Make way for Broadway Cabaret coming soon

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Photo by Vincent Hsueh

Vocal teacher Rob Blaney directs rehearsal while accompanying on the piano.

Blinded by the spotlight, the choir steps onto the stage as they begin to rehearse the first opening number of the show.

Broadway Cabaret is a fundraiser show for the upcoming spring musical “42nd Street,” a musical about an aspiring Broadway star in the 1930s. Broadway Cabaret itself is a constantly moving performance composed of Broadway song medleys, solos and group numbers.

“I really enjoy it; it’s a really fun time, and the cast gets to know each other a lot better,” sophomore Catherine Kagoo said.

Hard work goes into preparing for the show. For group numbers, the choreography must be accurate, music must be memorized, numbers and individual songs must be rehearsed, and everyone must learn their parts for a cohesive show.

“There are 60 different Broadway songs! More than half of those are group numbers that everyone has to learn…we have to be familiar with the song, the stage and the choreography.” sophomore Haley Mitchell said.

Preparing for the big night takes both personal and group efforts in order to make the show perfect and ready for an audience to see. There is a lot of pressure to give a great performance, for the entire cast.

“It’s a lot of learning on your own,” senior Sophie Huisken said. “Then we have rehearsals where we run through the songs, and we’ll learn our parts for the group songs, and blocking rehearsals after school where we’ll try to pound through the show and get it all figured out.”

Although every member of the cast and crew puts in hours of rehearsals, ultimately the team experience of it makes it the most enjoyable. A great group of talented people makes the process much easier, and at the same time, it builds chemistry for the upcoming spring musical.

“I actually really like the rehearsals. Sometimes they’re over three hours, which doesn’t seem fun, but everyone in the cast just has fun. We are all becoming such good friends because of the show, and I’ve met so many new people,” Mitchell said. “It’s fun to be with a ton of people who all love to do the same thing as you.”

The part that makes it all worthwhile however, is the feeling of performing for an audience, where all the hard work pays off.

“I’m most excited for showing everyone what we’ve been working for and what we’ve been doing, and I hope that they enjoy it!” Kagoo said.

Broadway Cabaret will be Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. in the theatre.