Previews

photo by Jon Gardiner

    Previews are well under way for the Playmakers Repertory production of Cabaret and it has been a wild ride thus far! When I got to the theater on Tuesday night for our invited final dress I found out that the cast was in for quite a rare evening. Very quickly things felt like an episode right out of something written by Aaron Sorkin. We were informed that some virus dubbed by us "The Plague" had taken down several members of our artistic team Tuesday morning and had left several actors quite unwell. In the final tally, I believe we had ten members of the team affected by the phantom virus. But of course in the theater the show must go on! And boy did it! You would never have known that anyone was sick by the way the audience responded to our performance! It felt amazing to finally have an audience and once it was over we all made sure to get plenty of rest (because little did we know, "The Plague" was not done making its rounds.) We had a photographer from The Daily Tar Heel, UNC Chapel Hill's Campus Paper, as well as Playmakers photographer Jon Gardiner snapping photos that evening.

Taylor Mac as the "Emcee." And yes, how did you know, that is my stripped shoulder down right! Front Page of the Daily Tar Heel on Wednesday April 3, 2013! Photo by Halle Sinnott

Lisa Brescia as "Sally Bowles" Photo by John Gardiner

Lisa Brescia and John Dreher (Cliff Bradshaw). Photo by Jon Gardiner

     In the grand scheme of things, the little upset of sickness was not large enough to take anyone down or affect the show in any fashion. We had our first official preview last night in which we had our first curtain call. I had tried out some new makeup ideas but they turned out to be a bit much (what are previews for if not experimenting!)

    Previews are an existing time because elements of the show keep changing as we find out what works and does not work for our audiences. So far there have been no large changes and as we get closer to opening on Saturday everything is feeling much more complete and ready. The show is a lot of fun! Of course, it is also quite serious, but you do get a fair share of flashy cabaret numbers and powerful vocals from both Lisa and Taylor.

    If you're a performer in any fashion, you know that the audience brings a show to life. Having members of the community the last two nights has been such a treat. I believe the excitement of a show comes in stages. There is the initial read through when everyone gets together, there is the first run thru, then there is the first time performing with the set, with the costumes, with the band, and finally a paying audience. I was visited last night by a truly marvelous audience member, my wonderful friend Haley and she brought me flowers!

    My buddies Zach Moon (Left) (who I shared the stage with in "Three Days of Rain") and Matthew Hager (Right) (who I shared the stage with in my first production at UNC "From Up Here") also came to see the show last night!

    Come taste the wine. Come hear the band! Cabaret opens Saturday and we would all love nothing more than for you to come share this work with us! There is one fifteen minute intermission and there will be plenty of snacks! Until next time friends! Enjoy the show!

"WILKOMEN" (I am down right in the stripes in the midriff with the white pants.) Photo by Jon Gardiner

The cast striking a final pose! Photo by Jon Gardiner

Cabaret opens April 3 and runs thru April 21. Get your tickets today!!
Box Office Hours are 12pm-6pm Monday-Friday, and two hours prior to every performance. 919.962.PLAY (7529) Visit the Playmakers website for more information.