CABARET

In Concert with the Lyric Stage Orchestra

JUNE 09-12, 2022 | Majestic Theatre

Based on John Van Druten's 1951 play, I Am A Camera, which was adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s 1939 semi-autobiographical novel, Goodbye to Berlin, CABARET has music and lyrics by the award-winning composer/lyricist team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, and a book by Joe Masteroff. The original 1966 production ran for 1,165 performances, and was nominated for 11 Tony Awards® in 1967, winning 8, including Best Musical and Best Score, with its original cast recording also winning a Grammy. The 1972 film adaptation directed Bob Fosse, which starred Liza Minelli and Joel Grey, won 8 Academy Awards. The 1998 Broadway Revival, starring Alan Cumming and Natasha Richardson, was nominated for 10 Tony Awards®, winning 4, including Best Revival of a Musical, and ran for 2,377 performances, becoming the third longest-running revival in Broadway musical history.

Set in a Berlin nightclub as the 1920's draw to a close, CABARET explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Germany’s natives and expatriates as the Third Reich emerges and the Nazis ascend to power. With “the Emcee” (played by Christopher J. Deaton) guiding the way, CABARET focuses on the hedonistic nightlife at the seedy Kit Kat Klub, and revolves around the relationships between a young American writer (“Clifford Bradshaw” played by Preston Page), an English cabaret performer (“Sally Bowles” played by Catherine Carpenter Cox), a German boarding house proprietor (“Fräulein Schneider” played by Barbara Catrett), and a mild-mannered, Jewish fruit seller (“Herr Schultz” played by David Fenley). With a score featuring songs that have become classics of the American Musical Theater, CABARET is a fierce, daring musical that pushes the boundaries of the form.

CABARET is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.com

THE CAST & CREATIVE TEAM

This entertaining and exuberant, yet dark and moving, fully-staged concert production of the 1998 Version of CABARET boasts an entirely local cast of 22 singer/actors. The company is led by Christopher J. Deaton as the Emcee and Catherine Carpenter Cox as Sally Bowles, with Preston Page as Clifford Bradshaw, Barbara Catrett as Fräulein Schneider, and David Fenley as Herr Schultz. The cast also features Aaron C. White as Ernst Ludwig (US Cliff), Caroline Rivera as Fraulein Kost (US Schneider), and Greg Hullett as Max (US Ludwig & Schultz). Rounding out the world of the famous, and infamous, Kit Kat Klub are Abi Abel as Fritzie, Tychelle Bearden as Helga, D’Mariel Jones as Bobby, Thi Le as Frenchie & the Gorilla, Laura Lites as Lulu (US Kost), Ania Lyons as Rosie, Elise Mendoza as Texas, Anthony J. Ortega as Hans (US Emcee), Sienna Riehle as Herman & Rudy, and André Pernell Williams as Victor. Presley Duyck serves as the Standby/Understudy for Sally Bowles, as well as a Kit Kat Girl, with Grace Moore as the Kit Kat Girl Swing for Rosie, Fritzie, & Frenchie, Alexa Morgan as the Kit Kat Girl Swing for Helga, Lulu, & Texas, and Danny Vanegas as the Understudy for Max & Kit Kat Boy Swing for Bobby, Victor, Hans, & Herman. Allison & Megan Arroyo sing the recorded voice over for the Young German Children’s Voices.

The always live and local Lyric Stage Orchestra features Rachel Bundy on Violin, Hollie Dzierzanowski on Viola, Nini Rubiano on Cello, Brittany Hart on Bass, Kristen Thompson on Reed 1 (Clarinet, Alto Sax), Christy Springer on Reed 2 (Clarinet, Tenor Sax), Catherine Conlin on Reed 3 (Tenor Sax, Clarinet), Emma Cook on Trumpet, Julie Gray on Trombone, Ashley Westgate on Percussion, Vicky Nooe on Synthesizer/Keyboard, and Music Director/Conductor Vonda K. Bowling on Piano.

CABARET in Concert will be directed and choreographed by Broadway veteran Penny Ayn Maas, with Ania Lyons serving as the Assistant Choreographer. The 12-piece, all-female orchestra will be led by Music Director Vonda K. Bowling, with Bruce Greer serving as the Musical Supervisor. Lighting Design is by Scott Guenther, Sound Design & Engineering by Jorge Guerra, Costume Design & Coordination is by Megan A. Liles, with D’Mariel Jones serving as Assistant Costume Coordinator, and Props Coordination is by Christopher J. Deaton & Jenny Dang. Stage Management is by Maddie Collins, Jenny Dang, and Tanvi Sutaria. CABARET in Concert is produced by Lyric Stage Producer Catherine Carpenter Cox and Lyric Stage Executive Artistic Director Christopher J. Deaton. Lyric Stage Founder Steven Jones serves as the Consulting Producer.


