The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, November 28, 2018 — 5A

ALEC COHEN / DAILY

THEATRE REVIEW

TV REVIEW

“come out and 

play”

Billie Eilish

Interscope Records

The 
night 
that 
Brett 

Kavanaugh was confirmed as 
an Associate Justice of the U.S. 
Supreme Court was bitterly 
cold outside. Early October — 
too early to dig out your winter 
jacket, but too late for thin 
windbreakers. As I was leaving 
a restaurant with my friend, I 
glanced up at the TV screen set 
on CNN news: “Breaking News: 
Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to 
U.S. Supreme Court.”

The 
hundreds 
of 
sexual 

abuse 
victims 
stepping 

forward to tell their stories had 
shattered my spirit over and 
over again this year, but this 
seemed like the icing on the 
cake. Then my friend asked, 
“Who’s Brett Kavanaugh?” 

The terrible thing about 

ignorance is that it’s so easy. 
It takes no effort at all to push 

away the world around you and 
focus on more pressing things, 
such as exams or what you’re 
doing 
Friday 
night. 
That’s 

why, when I saw Musket’s 
production of “Cabaret” at 
the Power Center this past 
weekend, I knew it was vital to 
our times. 

Musket, 
the 
largest 

student-run musical theatre 
organization at the University, 
puts on one Broadway-style 
production 
per 
semester. 

“Cabaret” 
was 
their 
latest 

musical venture, set in 1929 
Berlin — the most liberal city 
in Germany with a vibrant, 
sultry nightlife that openly 
embraced 
homosexuality 
— 

four 
years 
before 
Hitler’s 

appointment as Chancellor of 
Germany. The story follows the 
relationship between Clifford 
Bradshaw, a visiting American 
novelist played by LSA Fifth 
Year Casey Board, and Sally 
Bowles, a cabaret singer played 

by SMTD Sophomore Caroline 
Glazier. “Cabaret,” based on 
the play by John Van Druten, 
was directed by SMTD and 
LSA Junior Isabel K. Olsen 
and choreographed by SMTD 
Sophomore Johanna Kepler. 

“Cabaret” opened in a burst 

of energy with “Willkommen,” 
which welcomed audiences to 
the seedy Berlin Kit Kat Klub. 
Emcee Wilson Plonk (SMTD 
Junior) 
deserves 
special 

mention 
for 
his 
excellent, 

exuberant 
performance. 

Plonk 
skillfully 
embodied 

the 
overwhelming 
passion 

of Berlin in the 1920s while 
simultaneously 
keeping 
the 

audience at ease with the 
flamboyant backdrop of the 
production. 

Musket did a wonderful job 

of giving the audience glimpses 
at 
the 
underlying 
fascist 

regime 
while 
maintaining 

that, on the surface, life still 
contained parties and wild 

TRINA PAL

Daily Arts Writer

Musket puts on pertinent 
performance of ‘Cabaret’

entertainment. 
“Money,” 

a 
number 
evolving 
from 

embracing 
the 
grandeur 

of 
wealth 
to 
desperation 

at not having it, was the 
performance’s first look at 
the dichotomy of Germany 
in the 1920s. After using the 
first half of the production to 
establish 
relationships 
and 

set 
the 
scene, 
“Tomorrow 

Belongs 
to 
Me,” 
directly 

before intermission, stunned 
the audience with its sudden 
display of the hidden Nazi 
culture in Berlin. Clifford’s 
friend revealed an armband 
emblazoned 
with 
a 
black 

swastika and the cheerful, 
sultry dancing changed to 
dark, ominous stomping. 

As 
a 
character, 
Sally 

Bowles chose to ignore the 
hints of Hitler’s rise even 
when 
blatantly 
obvious. 

Glazier’s rendition of “Maybe 
This Time,” reflecting her 
happiness 
at 
finally 
being 

in a stable relationship with 
Clifford, was artfully done and 
did justice to her character. 
Sally stays in-denial, singing: 
“Life is a cabaret old chum,” 
until 
the 
very 
end. 
The 

simplicity of detachment is 
written all over her face, but 
the audience senses the danger 

in remaining idle, a message 
incredibly 
relevant 
to 
our 

current political climate. 

