Tickets are now on sale for OSU Theatre’s last mainstage production of the academic year, the smash Broadway musical ‘Cabaret,’ running April 22-26.
One reason OSU Theatre chose ‘Cabaret’ for this year’s season is because of the national interest. It has been revived several times recently, playing in New York with Alan Cumming as the Master of Ceremonies just last year. ‘Cabaret’ opened on Broadway in 1966 with the Tony-winning Joel Gray as the MC, a role he reprised in the movie version in 1972. The film made Liza Minnelli a star; she won the Academy Award as the tragic show girl Sally Bowles.
‘Cabaret’ provides a glimpse into a unique moment in German history between the two world wars. The country was in ruins and the Nazis were on the rise, but Berlin was experiencing a renaissance in its arts and letters. It also enjoyed a free-spirited and oftentimes bawdy nightlife, with the cabaret at its center. Based on Christopher Isherwood’s 1939 novella ‘Goodbye to Berlin,’ the musical tells the fictional story of the doomed romance between American writer Cliff Bradshaw and cabaret performer Sally Bowles, who are caught in the very real web of economic collapse, anti-Semitism, and Fascism. 
B. Peter Westerhoff helms OSU’s production, serving as both director and choreographer. “We’re trying to capture the feel of the nightclub scene in 1930s Berlin,” says Westerhoff. “Everyone was broke so it was not like they could afford a lot of production value. We also know that in 1931 Hitler and his National Socialists were exercising their newfound political clout. There’s lots of tension and contrast in the story, and we’re trying to do this difficult period of time justice.” When asked about the cabaret routines, Westerhoff says, “We’ve got a lot of people on stage, lots of dance. We teach jazz and tap, and the students are doing great. The subject matter may be dark, but it’s very entertaining.”
The three principal roles are Sally Bowles, played by senior Kash Clemishire, Cliff Bradshaw, by senior Jacob Brockunier, and junior Paul Knapp as the MC. All are theatre majors and regulars on the OSU main stage.
Assisting Westerhoff in mounting the production is Natasa Karaca, instructor in the Department of Music, as vocal director, and Associate Professor of Music Eric Garcia as the conductor of the student orchestra. Collaborators include two very special guest artists, lighting designer Denis Hutchinson and costume designer Fred Deeben, both funded in part by the College of Arts and Sciences. Hutchinson flew in from South Africa where he designs for professional and university theatre; he has also designed for notable productions in New York, London, Germany, Switzerland and Australia. Deeben has spent fourteen years as the Resident Designer and Crafts Supervisor at Pacific Conservatory Theater in Santa Maria, CA, as well as designing for other universities and theatres across the country. Set design is by Heidi Hoffer and stage combat by Lloyd Caldwell, both of the Department of Theatre.
Please note that the production is for mature audiences only.
The performances run Wednesday, April 22 through Saturday, April 25 at 7:30 pm and Sunday afternoon, April 26 at 2:30 pm. All performances are in the Vivia Locke Theatre of the Seretean Center for the Performing Arts. Box Office information and links to on-line credit card purchases may be found on the departmental website: theatre.okstate.edu or by calling (405) 744-6094.