Quad City Music Guild's “Cabaret" at the Prospect Park Auditorium -- April 10 through 19.
Friday, April 10, through Sunday, April 19
Prospect Park Auditorium, 1584 34th Avenue, Moline IL
One of American theatre's most exciting, acclaimed, and tune-filled entertainments receives a Quad City Music Guild staging in the April 10 through 19 run of Cabaret, the legendary Kander & Ebb musical that earned a combined 12 Tony Awards for Broadway's 1966 original and 1998 revival, and that was adapted into a 1972 film classic that received eight Oscars including Best Actress for Liza Minnelli and Best Director for Bob Fosse.
Based on John Van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera, itself adapted from Christopher Isherwood's 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin, Cabaret is set in 1931 Berlin as the Nazis are rising to power. This musical by composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb focuses on the nightlife at the seedy Kit Kat Klub, and revolves around young American writer Cliff Bradshaw and his relationship with English cabaret performer Sally Bowles. Overseeing the action is the Kit Kat's eccentric Master of Ceremonies, with the club serving as a metaphor for ominous political developments in late Weimar Germany. With the 1966 Broadway production running for 336 performances and its Tony wins including Best Musical and Best Featured Actor for Joel Grey (who would win a Supporting Actor Oscar for recreating his stage performance), Cabaret's hit songs include “Willkomen,” “Money,” “Maybe This Time,” "Don't Tell Mama," "Two Ladies," and Sally Bowles' torch-song rendition of the title number.
Directing and set designing Cabaret is Music Guild veteran Luke Vermeire, who also helmed such productions as Escape to Margaritaville, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn, and appeared in presentations including Kinky Boots and The Prom. Matthew Reece acts as music director, with additional members of Vermeire's creative team including: assistant director Adrienne Evans; assistant music director Mitch Carper; stage manager Lexi Fryxell; choreographer Kim Munn; assistant set designer Evan Gagliardo; costume designer Lee McLain; lighting designer Michael Turczynski; sound designer Brian Phipps props master Kori Ralston; makeup designer Nikki Murray; and producer Dan Pepper.
Stephanie Moeller, a castmate in Music Guild's Sweeney Todd whose other recent area performances include roles in the Black Box Theatre's Dial M for Murder and the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's Bad Seed, portrays Sally Bowles, with fellow Music Guild veterans John Whitson (Singin' in the Rain) playing the Emcee and Daniel Williams (The Prom) as Clifford. Additional members of Vermeire's featured cast include Valeree Pieper (Fräulein Schneider), Kevin Pieper (Herr Schultz), Drew DeKeyrel (Ernest Ludwig), and Madison Duling (Fräulein Kost).
Ten area talents compose the Cabaret Girl and Boy ensemble: Aaron Baker; Tyler Belanger; Adriana Blanco; Anna Bourke; Sara Laufer; Luis Portillo; Rebekah Riewerts; Jeremiah Viscionil; Lily Willett; and Megan Winchell. And with assistant music director Mitch Carter on piano, Cabaret's live orchestra is complemented by: Rhaena Reece (reed 1); Spencer Mason (reed 2); Ethan Peterson (trumpet); Joe Pittard (trombone); Matt Reece (accordion); Connor Lapage (drums); Andre Garcia (banjo/guitar); Mark McGinn (bass); Ellie Kuk (violin); and Breann Laermans (viola).
Quad City Music Guild's Cabaret will be staged in Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium April 10 through 19, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $15-20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-6610 and visiting QCMusicGuild.com.
