On Friday, February 12, and Saturday, February 13, East High’s Theater Department put on their annual cabaret performance. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this year’s show looked a little different than those of past years, but the show must go on, and indeed it did!
This year’s theme was ‘Topsy Turvy,’ going hand in hand with the times. This entails having the usual collection of Broadway showtunes, but instead of the performers keeping their traditional roles, everything was gender swapped – guys singing girls’ numbers, and visa versa, making for an extremely entertaining and humorous night of theater.
The theater department did a great job of finding a balance between keeping both actors and audience members safe from Covid-19, and still allowing students a chance to perform in as normal a way as possible. Performers had two shows, both of which had limited audiences to allow parents and family to see it in person, with a Facebook Livestream to allow others to watch.
Desert was not handed out during intermission this year, instead providing snacks as the audience left the theater. The show took place on stage in the auditorium instead of in the Black Box like in years past, to allow for further social distancing. All actors, crew, and audience members alike wore masks as well.
The cabaret featured songs from a number of well known shows, including “The Schuyler Sisters” and “You’ll Be Back” from “Hamilton,” “Seasons of Love” from “Rent,” “Popular” from “Wicked,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from “The Little Mermaid,” “Go the Distance” from “Hercules,” and other numbers from shows like “Hadestown,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Sound of Music,” “Waitress,” “Les Miserables,” “Frozen,” and “Dear Evan Hansen.”
All in all, I’d say this year’s cabaret was a success! Everyone on stage was clearly having a great time, and it showed in their performances, becoming contagious in the best way possible. For both Broadway fans and those unused to showtunes, it was an amazing way to bring back live theater for a few nights!