Weimar cabaret, a style that flourished during a brief artistic and intellectual period in pre-World War II Germany, is alive and well in twenty-six-year-old phenom Kim Smith. His show has stripped down the heavily stylized performances popularized in the film Cabaret by Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey to their bare essence, accentuating the lyric and drama of the music. With his stunning voice, some minimal blue lighting and excellent accompaniment by classical pianist Jerry Steichen, Smith weaves an enchanting web of seldom heard, yet seminal cabaret music.

An overture of Spoliansky’s waltz “Morphium” set an ethereal tone for the evening where period pieces like “Surabaya Johnny" (from Happy End) and “Pirate Jenny” are juxtaposed with selections like the Nat King Cole hit “Nature Boy” and Kylie Minogue’s “Confide in Me,” all performed in the deliciously earthy style of early kabarett. A sensational version of 1998’s “Missed Me” by the Brechtian punk cabaret duo Dresden Dolls highlighted Smith’s talent for shifting eras, where songs from Friedrich Hollaender/Edward Heyman (“Johnny, Wenn Du Geburtstag Hast?” and 1939’s “Black Market”) blend seamlessly with a unique rendition of the 1966 hit, “You Keep Me Hangin' On” and 1977’s “Song of Black Max” escorts 1940's “Hôtel” by Francis Poulenc.

Smith sings effortlessly in French (“Once Upon a Summertime”) and German (a breathtaking “Over the Rainbow”) in this highly polished, mesmerizing show. Much of the material is wickedly dark, abounding with unsavory characters and unsettling sexual situations, all handled adroitly through Smith’s androgynous stage persona. It’s impossible not to be drawn into his mystique, his charming lasciviousness, and the haunting voice. Smith is a must-see, one-of-a-kind entertainer. His show, while inspired by the past, is thoroughly modern, always inventive and stunningly performed.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
July 11, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org