COACHELLA VALLEY REPERTORY (CVRep) continues its 2023-2024 Season with an immersive, one-of-a-kind production of CABARET, which runs Jan. 24-Feb. 11, 2024. Winner of 14 Tony Awards (original production and revivals) and nine Olivier Awards (original London production and revivals), CABARET is based on a play by John Van Druen and stories by Christopher Isherwood, with book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. CABAET will be directed by CVRep Executive Artistic Director Adam Karsten.
Riveting and sometimes chilling, Karsten’s vision portrays a time and place that compels audiences to answer one question: What would you do? Karsten said, “Everything about the design tries to viscerally convey a feeling of oppression, of being watched, of coercion and repression. We want our audience to experience the mood and feeling of late ‘20s Berlin between the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi Party. It is important to know all of the ingredients that led to those events. From the moment you step into our lobby, audiences will have a look at WWI, the Treaty of Versailles, the German first depression, the devaluation of the Deutsche mark, and how it crippled the Germans’ efforts to establish a legitimate government. and, consequently, enabling the rise of the NDSP, the SS and the eventual Third Reich – and into the world of CABARET. We will explore the human element and how individuals were forced to deal with those changes. All of which lead to that important question: What would you do?”
The cast includes Broadway’s Kirsten Howe (Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Annie) in the role of the Emcee and Marrick Smith (Fun Home) as Cliff, and Erin Stoddard (Broadway’s 42nd St, Beauty and the Beast) as Fraulein Kost. The cast also features Leslie Tinnaro as Fraulein Schneider, Cecily Dowd as Sally Bowles, Fred Frabotta as Herr Schultz, and Ben Sears as Ernst. The notorious Kit Kat Girls and Boys are Amber Lux Archer, Alli Bossart, Beverly Durand, Gabriela Garcia, Rachel Kay, Emily Unnasch, Charles Bostick, Erik Scott Romney and J. Pablo Stewart.
Adam Karsten, will direct, Karen Sieber is the choreographer, and Brent-Allan Huffman is music director and conductor. Scenic design is by Jimmy Cuomo, costumes by Hannah Chalman, hair and makeup by Lynda Shaeps. Technical director and lighting designer is Moira Wilkie Whitaker, sound design is Joshua Adams, and stage manager is John M. Galo.
In addition to CABARET, this half of CVRep’s 2023-2024 Season includes the hysterically funny POTUS: OR BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE (a political farce direct from Broadway and suitable for both sides of the aisle), and George and Ira Gershwin’s beloved, timeless and wonderful musical, NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT.
CABARET runs Jan. 24-Feb. 11, 2024. Performances are Wednesdays & Saturdays (January 24, 27, 31 & February 3, 6, 10) at 2 and 7 p.m.; Thursdays & Fridays (January 24, 25, February 1 & 2, February 8 & 9) at 7 p.m.; Sundays (January 20, February 4 & February 11) at 2 p.m. Talkback Thursdays will be held immediately after the Thursday, February 1 performance. Talkbacks offer audience members the opportunity to discuss the plays with the directors and casts.
Tickets are available online at www.cvrep.org, by calling (760) 296-2966, ext. 115, or at the CVRep box office located at 68510 East Palm Canyon Dr., Cathedral City. Box office hours are Monday-Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and two hours prior to performances. Group tickets are available and can be arranged by calling the box office.
