DAC Stage, in collaboration with The Lipstick Project, is producing the first ever all-female cast of Kander and Ebb’s musical, Cabaret.
The show will open on April 27 and run three weekends at the DAC’s Weatherstone Studio. For this special production, Darien Arts Center Stage, the DAC’s community theatre group, has augmented their pool of talent with that of The Lipstick Project, an all-female theatre group from Darien and surrounding towns, with a mission of empowering women through artistic opportunity and expression.
— an announcement from Darien Arts Center
The original Cabaret debuted on Broadway in 1966 and returned in 1998 for a successful six-year run. It takes place in a Berlin nightclub, as the 1920s draw to a close.
Photo from Darien Arts Center
Rehearsing songs for Cabaret on the DAC Stage
A garish Master of Ceremonies welcomes audiences and assures them they will forget all their troubles at the Cabaret. With the Emcee’s bawdy songs as wry commentary, Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich.
Musical numbers include “Willkommen,” “Cabaret,” “Don’t Tell Mama” and “Two Ladies.”
The DAC Stage production includes a cast of twenty-one and is directed by Carin Zakes and produced by Darien resident Nova Hall. Other Darien residents include musical director Dwayne Condon, ensemble members Susan Helms, Holly Jesperson, Amy Rissolo and Amy Wade, and Kit Kat girl Hilary Webster.
Also cast in the musical are Julie-Thaxter-Gourlay as the Emcee, Abigail Henderson as Cliff, Rachel Schulte as Sally, Betty McCready as Fraulein Schneider, Marilyn Olsen as Herr Schultz, Megan Kellogg as Fraulein Kost and Shelley Lepetich as Ernst.
Other Kit Kat dancers include Claire Kenny, Christina Kompar, Ashley Mondestin, Kelly Nayden, Sarah Sherwood, Grace Simmons and Justine Weisinger. Ensemble members also include Dina Fleishman and Angela Jackson.
- The DAC is seeking funding for its production through The Impact Vine, an initiative founded by the Community Fund of Darien. To support the DAC Stage production of Cabaret, please visit, theimpactvine.org.
- The Impact Vine is an online giving platform that allows donors to support projects they are passionate about, and local nonprofits to raise funds for socially impactful projects in the community.
- Donations will help pay for musical direction, musicians and costuming. DAC Stage is hoping local residents will support this initiative in addition to attending the show, and is seeking $3,100 in funding.
Cabaret is produced at the DAC by arrangement with Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc.
If You’re Going …
Performances take place on April 27, 28, May 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. and on April 29 and May 6 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $30 ($25 for students and seniors), and are available at the DAC website. To support the Darien Arts Center’s all-female production of Cabaret, please visit, theimpactvine.org.
The DAC Weatherstone Studio is located at 2 Renshaw Road in Darien, behind the Town Hall. For questions, please call (203) 655-8683.
Editor’s note: If you can’t wait for Cabaret, you might be interested in “Babylon Berlin,” a dark and risque series on Netflix.