Cabaret is well on its way to becoming a highlight of many audience members during the week of May 3.
Cabaret is an annual student-led showcase produced by seniors in Thespians. It gives seniors the opportunity to run their own musical numbers and experience executing a show with no adult direction.
It is also an opportunity for underclassmen to be featured in a scene without having to compete for roles against the seniors. In addition, this space provides underclassmen with a space to explore their interest in theater.
Cabaret is completely independent, exempt from the director who oversees everything to ensure everything runs smoothly and creates the schedule. Otherwise, the tech crew is also run by students, and each senior directing their own scene has complete control.
These performances require a lot more hard work and effort from the seniors and underclassmen than people may assume. It includes lots of consistent rehearsals, practice, and review.
The directors must use their best judgment to decide the choreography, blocking, singing and acting of their scene. At times, it forces seniors to step out of their comfort zone to perform skills necessary for the scene.
Some of the performances at Cabaret consist of “One Short Day” from the show “Wicked,” directed by Chloe Klinger.
“My first scene is ‘One Short Day’ from ‘Wicked,’ and it’s about Elphaba and Glinda, which are the two main protagonists in the musical Wicked going to the Emerald City for the first time and exploring the city, sightseeing, and having fun being friends,” Klinger said.
Klinger attested that directing is a lot more than she expected and that it has caused her to go out of her comfort zone a little.
“There was a lot of preparation. I didn’t realize on the director’s end, I have to know the parts, and I have to be ready to teach it to people. I’m not a huge dancer, and I’ve had to step out a little bit and do some. ‘One Short Day’ is not going to be very dancey, but it’s going to be as far as I can do,” Klinger said.
Another performance that will be showcased is “From Now On” from the “Greatest Showman,” which is co-directed by senior Lily Solenski and Ali Shirf. This is a musical number where P.T. Barnum, the main protagonist, hits rock bottom after his show falls flat and his family leaves him. Then, he proceeds to sing this song out of clarity and an internal promise to focus on what matters most to him.
“‘From Now On’…I got to kind of propose to my co-director because I’ve always loved the ‘Greatest Showman.’” Solenski said.
Another preview of one of the scenes is a song from “Beetlejuice” directed by Ben Ricker, called “Beautiful Sound.” This scene is in Act II where Beetlejuice and Lydia (two main characters in the show) celebrate being able to scare people.
“I’m directing ‘Beautiful Sound’ from the musical ‘Beetlejuice,’ and it’s basically just about scaring the pants off of unsuspecting people who enter a house,” Ricker said.
All in all, the Thespians hope cabaret is a wonderful experience for the cast and crew as well as future audience members.