The second half of “Cabaret” 

included the memorable “What 
Would You Do?” performed by 
Fraulein 
Schneider 
(SMTD 

Sophomore Samantha Buyers), 
a poor landlord in love with 
a 
Jewish 
fruit-seller 
Herr 

Schultz (SMTD Junior Aaron 
Robinson). Fraulein Schneider 
ends her engagement to Herr 
Schultz in the wake of the 
Nazis’ rise to power, but Herr 
Schultz firmly believes that “it 
will pass,” even after bricks are 
thrown through his window in 
an effort to drive him out of 
town.

Denial can only persevere 

for so long. The last scene 
shows 
a 
spotlight 
shining 

on a missing orchestra, with 
instruments lying haphazardly 
across the floor and music 
stands upended, but music 
continued to play. We see the 
Emcee rip off his suit to reveal 
an 
inmate’s 
concentration 

camp uniform with a bullet 
hole in his chest, while other 
members of the cast, wearing 
white, stare at a bright light 
in the middle of the stage. 
Strobe lights flash on and off 
and we see the cast contort, 

as if being shot, before finally 
collapsing, lifeless. Everyone 
is taken in the end — the 
orchestra, the cast, even the 
audience. Seeing intricately 
developed characters die is 
heartbreaking, 
reminding 

us of the full consequences 
of Hitler’s power and how 
the 
current 
sociopolitical 

divide in the U.S. seems to be 
converging on the same path. 

A musical as relevant as 

“Cabaret” was a wonderful 
selection, but I would have 
liked to see more explicit 
connections 
to 
our 
times. 

“Cabaret” is a wake-up call for 
its audience, but still largely 
sticks to the original script. 
Deviations to move from the 
past to the present would 
have allowed the audience 
to resonate more with the 
message. 

“Cabaret” shows us how 

easily one can focus on the 
beauty of the world and ignore 
the 
reality. 
This 
country 

currently hosts a president 
who openly shames women, 
racial minorities and the queer 
community. How long can we 
keep up this complacency? 
Letting our minds become 
numb to atrocities is as good 
as joining the perpetrator. 

ALEC COHEN / DAILY

No matter how many Nicki 

Swift videos accuse Catherine 
Zeta-Jones (“Red 2”) of being 
one of the haughtiest stars in 
Hollywood, I constantly find 
myself arguing in her defense. 
What is it about her that draws 
my unwavering allegiance? Is 
it her marriage to fine wine 
Michael Douglas (“Ant-Man 
and the Wasp”)? Is it because 
I cannot separate her from 
her character of Velma Kelly 
in the 2002 adaptation of 
“Chicago”? Or is it because 
she has mastered an American 
accent despite hailing from 
Wales? It’s probably Michael 
Douglas, but while the actress 
reportedly may not be a delight 
to work with, she consistently 
turns out a great performance 
no matter the quality of the 
project. Zeta-Jones can act 
her ass off, and nowhere is this 
superhuman ability to salvage 
a script as evident as in “Queen 
America.”

Much like its central star, 

I have mixed opinions about 
“Queen America.” Due to the 
irreversible trauma inflicted 
upon me by “Insatiable,” I 

entered into pageant-centric 
“Queen America” expecting 
the absolute worst. After all, 
the shows resemble each other 
so much they could be cousins: 
Southern-fried teen pageantry, 
overbearing and appearance-
obsessed coaches, the promise 
to highlight messages about 
body image — the list goes on. 
Additionally working against 
my first impression of the 

show was the idea that it had 
acted 
as 
an 
opportunistic 

rip-off meant to capitalize 
on 
the 
newsworthiness 
of 

“Insatiable.” No one likes a 
copycat.

Very early on, the show 

distinguishes 
itself 
from 

“Insatiable” 
by 
putting 
its 

central focus on the coach 
Vicki Ellis (Zeta-Jones), rather 
than the individual competing 
in the pageant. Vicki Ellis is the 

best pageant coach in Tulsa — 
scratch that — all of Oklahoma, 
in the midst of creating her 
next star. Her protegée, Hayley 
Wilson 
(Victoria 
‘I 
Think 

We All Sing’ Justice, “The 
Outcasts”), is the reigning 
Miss Tulsa and a favorite to 
take home the crown of Miss 
Oklahoma. When we first meet 
Vicki barking orders as Hayley 
sprints on the treadmill, she 
appears to be nothing more 
than another two-dimensional 
character used only as a vessel 
to make overdone jokes about 
the superficiality of pageants 
or lazily embody everything 
wrong 
with 
this 
specific 

subculture. Vicki’s vitriol is 
more sloppy than sharp, and 
she seems to be judgemental 
of her anti-pageant niece Bella 
(Isabella Amara, “Spider-Man: 
Homecoming”) because she is 
overweight.

