Mexico City has over 160 professional theaters, making it one of the theatrical capitals of the Spanish-speaking world, along with Buenos Aires and Madrid. Alejandro and I have been to a number of Spanish-language productions of Broadway hits. We have seen "Wicked", "Chicago" and "The Man of La Mancha" here. Currently, a revival of "Cabaret" is playing at the historic Insurgentes Theater.
Last week I went to the theater box office and bought tickets for Saturday night's performance.
We took the Metrobus from our apartment down Insurgentes Avenue to the stop just outside the theater.
Alejandro took this photo of me in the theater lobby. If you are not familiar with the play, "Cabaret" takes place in the Kit Kat Club, a seedy nightclub in Berlin shortly before the Nazi takeover.
The interior of the theater was modified to resemble a nightclub. The front rows of seats were replaced with tables and chairs that surrounded a thrust stage on three sides. At each side of the theatre there were bars, and the audience could order drinks from waiters and waitresses before the performance and during intermission. We were seated in the first row of normal theater seats.
We arrived early. By curtain time, the theater was full.
There was a live orchestra hidden behind a curtain most of the time. They played during intermission.
I had never seen a stage production of "Cabaret" before, but I had seen the Oscar-winning movie version many years ago. I did a bit of research ahead of time, and learned that the movie was quite different from the Broadway version, with many of the songs omitted. It also seems that this Spanish-language version, although mostly faithful to the original, also had a few changes.
The production was excellent. The performers all did a superb job. It was a very enjoyable evening at the theater.
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