This is a review of Cabaret as produced by Portland Center Stage. Before commencing the review, I must include a note about the unbridled gayness of this production. It is fabulous. Leading man Wade McCollum, one of Portland’s most beloved entertainers, is gay. Director Chris Coleman is gay. The set was designed by a gay couple from Connecticut. Storm Large, who plays the over-the-top Sally Bowles is openly bisexual. She also debuted sales of her new album with a fantastic performance at Portland’s Pride Festival this year. The romantic lead male character is clearly bisexual. The bold idea to ask a bisexual rock star to play the leading lady was suggested by gay author Marc Acito at a dinner with gay director Chris Coleman which was also attended by gay Willamette Week writer Byron Beck.Ok…I know it’s hard to throw a stick in Portland without hitting a member of our GLBT community - and even more difficult to do in the theater district, but this is kind of ridiculous.

To top it off, the production itself is full of gay innuendo. At the Kit Kat Club, men can find the girl - or boy - of their fantasies.

In the review, I mention the irony of the attending the show on the same weekend as the skinhead convention in Portland. However, something even MORE IRONIC happened after the show. I got to set this up, sweeties. Cabaret is about a time and place of complete, mindless decadence. These times and places are not completely rare in history: Berlin in the early 30’s, Rome in the time of Caligula and, dare I say, New York City in the late 80’s. So…is it not ironic that, after leaving the show I meet James St. James in the Red Cap Garage gay bar? James is considered one of the original club kids of the drug-drenched New York club scenes and part of his life has been immortalized by Seth Green in the raucous movie Party Monster. James had not seen Cabaret yet. Go figure.

Well….here’s the review.

It would seem that any review of Portland Center Stage’s current production of Cabaret needs to begin with disclaimers. You see, when you combine Portland’s (arguably) most famous male performer with Portland’s (arguably) most famous female performer in a production by Portland’s (arguably) most famous theater production group to be held in Portland’s (arguably) best theater, writing a review requires one to settle which side of these various arguments he supports. So…let me dispense with my background information, as it relates to these…errr…controverseys.

I am a huge fan of Storm Large and was COMPLETELY EXCITED when I heard she would play the part of Sally Bowles.

I have long been a fan of Wade McCollum and consider him to be one of Portland’s preeminent creative talents.

I am not a theater critic and am in no way qualified to determine which is the best theater production company or the best theater in Portland. I do know, however, that the Gerding Theater (in the old Armory Building) is Portland’s NEWEST theater, which – let’s be honest here – often means BEST.

After dispensing with the spine-tingling irony that I was on my way to see Cabaret – a musical set in Berlin on the eve of the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party – on the same weekend that the largest neo-Nazi, skinhead organization was holding its national convention on the outskirts of the Rose City, I settled into my back row seat at the Gerding. The lights faded, the music started and the emcee (Wade McCollum) introduced me to the boys and girls of the Kit Kat Club.

A few scenes later, I was introduced to Ms. Sally Bowles, one of the most iconic characters in all of musical theater, as interpreted by Portland rock star Storm Large.

Mesmerizing.

My first impression of Storm-As-Sally is that she toned herself down. Someone – maybe director Chris Coleman, maybe Storm herself – correctly intuited that to simply present Storm Large as Storm Large with the character name of Sally Bowles would be a problem. Her fans would expect a three hour Storm and The Balls concert and theater buffs would possibly riot (their term for walking out.) So, I settled for a show in which I would (gasp) watch Storm act. She was magnificent – capturing the pained dichotomy that is Sally Bowles – a foreigner in a chaotic city, a lush and a homebody, a lover and a luster. She matter-of-factly denies her past and is more than just a little confused about her future. She wants to be the center of attention and she wants to be left alone.

I was not distracted by Storm’s large “Lover” tattoo across the back – I’m glad no attempt was made to cover that up, even though it was most likely not common to the time period. Not knowing how much theatrical interpretation is actually allowed, I wonder why they didn’t just declare that Sally Bowles was from America? The largest complaint I, or anyone who attended the show, proffered had to do with her not-quite-passable English accent.

So, I got to see Storm large act. And I was impressed. Her understated (for Storm) performance left me somewhat anxious to see her let loose on a number. It took awhile to get to that dessert, but it made it all the sweeter. In the last part of the story, Sally Bowles returns to the Kit Kat Club to perform, but it’s a different place…infected with the hysteria of Nazism and nearly overdosed with excess. The emcee announces her return. She steps up to the stage in a fabulous white gown and, with nothing more than a microphone she belts out a heart-wrenching, appropriately over-the-top rendition of the musical’s signature number. She shares the stage with only one other person – the passed out emcee. Wow.

Cabaret is about excess. It’s about decadence that makes a person blind and even stupid toward the impending doom. The doom is, in this case, the rise of the Third Reich. It is personified in the character of Ernst, excellently portrayed by New York actor Randy Rollison. You can take your pick among many versions of the moral of the story: decadent selfishness will blind you toward social forces that will negatively affect you. It’s hard to come up with just ONE way to apply this moral to our lives today. Take your pick.

Cabaret, PortlandCenter Stage, Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. Sept. 28-Nov. 4. $32-$62.00. Students (excluding Friday and Saturday evenings) $23.50. 18 and under (must be accompanied by an adult) $18.50.

The production then heads for performances in Rochester, NY in early 2008.

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