PRODUCTION PROMO VIDS

BURNT PIE PRODUCTIONS


PRODUCTION PHOTOS

JAMIE BROGDON PHOTORAPHY


PUBLICITY PHOTOS

JAMIE BROGDON PHOTORAPHY


REVIEW

ONSTAGENTX BY MARTHA HEIMBERG

Lyric Stage brings a high-kicking, menacing in-concert production of Cabaret to the Majestic Theater—and, boy, are we ever relieved to hear once again that “life is a cabaret!”

Until it isn’t.

John Kander and Fred Ebb’s 1966 musical still thrills, chills and horrifies, as we move from the permissive ribaldry of Berlin in the late ‘20s to the rise of the Third Reich and the specter of Nazi death camps in the future. Quite a trip for a single night, as knowing director/choreographer Penny Ayn Maas drives all 20 cast members full-throttle, and our city’s go-to music conductor Vonda K. Bowling puts the pedal to the metal with her rousing 11-member all-female band. Talk about over-the-top girl power on that red velvet bandstand.

Lyric Stage “in concert” means minimal set design, but full costumes, choreography, lighting, and orchestration. The grandeur of the historic Majestic Theater with its stuffed red velvet seats is already a pretty terrific set for a Weimar-era nightclub. At intermission, couples of various gender mixes were taking selfies in the huge, gilded mirrors lining the lobby. Theater is Pride Week 4-ever.

Our guide from start to finish is the Emcee of the Kit Kat Club, Lyric Stage executive artistic director Christopher J. Deaton—a muscled, alluring hunk of whatever-gender-you-prefer as he “Willkommen’s” us to leave our hang-ups on the curb, and to stomp and whistle at the beautiful people on the stage. The night I saw the show, the audience hollered and cheered as directed, especially for the curvy Kit Kat Klub girls in black bustiers and thigh-high gartered stockings. And for those leggy boys, too, sometimes wearing the same outfit. With every shape, size, and color, this chorus line is athletic, suggestive, bold, vulgar…whatever the song demands.

Costume designer Megan A. Liles makes “everybody beautiful” as advertised. Her sequined, deeply fringed dresses for Sally and the Emcee would make a tree stump look sexy.

Deaton, more often the handsome romantic tenor in Lyric productions, reveals the breadth of his acting skills as the Emcee. Pared down to I-can-do-that dancing weight, his head shaved and shining, and wearing a muscle shirt split to the navel to reveal an enviable six-pack, he preens and flirts like an androgynous peacock. He’s hilarious and bawdy singing “Two Ladies,” and sports the longest legs in the chorus line singing “Money,” that cynical anthem to capitalism.

Later, he’s downright sinister dancing with a costumed ape in “If You Could See Her,” with its chilling anti-semitic finish line. From his mincing, ebullient start to the show’s sagging, dark finish, Deaton delivers the feel and the fate of a self-deluded society teetering on collapse. Hard not to note that today’s news is filled with the Congressional hearings of the January 6th insurrection attempt.

As Sally Bowles, Catherine Carpenter Cox also transforms, from the saucy, tough-girl delivery of “Mein Herr” and “Don’t Tell Mama” at the outset, to her wistful, moving rendition of “Maybe This Time,” a song revealing her shiveringly deep longing for the “home” of love. Great song. She also sings a charming duet with a quietly sturdy Preston Page, as the hapless bi-sexual writer Sally fancies. “Perfectly Marvelous” is a special kind of love song, and anyone who’s ever been in a lop-sided relationship must chuckle while hearing.

Barbara Catrett’s frank and forthright Fraulein Schneider, the German boarding house owner, and David Fenley’s gentle, textured Herr Schultz, the Jewish fruit store owner, bring the swelling heartbeats of surprised aging lovers to the show. You need a hand to squeeze when they sing about pineapples as a courting gift, and for their charming duet “Married,” with its sunny certainty about the future.

Special “Brava!’ here to Bowling and her badass band, whipping it up when we need to get there, and slowing it down to hear an exquisite line or lilting half-sob. The band’s last gasp of cacophony and discord, in which all harmony or narrative breaks down, is just wrenching. And so right. It’s a musical, and it crashed!

How lucky are we to have Lyric Stage and these beautiful people right here in downtown Dallas. Okay, it’s just for four days, but still.


