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Cabaret

September 1 – October 15, 2023
(Opening night: Wednesday, September 6)

Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage
Old Globe Theatre
Conrad Prebys Theatre Center

An Asolo Repertory Theatre Production
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to Cabaret! It’s 1931 Berlin, and inside the Kit Kat Klub, British nightclub singer Sally Bowles keeps the delirious party raging. But no amount of booze, music, and dancing can slow the ominous march of a changing Germany as it draws ever closer. Featuring an iconic score from Kander and Ebb—including “Maybe This Time,” “Mein Herr,” “Don’t Tell Mama,” and, of course, the title song—this Tony Award–winning musical is reimagined in a visionary new staging by Globe favorite Josh Rhodes (Guys and DollsBright Star). BroadwayWorld calls this production, “Hands down the most cohesive, well-rounded, fully conceptualized staging of this musical that I have seen to date. My friends, this is how you do Cabaret.”

Cabaret contains mature content and sexual situations.

An earlier version of this production of Cabaret premiered at Asolo Repertory Theatre (Michael Donald Edwards, Producing Artistic Director; Linda DiGabriele, Managing Director) in November 2022.

Cabaret is supported by major production sponsors Elaine and Dave* Darwin, Pamela Farr and Buford Alexander, HM Electronics, Inc., Darlene Marcos Shiley, and Karen and Stuart Tanz; production sponsors Jules and Michele Arthur and The Joseph Cohen and Martha Farish New Play Development Fund; and artist sponsors Alicia and Jonathan Atun (for director and choreographer Josh Rhodes) and California Bank & Trust (for Lincoln Clauss), Gail and Doug Hutcheson (for Joanna A. Jones), and Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs (for music director and orchestra). *In memoriam.

Vicki and Carl Zeiger Insights Seminar: Tuesday, September 5 at 6:00 p.m.

Post Show Forum: Tuesday, September 12; Wednesday, September 13; and Wednesday, September 27.

Digital Program

Download the program PDF

Press Release

Reviews

“A dazzling, innovative, and visually stunning production.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

“There isn’t a single weak link in this fabulous cast, nor in the excellent nine-member orchestra.” —San Diego Stage and Screen

“A wondrous revival brilliantly guided by director/choreographer Josh Rhodes!” —Stage and Cinema

“This Cabaret delivers worth-the-price-of-your-ticket entertainment!” —Stage West

Cast and Creatives

Cast

Creatives

Joe Masteroff (Book) (1919–2018) had one dream from infancy: to write for the theatre. After a four-year stint in the Air Force, he came to New York to face his future: book writer or book seller? Before long he had three shows on Broadway bearing his name: The Warm Peninsula starring Julie Harris, and two musicals, She Loves Me and Cabaret, for which he was the book writer. His other work included the libretto for 70, Girls, 70 and Desire Under the Elms,and book and lyrics for Six Wives and Paramour. Thanks to indulgent parents, the New Dramatists, Hal Prince, and many others, Masteroff retired and lived in subdued luxury until his death.

John Van Druten (Original Play) (1901–1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London and later moved to America, becoming a US citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observations of contemporary life and society.

Christopher Isherwood (Original Stories) (1904–1986) was a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. He was homosexual and made this a theme of some of his writing. He was born near Manchester in the north of England in 1904, became a U.S. citizen in 1946, and died at home in Santa Monica, California, in January 1986.

John Kander (Music) is a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award–winning composer, recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor, and member of the American Theater Hall of Fame. With frequent collaborator Fred Ebb, he composed the scores to dozens of Broadway musicals, including Cabaret, Zorba, Chicago, The Act, Woman of the Year, The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Steel Pier.

Fred Ebb (Lyrics) (1928–2004) Award-winning lyricist, librettist, and director who frequently collaborated with composer John Kander. Theatre: Flora the Red Menace; Cabaret; The Happy Time; Zorba; 70, Girls, 70; Chicago; The Act; Woman of the Year; 2x5; The Rink; And the World Goes ’Round; Kiss of the Spider Woman; Steel Pier; The Skin of Our Teeth; Curtains. Film: Cabaret; Norman Rockwell: A Short Subject; Lucky Lady; New York, New York; Funny Lady; Kramer vs. Kramer; A Matter of Time; Places in the Heart; French Postcards; Stepping Out; Chicago. Television: Liza with a Z; Goldie and Liza Together; Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back; Baryshnikov on Broadway; An Early Frost; Liza in London.

