The School of Theatre and Dance and the School of Music at Illinois State University will present the Tony Award-winning musical Cabaret, opening Thursday, Feb. 12, and running through Saturday, Feb. 21, in the University’s Center for the Performing Arts.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21, with matinees at 2 p.m. Feb. 14, and 3 p.m. Feb. 15. Tickets are $17 for adults and $12 for students and seniors, and can be purchased at the College of Fine Arts Box Office, located in the Center for the Performing Arts, by phone at (309) 438-2535, or online at ticketmaster.com.
Cabaret, with book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb and music by John Kander, follows the lives of songstress Sally Bowles, the Master of Ceremonies and the girls and boys of the Kit Kat Klub in Berlin in 1929. The American stock market has crashed, the mark is suddenly uncertain, the Nazis are growing more powerful and the characters urge everyone to “Come to the Cabaret.”
The director, Assistant Professor Duane Boutté, brings the experience of his work as a professional Broadway actor, including performance in the original Broadway production of Parade, directed by Hal Prince, to juxtapose the provocative spectacle of the production with the underlying political and social contexts. Boutté noted, “Cabaret does not judge sexuality, but it presents an environment in which fascist extremism grows shielded by the sexual and social excitement of late 1920s Berlin.”
The production team includes musical direction by Professor Karyl Carlson, vocal direction by Mark Gizzard, choreography by dance performance major Tiffany Reich, and scenic design by Master of Fine Arts design candidate Jen Kazmierczak.
The first week of performances has been scheduled to overlap with the 2015 Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference (MBLGTACC). Attendees of the conference get special discounted tickets to the show.