CABARET DIGITAL PROGRAM

CLICK “+” ICON TO EXPAND OPEN

  • THE VIDEOTAPING OR MAKING OF ELECTRONIC OR OTHER AUDIO AND/OR VISUAL RECORDINGS OF THIS PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTING RECORDINGS OR STREAMS IN ANY MEDIUM, INCLUDING THE INTERNET, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, A VIOLATION OF THE AUTHOR(S)’S RIGHTS AND ACTIONABLE UNDER UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT: https://concordtheatricals.com/resources/protecting-artists

  • CABARET is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC.

    www.concordtheatricals.com

  • Book Joe Masteroff

    Based on the play by John Van Druten and Stories by Christopher Isherwood

    Music John Kander Lyrics Fred Ebb

    Originally Co-directed and Choreographed by Rob Marshall

    Originally Directed by Sam Mendes

    Director/Choreographer Penny Ayn Maas

    Music Director & Piano-Conductor Vonda K. Bowling

    Music Supervisor Bruce Greer

    Orchestra Contractor Christopher J. Deaton

    Associate Choreographer Ania Lyons

    Lighting Designer & Engineer Scott Guenther

    Sound Designer & Engineer Jorge Guerra

    Costume Designer & Coordinator Megan A. Liles

    Assistant Costume Coordinator D’Mariel Jones

    Props Coordinator Jenny Dang

    Production Manager Ashley Schneider

    Stage Manager Maddie Collins

    Assistant Stage Manager Jenny Dang

    Assistant Stage Manager Tanvi Sutaria

    Soft Goods Rental Dallas Stage Scenery

    Lighting & A/V Rental SEG Services

    Producer Catherine Carpenter Cox

    Executive Artistic Director Christopher J. Deaton

    Founder Steven Jones

  • Abi Abel Fritzie a Kit Kat Girl

    Allison & Megan Arroyo Recorded V.O. “Tomorrow” Voices

    Tychelle Bearden Helga a Kit Kat Girl

    Barbara Catrett Fräulein Schneider a German boarding house propietor

    Catherine Carpenter Cox Sally Bowles an English cabaret performer

    Christopher J. Deaton Emcee Kit Kat Klub Master of Ceremonies

    Presley Duyck Standby Sally & Kit Kat Girl

    David Fenley Herr Schultz a German fruit shop owner and tenant in the boarding house

