Reallygood classic cabaret is a bit like a really good cappuccino. The qualities that make either of them successful are illusive. Off The Wall Theatre comes close to bringing together all the right elements for very classy cabaret now through March 3 with its production of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.
The guys are in white shirts with black ties. The women are tastefully dressed. The band is live if not entirely visible. Everything looks good without being flashy. Almost everything is perfect. Something’s missing, though. Aside from the limitations of the Off The Wall’s space off Water Street, it is difficult to define precisely what that may be.
The show opens with David Flores singing a precisely impassioned performance of “Ca Va” and proceeds in the order of the 2006 Broadway revival of the musical for the first few songs. It closes with the same two songs as that production as well. Other than these and a few other elements, Off The Wall stages Brel in a way that is uniquely its own.
Director Dale Gutzman has worked out his own translation of the lyrics. It might sound slightly out of synch for people who love the classic production, but it sounds good to unfamiliar ears. Traditionalists will be happy to know that the new translation was not done by someone unfamiliar with the show. Gutzman has previously done two productions of the musical, one of them with The Skylight. His translation was done in an effort to be truer to Brel’s original lyrics than previous English translations had been. Gutzman’s respect for the material goes a long way here, as he chooses to present it in a refined, straight-forward fashion.
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Stripped of any additional distractions, the audience is drawn to the ensemble’s sincere performances of well-written cabaret music. In spite of lacking something that is perhaps indefinable, his third production of the show is an enjoyable evening of musical theater.
In addition to Flores, there are notable performances by everyone in the cast including Mary De Battista, Ben George, Bob Hirsch and Marilyn White. White leads the ensemble in an energetic performance of “Carousel” in the penultimate song of the evening.
