Cabaret: Singing and Dancing Critics for Eddie Redmain's Musical
- Singing and Dancing Critics for new West End production Cabaret, with multiple five-star awards in reviews.
- A musical revival with Eddie Redman and Jesse Buckley opens on Sunday at the London Playhouse.
Dominic Cavendish of the Telegraph praised him, saying the show was "shaking" and Redmain "blind" in his role. "That's it," praised the author. - There he is. He described British director Rebecca Frecknal as a "theatrical victory for the assassination of tickets for 2021".
"Returning to the theater after a decade, Redmain offers a dazzling vision of the host role, so long associated with Alan Cumming in [Director Sam] Mendes productions [since 1993] that it is both brilliant and terrifying," wrote Cavendish.
"Like Sally Bowles, the chubby English girl who has turned into the devil's showgirl, Buckley achieves nothing less: she makes you laugh, she breaks your heart, she hugs you tightly with every word - sung or not," he continued. The Irish actress's signature accent and demeanor of this period, omission combined with subtle strength and vulnerability, set her apart in Lisa Minnelli's 1972 film.
The new Frecknall Kander and Ebb classic from 1966 turned London theater into a decadent and indulgent Kit Kat Club in Berlin at the end of the Weimar Republic when the Nazis began to take power.
The show focuses on American writer Clifford Bradshaw (played by It's A Sin star Omari Douglas) and his relationship with British cabaret singer Sally Bowles, played by Buckley. Meanwhile, the host keeps an eye on Redmain and tells his story.
The show was described as "the lively and terrifying awakening of Jesse Buckley" and received five stars from Alexandra Pollard of The Independent.
"Buckley understands the nuances and shocking contradictions of Sally, who wears so many layers of glitter and impenetrable boldness that she can be difficult to manipulate with smaller hands," she wrote. "When Buckley sings 'Perhaps This Time,' the one particularly vulnerable moment for Sally, she keeps her arms crossed throughout the song instead of decades of disappointment on her face.
"The strongest moment - and perhaps the best musical theatrical performance I have ever seen live - is, of course, the performance of the Buckley theme song. While playing with energetic forces in many productions (including the 1972 film with Lisa Minnelli), here Buckley is a woman on the verge of collapse. "Life is a cabaret, old friend," he shouted, first sarcastically, then spitting furiously. It was incredible."