Cabaret Troupe sings songs of sin
Hilary Knecht
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Sloth, gluttony and pride will be among the main themes addressed in the upcoming performance of Cabaret Troupe's musical revue, "The Seven Deadly Sins."
Through songs, dance and color, Cabaret Troupe provides its own interpretation of "The Seven Deadly Sins."
The production team picked many musical numbers, including "Pandemonium" from "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," "Be Prepared" from "The Lion King" and "Great Big Stuff" from "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," which were all also used to represent the sins.
Director Rachelle Heger '12, Assistant Director Grady Gund and Choreographer Willa Mayo '12 lead the group. Music Director Paige Hempe also helped conduct the rehearsals.
It was most of the staff's first time doing either choreography or directing of this kind. Heger had only directed plays before, never dance and music. "It's a process of running songs, teaching and getting people to focus," she said.
Accompanied by Mayo, the staff met over the summer to choose the songs the troupe would perform in "The Seven Deadly Sins." There were many things they took into account when choosing the songs. Questions like how many people would perform in each song, what the pace of the song was going to be and whether the song was upbeat or not were taken into consideration.
They wanted the sins to remain in the order in which they are in the Bible, while still picking songs that would spark student interest. "We wanted people to see the song list and say 'I want to be in that,'" Heger said.
Several choices in particular made students excited to rehearse. "I'm really excited for 'Cell Block Tango' because it's a great number," said Abby Bowling '12. "I've never been in a production of 'Chicago.'"
Mayo choreographed all of the dances performed by the 21 cast members. Mayo, who also performs in "Cell Block Tango," said, "It's really fun, but stressful. It's coming together. We've made a lot of progress."
Mayo, Gund and Heger all agreed the show is a huge learning experience for everyone involved. "The cast cares about the show and wants it to look good," Hegar said.
The directors consider "Kings of New York" from "Newsies" to be their biggest accomplishment. After a lot of extra rehearsals for the big dance number, that song has come far. "The cast is really committed to the process," Gund said.
Everybody is excited for the show. First-year Cabaret Troupe member Sandra Stonebraker '13 said, "I think the cast has really come together through the stress and chaos," she said. "Not as if it's bad stress and chaos."
Beth Svenningsen '13 agreed. "We have bonded over stress and lots of rehearsals,"she said.
"The Seven Deadly Sins" will be performed at 8 p.m. on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8 in Filene Recital Hall.
Through songs, dance and color, Cabaret Troupe provides its own interpretation of "The Seven Deadly Sins."
The production team picked many musical numbers, including "Pandemonium" from "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," "Be Prepared" from "The Lion King" and "Great Big Stuff" from "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," which were all also used to represent the sins.
Director Rachelle Heger '12, Assistant Director Grady Gund and Choreographer Willa Mayo '12 lead the group. Music Director Paige Hempe also helped conduct the rehearsals.
It was most of the staff's first time doing either choreography or directing of this kind. Heger had only directed plays before, never dance and music. "It's a process of running songs, teaching and getting people to focus," she said.
Accompanied by Mayo, the staff met over the summer to choose the songs the troupe would perform in "The Seven Deadly Sins." There were many things they took into account when choosing the songs. Questions like how many people would perform in each song, what the pace of the song was going to be and whether the song was upbeat or not were taken into consideration.
They wanted the sins to remain in the order in which they are in the Bible, while still picking songs that would spark student interest. "We wanted people to see the song list and say 'I want to be in that,'" Heger said.
Several choices in particular made students excited to rehearse. "I'm really excited for 'Cell Block Tango' because it's a great number," said Abby Bowling '12. "I've never been in a production of 'Chicago.'"
Mayo choreographed all of the dances performed by the 21 cast members. Mayo, who also performs in "Cell Block Tango," said, "It's really fun, but stressful. It's coming together. We've made a lot of progress."
Mayo, Gund and Heger all agreed the show is a huge learning experience for everyone involved. "The cast cares about the show and wants it to look good," Hegar said.
The directors consider "Kings of New York" from "Newsies" to be their biggest accomplishment. After a lot of extra rehearsals for the big dance number, that song has come far. "The cast is really committed to the process," Gund said.
Everybody is excited for the show. First-year Cabaret Troupe member Sandra Stonebraker '13 said, "I think the cast has really come together through the stress and chaos," she said. "Not as if it's bad stress and chaos."
Beth Svenningsen '13 agreed. "We have bonded over stress and lots of rehearsals,"she said.
"The Seven Deadly Sins" will be performed at 8 p.m. on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8 in Filene Recital Hall.
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