(COLORADO SPRINGS) — TheatreWorks has officially kicked off its 50th year of creating stage productions, as the musical ‘Cabaret’ officially opened at the ENT Center for the Arts.
Credit: ENT Center for the Arts
The musical ‘Cabaret’ mixes musical escapism with the looming danger of 1930s Berlin. The musical has won multiple Tony awards, and the film featuring Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey won multiple Oscars, including Best Picture.
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The musical was also put on by TheatreWorks in the company’s early days, making it the perfect show to bring back for the 50th anniversary, according to Artistic Director Max Shulman.
When talking about selecting the shows for this season, Max says it’s almost like a puzzle. “You want to think about the things that are going to entertain them, the things that are going to challenge them, which cabaret may be one of those in some way, and also what they’re hungry for.”
Credit: ENT Center for the Arts
‘Cabaret’ puts its audience directly inside the Kit Kat Club, Berlin’s premiere nightclub, and follows Cliff Bradshaw’s journey in Berlin, where he meets performer Sally Bowles. The Kit Kat Club’s Emcee acts as the puppet master of the show, guiding the audience throughout the production.
The Emcee, Master of Ceremonies, is played by Sammy Gleason. “It’s a very quintessential role in the musical theater canon. It’s something I’ve loved for years,” says Sammy.
In musical Theatre History, the Emcee has been recognized as a character with unlimited possibilities on how the character is portrayed. Whether it be the portrayals of Joel Grey, Alan Cumming, or Eddie Redmayne, each actor has their own take, and the same goes for Sammy.
“It’s the one that I think in the history of it being around that has given people the most opportunity to be experimental,” says Sammy, “to be able to step into a role where I can I can be all of the shades of something, really it’s been exciting to sort of get into.”
Credit: ENT Center for the Arts
Miranda McCauley, who plays Sally Bowles also joins the pantheon of incredible actresses to play her character and sing some of the most famous songs in musical theatre. That being Maybe This Time, Mein Herr, and the title track, Cabaret.
“Sally is such a complex character, and we see her go through so many difficult things throughout the show. So, really getting in the headspace for that has been super interesting, a little difficult, but also super exciting,” says Miranda.
But creating the actor’s own version is something that TheatreWorks strives for during rehearsals.
“What we try to do is create an environment where artists get to be artists,” says Artistic Director Max, “and when artists are being artists, they’re out on a wire. They’re out on a limb, they’re trying something new. The best thing that we can do at TheatreWorks is nurture that gutsiness and give them the support.”
Creating a piece of work that stirs up conversation and makes the audience think of what they would do in Berlin in the 1930s as the Nazi Party takes power. The cast says this show asks the central questions of what you do as people start to be discriminated against: Do you keep quiet? Do you stand up?
Miranda says these questions are in the actors’ minds as they perform, saying, “We see a lot of different characters and how they deal with that. We see people who flee and people who fight.”
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