By HELEN KAYE
The Kettle and the Broom
Compiled and staged by Shuki Wagner
Habima National Theater
September 22, 2009
The Broom, The Theater Club, The Kettle, LiLaLo were all cabaret theaters that had their heyday in the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Audiences flocked, the songs and sketches, written and composed by such as Natan Alterman, Haim Hefer and Dan Almagor, were lodged firmly in the heart.
Together with the talented, versatile and disciplined Young Habima players, Shuki Wagner has put together some 90 non-stop minutes of delicious nostalgia that has all the right chords.
"Sing along," a member of the ensemble invites the audience, and it does to such hits as "Rina," "She's Got Something," "Auntie, Please Say Yes" and the song that ends the show, "Kalaniyot" (Anemones) by Alterman and Moshe Willensky. The song was immortalized by the late great Shoshana Damari, and it so swept the country that the Mandatory authorities were convinced it was a rebel code of some kind! Noa Godel meets its challenge.
The show is brisk, good-humored, enthusiastic, crisp, professional and a delight to watch. Gili Cohavi's costumes are spot-on, deliciously saucy, and set off perfectly by her abstract set. the show is marked by uniformly strong performances, but a special pat on the back goes to to Godel, Meyrav Harari, Elinor Flaxman, Anital Elbahar and Liron Levi.
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