"Cabaret," starring Seattle's Nick Garrison, is at the 5th Avenue Theatre

Mein Damen und Herren, step right into the Kit Kat Club, where the emcee is a divine androgyne, the house band is in drag, the sound system is blistering, and the decor is ... bright red?

None of that black-garb-murky-basement-"Blue Angel" stuff in 5th Avenue Theatre's new "Cabaret." Ushered in by Nick Garrison's impish bald emcee — suited up in scarlet satin as he swings from a giant neon sign — this big, noisy extravaganza is no visit to a seamy little Weimar-era Berlin nightspot.

Ja, there are naughty chorus girls, and that nervy Brit chanteuse, Sally Bowles (Tari Kelly). But the beefy chorus boys do just as much prancing, posing and coming on to the customers as the gals.

Bill Berry's campy staging and Tom Sturge's bold lighting and set design for the 1966 Broadway musical (loosely based on Christopher Isherwood's "Berlin Stories") is quite a different kettle of herring from Sam Mendes' splendid 1998 revival, which visited Seattle on tour.

Mendes went for a more serrated, late-1920s aesthetic — haggard chippies in torn fishnets, bleak lighting and gritty decadence, all well-sauced with morbid desperation.

It was a revelation, adding more politics and pathos to a landmark Broadway "concept" musical.

By comparison, with its kick-line dances by Bob Richard and sequin-heavy costumes by Thomas G. Marquez, the 5th Avenue "Cabaret" is like the razzle-dazzle house show in some Vegas theme hotel called Berlin.

But it can still be entertaining. And none of the production choices — apart from some harsh over-miking, an annoyingly frequent problem at the 5th — puts a dent in this sophisticated Broadway classic, with vivid characters, great songs (by John Kander and Fred Ebb) and atmospherics to burn.

No boosterism intended, but the spotlight shines brightest on the Seattle talent in this show (which has also played San Jose, Calif., and will go on to the Twin Cities). A more benign than grotesque narrator, Garrison knows his German decadence (he starred in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" here), and he aces the naughty cabaret skits, audience chat-ups, and powerhouse opening number, "Wilkommen."

Suzy Hunt also excels as Berlin landlady Frau Schneider, who loves a Jewish greengrocer (versatile Allen Fitzpatrick) — but backs off, after a display of Nazi hooliganism. Hunt brings rueful poignancy to the haunting survivalist ode, "What Would You Do?"

Louis Hobson applies his marvelous vocal chops and a quickly dashed innocence to the role of American writer (and chump) Cliff Bradshaw.

As for Broadway-veteran Kelly's Sally Bowles, she sports giggly gamine charm and the vocal talent for the iconic title tune, the delectably sleazy novelty "Mein Herr" and the blazing torch song "Maybe This Time."

But she doesn't capture that mingle of bravado and vulnerability that can make Sally more interesting (and ultimately, more grotesque) than your usual playgirl diva.

The only decisive off-key note, however, is struck by Seattle's Angie Louis, whose comic shtick as a woozy prostitute is gratingly excessive.

As the Berlin party winds down and the Nazi threat heats up, "Cabaret" sharpens its focus. The humor darkens, the joie de vivre cheapens, and in one skit-song in particular ("If You Could See Her"), the lewd fun curdles into eerie bigotry.

With its spangles and splashiness, the 5th Avenue staging doesn't easily make that sharp turn into repugnant irony. But it gets there. Eventually.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com