As the episode progresses 

and 
more 
information 

about Vicki’s family life and 
background is uncovered, she 
becomes a much more complex 
and purposeful character. The 
bourgeois, 
Escalade-driving 

Vicki is not all she appears 
to be; behind her façade is a 
white-trash girl who betrayed 
her roots in favor of pursuing a 
life she assumed to be superior 

ALLY OWENS
Daily Arts Writer

“Queen 
America” 

Series Premiere

Facebook Watch

Sundays at 9 

p.m.

Catherine Zeta-Jones to the 
rescue in ‘Queen America’

SINGLE REVIEW: ‘COME OUT AND 

PLAY’

INTERSCOPE RECORDS

Billie Eilish may only be 

16, but it seems like she’s 
been around forever. A year 
after her big break into 
the music industry, Eilish 
has already established a 
clear 
brand 
of 
stripped-

back, atmospheric pop that 
showcases her unique voice. 
This bare yet poignant sound 
reaches a melancholic peak 
on her recently released 
single “come out and play,” a 
song perfect for the holidays 
without any direct ties to the 
season. Listening to Eilish’s 
voice is like holding a hot 
cup of tea in front of the fire 
— it is comforting most of the 
time, but occasionally rises 
with a sharp pang of emotion, 
burning the listener with 
momentary glimpses into the 
singer’s darker thoughts. She 

is complex, but so is her art, 
offering her audience a way 
to understand the turmoil 
that seems to lay under 

Eilish’s 
languid 
exterior 

through her poetic lyrics and 
simple orchestrations.

“come out and play” clocks 

in at a typical pop single 
length of three minutes and 
30 seconds, however, the 
song could easily go on for 
several more verses without 
losing the listener. Eilish 
merges the crackling spirit 

of the holidays with a solemn 
longing to produce the kind 
of mood that is found in 
only some winter songs, like 
“River” by Joni Mitchell and 
Luther 
Vandross’s 
“Every 

Christmas.” 
While 
Eilish 

is a newcomer compared to 
legends like Mitchell and 
Vandross, she displays the 
kind of soulful sorrow of an 
artist with legitimate talent 
that will last the test of time. 
The single’s simplicity and 
earnest narrative ring true to 
this talent, surprising anyone 
who takes the time to listen 
with an outstretched hand, 
asking them to leave their 
worries behind and come out 
to dance in the snow.

-Clara Scott, Daily Arts 

Writer

FACEBOOK WATCH

to the one she was born into. 
This denial of her history cuts 
much deeper than mere class 
tension: In order to pursue 
this luxe life, she abandoned 
Bella at birth to be raised by 
her sister. It is this connection 
to Bella that serves to explain 
why Vicki has so much stake 
in, and concurrently, so much 
disappointment with the way 
that Bella has turned out under 
her sister’s care.

“Queen 
America” 
is 
not 

perfect by any means: Jokes 

fall flat, exposition can be 
clunky and the only overweight 
character is still positioned 
as the binary opposite of 
class and beauty. Its central 
character is no paragon either. 
Vicki actually believes that 
she is unerring in most of her 
stances, and that in projecting 
her own insecurities onto the 
likes of Hayley or Bella she is 
helping them. However, it is 
this intoxicating imperfection 
that makes “Queen America” 
a relative stand-out among 

the array of recently debuted 
web series — especially those 
released on Facebook Watch. 
The show does not attempt to 
delude us into believing they 
have the solutions for these 
large 
overarching 
issues. 

Rather, it plunges beneath the 
simplistic surface of pointing 
the finger at the wrongness 
of pageants in order to give 
us an in-depth look at how 
class, beauty standards and 
body image interact to create a 
horrendously damaged woman. 