Josh Rhodes (Director and Choreographer) The Old Globe: Guys and Dolls, Baskerville, Bright Star, Working. Broadway: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, It Shoulda Been You, First Date, Bright Star. West End: Carousel, Sweeney Todd. NY City Center Encores!: Dear World, Mack & Mabel, Grand Hotel. Regional theatre: Spamalot, The Who’s Tommy (Kennedy Center), Cabaret, Hair, Evita, Guys and Dolls, Sound of Music, Knoxville (Asolo Rep), Chess, Paint Your Wagon, Jersey Boys (The Muny). Television: Sweeney Todd, Company, Sondheim! The Birthday Concert (PBS). Film: Beau, The Musical.

Tijana Bjelajac (Scenic Design) Los Angeles–based, international set designer and visual artist; works include set designs, paintings, installations, and sculptures. Selected credits: Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors (Capital Rep, Off Broadway September 2023), The Little Mermaid (Sierra Rep), Cabaret (Asolo Rep), Beauty and the Beast (Misi Productions, Colombia), Othello (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), My Fair Lady (New Harmony). As associate designer: The Magic Flute (Opera Australia), The Egyptian Helen (Teatro alla Scala), Little Shop of Horrors (Westside Theatre). Honors: Kahn Award, BroadwayWorld Awards for Best Scenic Design. teeyana.com, @tijanabjelajac on Instagram.

Alejo Vietti (Costume Design) The Old Globe: Crime and Punishment, A Comedy, Lost in Yonkers, Engaging Shaw, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Broadway Bound, Allegiance, Familiar, The Underpants. Broadway: Allegiance (Drama Desk nomination), Beautiful (West End, Japan, Australia, U.K. tour, U.S. tour; Olivier nomination), Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn. Selected Off Broadway: Titanique (Lucille Lortel Award), Amy and the Orphans (Roundabout), Storefront Church (Atlantic), Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Nightingale (MTC). Others: Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, Kennedy Center, City Center’s Encores!, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Minnesota Opera,Donesk Opera (Ukraine), Colorado Ballet. International: Hunchback of Notre Dame (Japan, Germany, Austria), West Side Story (world tour), Barnum & Bailey Circus. Honors: 2010 TDF/Irene Sharaff Young Master Award. @alejo_vietti_costume_design on Instagram.

Cory Pattak (Co-Lighting Design) The Old Globe: Dog and Pony. NYC: The Lucky Star, Final Follies, Stalking the Bogeyman, Handle with Care, Skippyjon Jones, Unlocked. Regional: Resident Lighting Designer for Broadway Center Stage at The Kennedy Center; Weston Playhouse, Portland Stage, Ordway, Goodspeed, KC Rep, Everyman, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Asolo Rep, Miami New Drama, Olney Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare, Tuacahn Center, Ogunquit Playhouse. Other: In the Heights in Puerto Rico, shows for Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises. National tour: Flashdance. International: Sunset Boulevard, Singin’ in the Rain, Pretty Woman (Brazil). Upcoming: Spamalot (Broadway), A Wonderful World (New Orleans, Chicago), The Great Gatsby (Paper Mill). corypattak.com. @corypattak on Instagram.

Paul Vaillancourt (Co-Lighting Design) Off Broadway: Off Peak (59E59). Regional: Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them (Kitchen Theatre Company), Soft, Fifth Planet (Williamstown Theatre Festival), The Burdens (Miles Square Theatre), October Storm (Hudson Stage Company). pvaillancourtdesigns.com.

Haley Parcher (Sound Design) Seattle-based sound designer. Recent design credits: Guys and Dolls, Sunset Boulevard, Spamalot (Kennedy Center), Beauty and the Beast, The Wiz, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, And So That Happened (5th Avenue Theatre), Mamma Mia! (Village Theatre), How Can I Love You (Cave B), American Idiot, Violet, The Nance, The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion, We’ve Battled Monsters Before (ArtsWest).

Michelle Hart (Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design) (she/her) Credits: Sarasota Ballet, Palm Beach Dramaworks, freeFall Theatre, Urbanite Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Banyan Theatre, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Venice Theatre, Dorset Theatre, Barrington Stage, OpenStage Theatre. Additional hair and/or makeup: Joan Rivers, Doris Roberts, Martin Short, Jane Russell, Arlene Dahl, Soledad Villamil, Jane Pauley, Richard Dreyfuss, Castille Landon, Christopher Higgins, Mary Mara, Heather Robb, Lauren Sweetser, Justin Long, Paul Downs, Douglas Sills, Nia Hills. Music videos: “Second Chance” by Shinedown, “Reverse Cowgirl” by T-Pain. Film/TV: Lady of the Manor; Paradise, FL; The Real Stephen Blatt. Other: Resident Hair/Wig & Make-up Designer for Asolo Repertory Theatre, FSU/Asolo Conservatory.

