Steve Brannon doesn't know why a reporter would want to talk to him about his role in the Charleston Light Opera Guild's upcoming production of "Cabaret."
Brannon, who works for a local accounting firm, is a private person. If he isn't working out at the gym, he's probably at home watching movies or writing film reviews that he doesn't publish.
"I don't like attention," he said. "I'd much rather the ensemble be interviewed."
It might sound odd, then, that Brannon will play the part of the flamboyant, over-the-top and even disturbing Master of Ceremonies, the lead character who seduces the audience with naughty banter and titillating innuendo.
"Nowhere else would I ever be the center of attention," he said. "I'm taking a step out of myself."
The character, also called the Emcee, is a metaphor for early 1930s Berlin, which was a place of great freedom and decadence, even though economic hardship reigned and murderous political extremism was taking root.
The Emcee distracts patrons of the seedy Kit Kat Klub, located in the heart of Berlin. As the Nazis rise to power, the debauched and devil-may-care ambiance he nurtures at the club allows patrons to forget the chaos outside.
"He's fascinating and disturbing all in one," Brannon said of his character.
Brannon's interpretation of the Emcee is just one of many, since the musical, which is based on a short story by Christopher Isherwood and features music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, became a Broadway hit in 1966.
The most famous incarnation of the Emcee came from Joel Grey, who originated the role and reprised it in the 1972 motion picture and again in 1987 for the Broadway revival.
Scottish actor Alan Cumming, however, greatly reinterpreted the character in 1993. His version was darker in many ways, more sexual and drug-fueled. Brannon said his interpretation will be closer to Grey, who once described his character as "like a ventriloquist's dummy."
The play has been dogged with controversy since it first debuted. During one scene, the Emcee dances and sings a love song to a gorilla, pleading with the audience to "see her through my eyes." In the original play, the song begins as a whimsical parody of romantic love but abruptly turns dark in the final line when the Emcee sings the words "If you could see her through my eyes, she wouldn't look Jewish at all."
The line was meant to unsettle the audience, and to make showgoers consider how easily many people were lured into anti-semitism in Nazi Germany. Many were outraged by the likening of a Jewish woman to an ape, however, and protests from prominent Jewish leaders led Ebb to change the line to "She wouldn't look like a Meeskite (a Yiddish term for an unattractive woman) at all."
Some productions have brought back the original lyrics. Most famously, Cumming was known for hissing the line in a chilling tone to drive home its insidious nature.
Brannon said the Guild's production will use "meeskite," as most other productions have done.
Aside from playing a part that is radically different from his own personality, Brannon said he found the numerous singing and dancing routines challenging. In particular, he found co-star Trey Harris' singing abilities intimidating.
"I definitely did not want to sing after him," he said.
Auditions were held the first week of June, leaving cast members little time to master their parts.
"It hasn't been a long rehearsal period at all," Brannon said.
He became interested in the part of Emcee after watching a Broadway documentary on PBS.
"I just wanted to watch him and see what was next," he said.
It's not the first time he has stepped out of his comfort zone on stage. He also played the part of the hunky UPS deliveryman in the Guild's production of "Legally Blonde" in 2012.
"When I came on the stage there was funky porn music and women in the audience would scream," he said, shaking his head. "It was the weirdest thing."
The cast for Cabaret also includes Katlin Kouns as 19-year-old English cabaret performer Sally Bowles and Harris as Bowles' love interest Cliff Bradshaw, a young American writer.
Rick Fleenor will play Herr Schultz, a fruit vendor and love interest of Bradshaw's landlord, Fraulein Schneider, who will be played by Megan Sydnor.
The show opens Friday and runs weekends through Aug. 9. For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.CharlestonLightOperaGuild.org or call 304-343-2287.
Reach writer Billy Wolfe at life@dailymailwv.com or 304-348-4830.