The Hangar Theatre has revealed casting for its upcoming summer production of John Kander and Fred Ebb's Cabaret. Co-directed and choreographed by Sanaz Ghajar and Ben Hobbs, the production will play the Ithaca, New York, theatre's Niederkorn Stage June 30–July 16.
Trevor McQueen, Candice Hatakeyama, and Alex Hanna lead the company as the Emcee, Sally Bowles, and Cliff, respectively, appearing alongside Molly Bremer, Sebastien Diaquoi, Fred Frabotta, Jasmine Gobourne, Heidi Hayes, Kuppi Alec Jessop, Madalyn Macko, Kobe McKelvey, Brianna Puma, Justine Horihata Rappaport, Caleb Wilson Schaaf, Ema Zivkovic, and Cullen Zeno. Kamau Nosakhere, Owen Harrison, and Liz Gilmartin round out the company as understudies.
Ghajar and Hobbs' creative team includes set designer Meredith Ries, costume designer Amanda Gladu, lighting designer Christopher Chambers, sound designer Jeremiah Turner, and projection designer Stivo Arnoczy.
"The Hangar has never produced the celebrated 1998 revival version of the show, with a revised book and song order that makes it more timely and relevant than ever, while still embracing Cabaret's incredibly memorable score and specific style,” says Artistic Director Shirley Serotsky in a statement. “When we were selecting our season in the fall, I turned on the news one day and they were talking about a school in Texas where an administrator had advised educators that if they wanted to teach the Holocaust in their classrooms, they'd need to find a book that presented an 'opposing' perspective, as well as the books that address the actual history. Hearing that cemented the choice of Cabaret for me. I'm honored to have several Holocaust survivors in my circle of friends; they've been colleagues and mentors to me. To hear someone question the reality of this harrowing, history-defining period of time assured me that this incredible story about what can happen when power, prejudice, and hate gain hold in a nation and its people needed to be told, now."
"To survive systemic oppression we need artists and culture, community and celebration,” adds Ghajar. "Spaces where we are able to exercise freedom of expression are necessary to recover our shared humanity in the wake of national and global trauma. The cyclical nature of history demands constant reclamation, and the tension between our individual and collective livelihoods lays bare what we are truly made of. This is the drama that drives Cabaret, setting up an experience that asks the audience, 'What would you do? My brave young friend?'"
For more information, visit HangarTheatre.org.
