Podcast Summary: Cabaret (UMusic Hotel Teatro Albéniz, Madrid) - ★★★★ REVIEW

Podcast: MickeyJoTheatre
Host: Mickey Jo
Episode Date: January 30, 2026

Overview

In this episode, theatre critic and content creator Mickey Jo reviews the new immersive Spanish-language production of Cabaret at the Umusic Hotel Teatro Albéniz in Madrid. Drawing on his extensive prior experience with the musical across countries and languages, Mickey Jo dives into what makes this production both audacious and surprising. He provides a detailed critique of the staging, direction, performances, design choices, structural changes, and culminating impact, and reflects on how the Madrid production compares to major West End and Broadway revivals.

Main Discussion Points

1. Initial Impressions & Context ([00:59])

• Mickey Jo is captivated by the production’s “audacity” to enchant for most of its runtime as a “sleek and sexy version of the show,” before ending in a way that is “nightmarish, terrifying, chilling and fantastic”.

  “What I think I'm going to take a long time to recover from is the audacity of this production… I did not see this coming and I loved it. Oh my God.” – Mickey Jo [00:59]

• He attended the show in Madrid despite not being fluent in Spanish, motivated by its reputation for differing substantially from current London and Broadway versions.
• With 20+ viewings under his belt, across four countries and multiple productions, he highlights the pleasure of genuine surprise, stating this is “perhaps the most shocking” Cabaret he’s seen.

2. Immersive KitKat Club Staging ([04:30])

• The theatre, situated inside the Umusic Hotel, creates a true KitKat Club experience: regular stalls ripped out and replaced by cabaret tables throughout the main floor.
• Key immersive elements:
  • Audience is fully seated among the club’s set.
  • Book scenes are localized on a few large tables placed in the central playing space, making for intimacy and claustrophobia.
  • The set includes stylish lamps, phones, branded napkins, neon signage, and faux hotel windows.
• Only the mezzanine retains traditional theatre seating.

  “To really experience this production in a unique way, you're going to want to be sitting in one of the cabaret tables.” – Mickey Jo [09:39]

• Costumes for the KitKat Club are more modern, risqué, and even anachronistic, such as Sally Bowles appearing in a “red latex dress” reminiscent of pop culture references.

3. Structural and Musical Changes ([13:00])

• The pre-show features KitKat Club performers singing cut numbers from the original production, enhancing the club atmosphere.
• Unique song choices and rearrangements:
  • Cliff sings "Don’t Go," a rarely heard number in modern productions.
  • “Don’t Tell Mama” is used instead of “Mein Herr” in the first act, but “Mein Herr” appears in the second act as a separate club number.
  • “Maybe This Time” is dramatically repositioned—performed as the finale, after Sally’s relationship with Cliff ends, imbuing the number with painful irony:

    “To do it as the finale is so poignant... It's a feigned false sense of optimism... You get the sense this Sally... doesn't actually believe what she's saying, but desperately needs to.” – Mickey Jo [17:00]

• Emphasizes that these unexpected choices kept him engaged and surprised, despite how well he knows the material.

4. The Harrowing Ending ([20:10])

• The show hews to a generally light, sexy tone until the very end, making the arrival of fascism especially jarring:
  • The anti-Semitic attack (brick through Herr Schultz’s window) is literal: a real brick drops over the audience space.
  • The MC (played by Abril Zamora) becomes a train conductor for the finale, reprising "Willkommen."
  • Twist: In the closing moments, main characters don WWII-era gas masks (except the MC), who searches through the audience in terror for one. The MC ends naked onstage as gas descends over the space, explicitly evoking the Holocaust.

  “Instead of something denoting a bomb dropping, as the MC grows more sorrowful, we see her fully disrobing to a state of absolute nudity… for that to be the final beat with the release of gas and the implication of the gas chambers, unmistakably, is so dark and so blisteringly painful and a bold choice that I really celebrate.” – Mickey Jo [23:35]

• Notes the audience’s disturbed, shell-shocked response: “the audience aren’t sure how to applaud after that moment”.

