"It's no exaggeration to say that "CABARET" is the best thing the Dallas Theater Center has done since moving into its new digs at the Wyly Theatre almost two years ago.
David Coffee and Julie Johnson as the middle-aged couple tentatively staking out a romance form the core of the play's emotional life. Their doom resonates and the irony of the show's most famous lyric - Life is a cabaret, old chum - come to the cabaret - leaves you breathless by the end."
Arnold Wayne Jones,
- DALLAS VOICE
"If this CABARET's hormonal surges come from the Emcee and his humpy chorus kids - its heart and soul belong to a couple of characters absent from the film. They are the old-maid Berlin boarding house landlady, Fraulein Schneider (played by Dallas' own Julie Johnson), and her Jewish boarder, a fruit vendor named Herr Schultz (Fort Worth actor David Coffee). Their courtship, tentatively born over late-night sips of schnapps, is charming as they sing and waltz to a ballad inspired by a humble pineapple. When their planned marriage is halted by Kristallnacht, it's an emotional turning point. These musical theater veterans know how to act longing and heartbreak into their songs."
Elaine Liner,
- DALLAS OBSERVER
"What a welcome relief it is to see David Coffee, as Herr Schultz, completely steer away from the stock characterization so many actors portray in this role. Instead of focusing on the laughs, Coffee's portrayal and subtext is that of a man who truly does care and love Fraulein Schneider. While he still earns the wonderful laughs the role possesses, he gives the role honesty, respect, dignity, and compassion. When it comes to the painful, dark elements within his character's arc, Coffee conveys raw pain, loss, and heartbreak that fill the Wyly Theatre. Coffee gives his finest performance in his portrayal of this Jewish/German fruit market owner."
John Garcia,
- John Garcia's THE COLUMN
"Her (Julie Johnson) singing is even better than her acting, and her scenes with David Coffee as her elderly Jewish suitor are highlights of the show."
Lawson Taitte,
- DALLAS MORNING NEWS
"Joel Ferrell's CABARET is the best production I've seen to date by the Dallas Theater Center. The production's final moment is as thought provoking and gut wrenching as the rest of the show is a sheer delight in spectacle, song, movement and characterization."
Alexandra Bonifield,
- CRITICAL RANT