season on Broadway, new American musicals premiere in the hopes of entering the country's long and storied canon of productions that can be revisited and revived for decades to come. Some are more successful than others, and, in the case of Kandor & Ebb's 1966 lounge musical Cabaret, only become more prescient with time and perspective. Though Porchlight Music Theatre's latest production, on stage through March 5, doesn't break any new ground in the story of Sally Bowles, Cliff Bradshaw and the impending Nazi occupation in Germany (and beyond), the show remains both an entertaining romp through Berlin's misfit underbelly and a bittersweet saga of survival."
PicksInSix - Highly Recommended
"...The engine of this "Cabaret" only continues to gain propulsion as each new relationship is forged or broken or as each dream is won or lost, relentlessly pushing the plot and the lives of those involved to go faster and faster. Eventually, as trains do, the best laid plans are derailed, grinding goals to a halt and sending lives smashing. And the ride from start to finish is worth it! As a ticket-buyer tip: look for seats center or house right, so you'll have a better view of the action, especially stage left. You really must come to Porchlight's "Cabaret," old chum!"
Life and Times - Highly Recommended
"...Porchlight Music Theatre's production of Cabaret is one that should be seen. Erica Stephan gives a performance that will have people talking for years and director Michael Weber provides a concept that adds new layers to a dark and compelling piece of musical theatre entertainment."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...In this writer's opinion, Porchlight's production of Cabaret is masterfully well-paced so that we can feel the slow descent into fascism. The costumes, the lighting, the direction, and the musicality all work in harmony together to capture the iconic moments of this classic musical. It's a journey of raucous partying and cabaret mirth to a slow descent into the horrors of fascism."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...The Porchlight Theater always showcases incredible theater. This season’s version of the classic, Tony award winning musical, Cabaret, is no exception. It is a visually stunning and pleasing production with rich, timeless music and a stellar cast. If you have never seen Cabaret, you must come see this production. If you have seen Cabaret, then you still must see this production!"
BroadwayWorld - Recommended
"...Since I first saw CABARET on stage for the first time in 2014, I've been entirely convinced that it's a master-class musical, and one that especially embodies how musical theater can tackle the most serious of subjects. Likewise, writing a musical set in Berlin as the Nazis rise to power could have gone wrong in many ways, but Kander, Ebb, and Masteroff gave us a spectacular piece of writing. That said, some directorial decisions in Porchlight's production don't quite fit. In particular, I thought the choice to replace the dancing gorilla in "If You Could See Her" with a mouse was illogical. That's an immensely challenging number to stage, but Kander and Ebb wanted to simulate for audiences exactly what many German audiences would have been laughing at in a cabaret in 1930. It's uncomfortable and offensive as originally written, but it's meant to be so."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"..."If you're not against all this, you're for it-or you might as well be." Cliff's words slice the air as if it were one of Herr Schultz's beloved Italian oranges. He's referring to the unconscionable rise of Nazism in Berlin circa 1930 and the easy slide into complacency for the sake of neutrality. But it feels more like a prescient warning for us to hold nearly a century later. Who knew that this 1960s musical, based on a 1950s play and a 1939 novel would feel so painfully real in 2023 America."