5. Key Performances ([25:21])

Abril Zamora as the MC

• A rare casting of a female (and trans) performer as the MC, yet “gender doesn’t really come into the MC’s character… it changes staggeringly little.”
  • Her performance: commanding, charismatic, powerfully in control of the club and performers.
  • The role of the MC is further deepened in the number “If You Could See Her” — here, the MC puppeteers a small monkey rather than dancing with someone in a costume, rendering the moment more tender and sad. The line about acceptance (“leben und leben lassen”/”live and let live”) received applause:

    “That actually got a small round of applause at this performance.” – Mickey Jo [27:13]

Amanda De Gone as Sally Bowles

• Compared favorably to Liza Minnelli’s iconic portrayal; De Gone is both a luminous star and “heartbreakingly tragic.”
  • Notable entrance: Sally arrives via a giant red swing, in a latex ‘schoolgirl’ costume, swinging over the audience.
  • Her “Cabaret” number becomes an emotional breakdown mid-song, followed by a show-stopping, vulnerable performance.

Pepe Noufrio as Cliff Bradshaw

• Previous experience in the UK; strong chemistry with Sally.
  • Notable choice: Cliff is depicted as having a brief tryst with a closeted gay Nazi, a creative update adding extra political and personal complexity.

Supporting Cast

• Praise for Fraulein Schneider (Carmen Connoisseur), Herr Schultz (Tony River): “warmth and charm.”
• Peppa Lucas as Fraulein Kost: notably deepened, with a newly sorrowful interpretation of her second-act number and actions.

6. Language, Accessibility, and Final Thoughts ([29:01], [36:00])

• Despite the show being in Spanish, Mickey Jo’s familiarity with the material allowed him to follow story changes and nuances.

  • He comments on the unusual experience of hearing all the dialogue in Spanish, especially when the plot refers to language barriers between Germans, British, and Americans.
  • Expresses interest in a multilingual production for total accuracy.

• Applauds the production’s daring vision and innovative use of Cabaret’s source material.

  “I love this so much more than a cheap, generic remounting… I love that directors and creatives are continuing to reinterpret things through their own unique vision... I was delighted by this production.” – Mickey Jo [36:55]

• Encore praise for the show’s immersive design and originality, predicting a tour across Spain and hoping for its return.

Notable Quotes With Timestamps

• “I did not see this coming and I loved it. Oh my God.” — Mickey Jo [00:59]
• “Perhaps the most shocking [Cabaret] I have ever seen.” — Mickey Jo [05:15]
• “To really experience this production in a unique way, you're going to want to be sitting in one of the cabaret tables.” — Mickey Jo [09:39]
• “To do [‘Maybe This Time’] as the finale is so poignant… You get the sense this Sally… doesn’t actually believe what she's saying, but desperately needs to.” — Mickey Jo [17:00]
• “For that to be the final beat with the release of gas and the implication of the gas chambers, unmistakably, is so dark and so blisteringly painful and a bold choice that I really celebrate.” — Mickey Jo [23:35]
• “That actually got a small round of applause at this performance.” (on ‘live and let live’) — Mickey Jo [27:13]
• "I love that directors and creatives are continuing to reinterpret things through their own unique vision... I was delighted by this production." — Mickey Jo [36:55]

Key Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |------------|---------------------------------------------------| | [00:59] | Opening impressions and show context | | [04:30] | Explaining the immersive theatre setup | | [09:39] | Design and cabaret seating layout | | [13:00] | Musical numbers, pre-show, and structural changes | | [17:00] | Repositioning of “Maybe This Time” | | [20:10] | The dark, explicit ending | | [25:21] | Cast & standout performances | | [27:13] | “If You Could See Her” and audience reaction | | [29:01] | Language and international accessibility | | [36:00] | Reflections on innovation and final thoughts |

Memorable Moments

• Sally Bowles entering on a giant red swing, in a latex ‘schoolgirl’ outfit, swinging above cabaret tables.
• The literal dropping of a brick onto the audience space symbolizing fascist violence.
• The MC’s desperate scramble for a gas mask among the audience before the chilling World War II gas chamber ending.
• The creative recontextualization of iconic songs, particularly “Maybe This Time” as a bitter, final coda.
• Unexpected audience response—uncertainty over when/how to applaud after such a dark ending.

Conclusion

Mickey Jo’s review celebrates the Spanish Cabaret at Madrid’s Umusic Hotel Teatro Albéniz as a bold, immersive, and form-breaking production, replete with original directorial decisions, creative risk-taking, and a harrowing final sequence that lingers long after curtain call. For regulars and newcomers to Cabaret, this version stands out by subverting expectations, both musically and emotionally, and offers a timely and unflinching confrontation with its historical themes.

Stay tuned to MickeyJoTheatre for reviews of other Madrid musicals and more in-depth theatrical criticism.