    Greg Hullett Max Kit Kat Klub Owner

    D’Mariel Jones Bobby a Kit Kat Boy

    Thi Le Frenchie a Kit Kat Girl & Gorilla

    Laura Lites Lulu a Kit Kat Girl

    Ania Lyons Rosie a Kit Kat Girl

    Elise Mendoza Texas a Kit Kat Girl

    Grace Moore Kit Kat Girl Swing

    Alexa Morgan Kit Kat Girl Swing

    Anthony J. Ortega Hans a Kit Kat Boy

    Preston Page Clifford Bradshaw an American writer

    Sienna Riehle Herman a Kit Kat Boy & Rudy a sailor

    Caroline Rivera Fräulein Kost a German native and tenant in the boarding house

    Danny Vanegas Kit Kat Boy Swing

    Aaron C. White Ernst Ludwig a German smuggler and friend of Sally & Schneider

    André Pernell Williams Victor a Kit Kat Boy

  • Presley Duyck Sally Bowles Standby/Understudy

    Greg Hullett Ernst Ludwig & Herr Schultz Understudy

    Grace Moore Kit Kat Girl Swing: Texas, Fritzie, Helga

    Alexa Morgan Kit Kat Girl Swing: Rosie, Lulu, Frenchie, Gorilla

    Anthony J. Ortega Emcee Understudy

    Caroline Rivera Fräulein Schneider Understudy

    Danny Vanegas Kit Kat Boy Swing: Bobby, Victor, Hans, Herman

    Aaron C. White Clifford Bradshaw Understudy

  • Violin Rachel Bundy

    Viola Hollie Dzierzanowski

    Cello Nini Rubiano

    Bass Beth McPherson

    Reed 1 (Clarinet, Alto Sax) Kristen Thompson

    Reed 2 (Clarinet, Tenor Sax) Christy Springer

    Reed 3 (Clarinet, Tenor Sax) Catherine Conlin

    Drums Ashley Westgate

    Trumpet Emma Cook

    Trombone Julie Gray

    Keyboard 1 Vonda K. Bowling

    Keyboard 2 Vicky Nooe

  • Executive Artistic Director Christopher J. Deaton

    Producer Catherine Carpenter Cox

    Founder Steven Jones

    Resident Music Supervisor Bruce Greer

    Accountant & Payroll Gillian Adams

    Publicist Katie-Rose Watson

    Director of Schmidt & Jones Awards Amy Stevenson

    Production Videographer Burnt Pie Productions

    Production Photographer Jamie Brogdon Photography

    Artwork Designer Daron Cockerell

  • 1. "Willkommen"Emcee & Company

    2. Playoff: Willkommen – Orchestra

    3. Train Music – Orchestra

    4. “Welcome to Berlin”Emcee

    5. "So What?" Fräulein Schneider

    6. Klub Transition – Orchestra

    7. "Don't Tell Mama" Sally & Kit Kat Girls

    8. Playoff: Don’t Tell Mama – Orchestra

    9. Underscore: Don’t Tell Mama – Orchestra

    10. "Mein Herr" Sally & Kit Kat Girls

    11. Playoff: Mein Herr - Orchestra

    12. "Perfectly Marvelous"Sally & Cliff

    13. "Two Ladies"Emcee with Lulu & Bobby

    14. Playoff: Two Ladies – Orchestra

    15. "It Couldn't Please Me More”Schneider, Schultz, & Emcee

    16. Into Tomorrow – Orchestra

    16a. "Tomorrow Belongs to Me"Young German Children’s Voices

    17. Scene Change: After Tomorrow – Orchestra

    18. "Maybe This Time"Sally

    19. "Money"Emcee & Kit Kat Girls

    20. Playoff & Underscore: Money – Orchestra

    21. "Married" Schultz, Kost, & Schneider

    22. Fruit Shop Dance – Orchestra

    23. Reprise: Tomorrow Belongs to MeKost, Ernst, & Guests

  • 24. Entr’acte – Orchestra

    25. Kick Line Number – Kit Kat Girls

    26. Reprise: "Married" Schultz

    27. "If You Could See Her”Emcee

    28. Playoff: If You Could See Her – Orchestra

    29. "What Would You Do?" Schneider

    30. "I Don't Care Much"Emcee

    31. Incidental: The Fight – Orchestra

    32. "Cabaret" Sally

    33. Underscore: After Cabaret – Orchestra

    34. Finale – Cliff & Emcee

    35. End of Show – Emcee

CAST HEADSHOTS

ALPHABETICAL BY LAST NAME

  • ABI ABEL

    as FRITZIE

  • ALLISON ARROYO

    Recorded “Tomorrow” Voice

  • MEGAN ARROYO

    Recorded “Tomorrow” Voice

  • TYCHELLE BEARDEN

    as HELGA

  • BARBARA CATRETT

    as FRÄULEIN SCHNEIDER

  • CATHERINE C. COX

    as SALLY BOWLES

  • CHRISTOPHER J. DEATON

    as EMCEE

  • PRESLEY DUYCK

    as Standby Sally | Kit Kat Girl

  • DAVID FENLEY

    as HERR SCHULTZ

  • GREG HULLETT

    as MAX | US Ludwig & Schultz

  • D'MARIEL JONES

    as BOBBY

  • THI LE

    as FRENCHIE | GORILLA

  • LAURA LITES

    as LULU | US Kost

  • ANIA LYONS

    as ROSIE

  • ELISE MENDOZA

    as TEXAS

  • GRACE MOORE

    as Kit Kat Girl Swing: Rosie, Fritzie, Frenchie

  • ALEXA MORGAN

    as Kit Kat Girl Swing: Rosie, Lulu, Frenchie, Gorilla

  • ANTHONY J. ORTEGA

    as HANS | US Emcee

  • PRESTON PAGE

    as CLIFFORD BRADSHAW

  • SIENNA RIEHLE

    as HERMAN | RUDY

  • CAROLINE RIVERA

    as FRÄULEIN KOST | US Schneider

  • DANNY VANEGAS

    as US Max | Kit Kat Boy Swing: Bobby, Victor, Hans, Herman

  • AARON C. WHITE

    as ERNST LUDWIG | US Cliff

  • ANDRÉ PERNELL WILLIAMS

    as VICTOR


ORCHESTRA MEMBER PHOTOS

  • VONDA K. BOWLING

    PIANO/CONDUCTOR

  • RACHEL BUNDY

    VIOLIN

  • CATHERINE CONLIN

    REED 3

  • EMMA COOK

    TRUMPET

  • HOLLIE DZIERZANOWSKI


    VIOLA

  • JULIE GRAY

    TROMBONE

  • BRITTANY HART

    BASS

  • VICKY NOOE

    KEYBOARD

  • NINI RUBIANO

    CELLO

  • CHRISTY SPRINGER

    REED 2

  • KRISTEN THOMPSON

    REED 1

  • ASHLEY WESTGATE

    DRUMS

THANK YOU MIKEY!

Thank you to local Artist & Realtor Mikey Abrams for supporting the ASHLEY NEWMAN-SCHNEIDER SCHOLARSHIP