Robert Meffe (Music Director) Broadway: associate conductor for Little Women, the last six years of Les Misérables; keyboards for the 2012 revival of Evita, Newsies, The Phantom of the Opera, Avenue Q, Spelling Bee, Grey Gardens, Bombay Dreams. National tours: music director for Evita, The Phantom of the Opera;associate conductor for Les Misérables, Sunday in the Park with George. Off Broadway: Myths and Hymns, Violet, The Prince and the Pauper, Gutenberg! The Musical! Television: “Encore!” (Disney+), Earth to America (TBS), “Live at Lincoln Center: Renée Fleming” (PBS). Other: head of the M.F.A. Musical Theatre Program at San Diego State University.

Angela Steiner (Additional Arrangements) (she/her/hers) The Old Globe: Hair. Regional: A Little Night Music, Rattlesnake Kate, Indecent, The Who’s Tommy, Oklahoma!, Twelfth Night, A Christmas Carol (Denver Center for the Performing Arts), Crazy for You, Cabaret, Sweeney Todd (Asolo Repertory), Cabaret (Barrington Stage), Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Geva Theatre). Education: B.M. in Piano Performance and Piano Accompanying from Wichita State University, M.M. in Collaborative Piano from University of Northern Colorado. angelasteiner.com.

Rachel Flesher (Fight Director and Intimacy Staging) The Old Globe: Destiny of Desire, Dial M for Murder. Theatre: Cassils’s Human Measure (REDCAT), There’s Always the Hudson (Woolly Mammoth), Relentless, Twilight Bowl (Goodman Theatre), Kill Move Paradise, Rutherford and Son, In the Next Room (TimeLine Theatre), The Pillowman, Wolf Play, Hang Man (Gift Theatre), The Most Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, The Burials, Constellations (Steppenwolf Theatre). Television: intimacy coordination for shows on Netflix, FX, Fox, HBO, Paramount+, CBS, Hulu, Showtime, ABC. Honors: SAG-recognized Intimacy Coordinator, certified Intimacy Director and Intimacy Coordinator, certified Fight Instructor, Fight Director with Fight Directors Canada.

DeWanda Smith Soeder (Cultural Competency Consultant) President of Smith-Soeder Enterprises, LLC; Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) strategist who developed her cultural competency process based on her research thesis, “Theatre as a Diversity Intervention.” Notable consulting engagements: Hadestown (Broadway, national tour), Little Shop of Horrors (Off Broadway),Asolo Repertory Theatre,Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Education: M.A. in Psychology; Certified Diversity Professional (CDP); Prosci Certified Change Practitioner, Instructional Design and Development, Human Behavior and Interaction, Emotional Intelligence; adjunct professor of Psychology.

Lee Wilkins (Associate Director) The Old Globe: Guys and Dolls, Bright Star. Broadway, as associate choreographer: Bright Star, It Shoulda Been You, First Date, Cinderella. Other: Chess, Joseph…, Seven Brides…, Paint Your Wagon, Jersey Boys (The MUNY), Carousel (English National Opera), Dear World, Mack & Mabel, Grand Hotel, Big River (Encores!), Cabaret, Sound of Music, Evita, Guys and Dolls (Asolo), SPAMalot (5th Avenue), On the Town (LA Philharmonic), Company (Avery Fisher Hall), Minsky’s (Ahmanson). Television: “The Late Show” (CBS), “Hatfields and McCoys” (NBC pilot), “Alpha House” (Amazon). Direction: D23 (Disney), NBC Upfront (Radio City Music Hall), Little Mermaid (Casa Mañana), First Date (Straz Center). Broadway, as performer: original cast of Elf, SPAMalot, Wonderful Town, Kiss Me, Kate. leealanwilkins.com, @leeawilkins on Instagram.

Tara Rubin Casting (Casting) The Old Globe: The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Dancin’, Scrooge, Despereaux, Gods of Comedy, Life After, Heart of Rock & Roll, Much Ado, Tempest, Guys and Dolls, Othello, Two Gentlemen, Dog and Pony, Room with a View, others. Selected Broadway: Back to the Future, Here Lies Love, Bad Cinderella, Dancin’, KPOP, Mr. Saturday Night, Six, Ain’t Too Proud, Band’s Visit, Sunset Boulevard, Dear Evan Hansen, Cats, Falsettos, School of Rock, Aladdin, Billy Elliot, Shrek, Spamalot, Spelling Bee, The Producers, Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys, Phantom of the Opera. Selected Off Broadway: Sing Street, Trevor, Between the Lines, Gloria: A Life. Film: Here Today.

