If you were lucky enough to get tickets to one of the sold out performances of Loyola University of Chicago’s production of Cabaret, you were in for a whirlwind of a night. As I walked down the hall of Loyola’s past productions and into the theatre, I was excited to see the audience on three sides of the stage, it makes these kinds of performances much more intimate. I had never seen the show, but I had heard from a friend it was a little on the mature side of its PG-13 rating. I guess you could say that proved to be the case within about 30 seconds as about ten guys and girls in lingerie came marching down the aisles.

The simple but eye catching set will draw you in right away, and the actors will keep you there the whole time. You are so close to the actors that you become part of the show, as they will be making eye contact with you personally at least once. The chemistry on stage could be felt in the house, and each actor sold their role. The music from the live ensemble in the rafters above you really made the Kit Kat Klub come to life for me. The casting of the show made it so believable, and the vocals were beautiful. The accents hit most of the marks, but there was one fight scene that didn’t quite get there for me. However, if you thought the only thing going on for Loyola was their basketball, you would be wrong.

The Kit Kat Klub carried the full weight of its reputation of helping the citizens of a post-WWI Berlin forget about their lives for a night. What was astounding about this masterpiece was how we started out in what was essentially a strip club and wound up deeply emotionally involved with these characters. We follow up and coming American novelist, Cliff Bradshaw. He has just come to Berlin, and before he knows it has found himself engrained in the culture, in love with an unlikely woman from the Kit Kat Klub, and at odds with the rising Nazi regime. This is not a comedy about a cast of crazy showgirls and a jazzy cabaret band, instead it is a crazy mix of every genre put together on one stage; it's a cabaret. It is comedic but it digs deep. It questions morality and political involvement and love. By the end all you can say is wow, because there aren't really other words. It is a work of art that will make you laugh, cry, and feel uncomfortable, maybe all at the same time. And that is the beauty of it. Just when you think you have figured out Cabaret, there’s another twist, until the very last blackout.