Emmelyn Thayer (Dialect Coach) The Old Globe: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dial M for Murder. Regional: Noises Off, Sweeney Todd, Man from Nebraska, Private Lives, History Boys (Cygnet Theatre), Good People (Carlsbad Playreaders), Frozen (ion theatre company). The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program: Voice and Speech faculty; Cloud 9, Rites of Passage, Measure for Measure, Mother Courage and Her Children, Thesis Night, 12 Ophelias. USD Department of Theatre: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge, The Mail Order Bride, Arcadia. Honors: Horrigan Award, Craig Noel M.F.A Fellowship. emmelynthayer.com.

Anjee Nero (Production Stage Manager) The Old Globe: Destiny of Desire, Come Fall in Love, Almost Famous, The Gardens of Anuncia, The Heart of Rock & Roll, Bright Star, Allegiance, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Benny & Joon, October Sky, Rocky Horror Show, Life After, The Wanderers, Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show, The Twenty-Seventh Man, A Room with a View, Kingdom, The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, Be a Good Little Widow, more. Broadway: Bright Star. Regional highlights: Bright Star (Kennedy Center), Fly, Sideways, Ruined, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Herringbone, The Seven (La Jolla Playhouse), Ruined (Huntington Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Kiss Me, Kate (Hartford Stage), Venice (Center Theatre Group), Antigone (SITI Company).

Amanda Salmons (Assistant Stage Manager) The Old Globe: Destiny of Desire, Come Fall in Love, Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, Life After, The Blameless, American Mariachi, October Sky, Rain, The Metromaniacs, The White Snake, Inherit the Wind, over 30 more productions. Regional: Blueprints to Freedom: An Ode to Bayard Rustin (La Jolla Playhouse), Kiss Me, Kate (Hartford Stage), The Foreigner, See How They Run, The Rivalry (Lamb’s Players Theatre), The Gondoliers, The Pirates of Penzance, Candide, Trial by Jury (Lyric Opera San Diego). Education: UC San Diego.

Kendra Stockton (Stage Management Swing) The Old Globe: The XIXth, Come Fall in Love, The Taming of the Shrew, Trouble in Mind, Hair, Almost Famous, As You Like It, The Gods of Comedy, Familiar, Clint Black’s Looking for Christmas, Much Ado About Nothing, Benny & Joon, October Sky, Bright Star, Dog and Pony, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (as production assistant). Regional: House of Joy (San Diego Rep), Home of the Brave, #SuperShinySara, Guards at the Taj, The Orphan of Zhao, The Who & The What (La Jolla Playhouse), The Loneliest Girl in the World (Diversionary Theatre), miXtape (Lamb’s Players Theatre), White Christmas (San Diego Musical Theatre).

Asolo Repertory Theatre (Co-Presenter) In its 65th season, Asolo Repertory Theatre is recognized as one of the premier professional theatres in America and located in Sarasota, Florida. Operating in true rotating repertory, its skilled actors and craftsmanship breathe life into this distinctive method, allowing audiences to enjoy multiple productions within days. Presenting up to six annual shows, from classics to contemporaries and bold musicals, Asolo Rep thrives as a self-contained theatre district. Collaborating with top industry artists and nurturing emerging talents through FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, the theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director Peter Rothstein and Managing Director Ross Egan, crafts innovative performances and inclusive community programs, securing its legacy. Explore more at asolorep.org.

Photos

Production Photos

Joanna A. Jones as Sally Bowles in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Joanna A. Jones as Sally Bowles in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Lincoln Clauss as Emcee in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Lincoln Clauss as Emcee in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Lincoln Clauss as Emcee in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Lincoln Clauss as Emcee in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
The cast of Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
The cast of Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
The cast of Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
The cast of Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
The cast of Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
The cast of Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Bruce Sabath as Herr Schultz and Kelly Lester as Fräulein Schneider in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Bruce Sabath as Herr Schultz and Kelly Lester as Fräulein Schneider in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
The cast of Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
The cast of Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Joanna A. Jones as Sally Bowles (front) with Brandon Halvorsen as Victor and Yoni Haller as Herman in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Joanna A. Jones as Sally Bowles (front) with Brandon Halvorsen as Victor and Yoni Haller as Herman in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Joanna A. Jones as Sally Bowles and Alan Chandler as Clifford Bradshaw in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.
Joanna A. Jones as Sally Bowles and Alan Chandler as Clifford Bradshaw in The Old Globe’s Cabaret. Photo by Jim Cox.

Publicity Photos

Director and choreographer Josh Rhodes.
Director and choreographer Josh Rhodes.