Amarillo Little Theatre presents 'Cabaret': A musical in times of turmoil

Amarillo Little Theatre (ALT) will present the classic production “Cabaret” Feb. 3 through Feb. 20.

“'Cabaret' is one of the most prestigious musicals written for the stage. It a has a wonderful theme, and story and great dances. ... It's near and dear to my heart,” said Allen Shankles, artistic director of “Cabaret” and associate director of ALT.

Created from a book written by Joe Masteroff and based on the play by John Van Druten with stories by Christopher Isherwood, "Cabaret" is a tale of desire and debauchery. The Tony-winning production also includes original music by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb, such as “Willkommen,” “Don’t Tell Mama" and “Money.”

Set in 1929 Berlin, the musical begins with Cliff Bradshaw, a young American writer who has just arrived in town to work on his novel. He soon finds himself swept up in the life of the cabaret and entranced by the provocative performer Sally Bowles. The story follows the two’s romance through their time at the cabaret as Germany is being overthrown by the Nazis.

Shankles, who has been with ALT for 38 years and has directed more than 100 productions with the theater, spoke about how he advocated for the production to be performed this year. Its initial performance with the theater was as the first musical held at the ALT Adventure Space in February 2002.

“It's going to be visually very stunning. There’s lots of dance and lots of fun in the show. ... I've directed lots of musicals and lots of plays. This one is one that is very dear to me. This is one that I championed to perform this year,” Shankles said.

Terry Martin, who plays Sally in the musical, spoke about how this production has come full circle for her and given her a new appreciation for the group effort that each production is.

“When I was 15 years old, I helped my dad run sound for the shows. When we first performed it at ALT, I wanted to be in it, but it was rated R. I really wanted to be involved, and they had me change out the batteries on the mic packs for the performers. ... It’s always been so interesting to me. I've always been so captivated by this story, the numbers, the songs, and the music, so it’s cool now that I get to play Sally,” Martin said.

“That’s the magic of the theater, and it takes so many people to put together a production. And whether you’re Sally Bowles or you’re changing the batteries out of the mic packs, it’s this huge group of people, and you need every single one of them,” she said.

The ALT cast has a total of 24 members, including Jason Driver as the Emcee, Martin as Sally Bowles, Dillon Kizarr as Cliff Bradshaw, Jo Smith as Fräulein Schneider, Jacob Miller as Herr Schultz, Jonathan Mobley as Ernst, Amber Morgan as Fräulein Kost, Nels Bjork as Max and Julian McDonald and Duffy Tidwell as the German Officers.

The production's Kit Kat Club performers include Grason Derington, Erin Gayan, Caitlin Gibson, Jay Hays, Catherine Hodges, Marley Hoggatt, Kallie Kilburn, Tiffany Laur, Halle Reid, Natasha Scarborough, Dakota Warren and Aspen Younker.

The musical is directed by Shankles, with music direction by Jennifer Akins and choreography by Shawn Walsh, with Anne Lankford as director's assistant and Carla Fristoe as the production assistant.

“'Cabaret' is a metaphor for life, and as the world began to be in turmoil, the cabaret is in turmoil, and it all falls apart at the end,” Shankles said.

“It has many connections to what's happening in our world today. There are lots of things that are running just like the way how things are now, with the dissention in our country and the hatred and the propaganda that’s occurring in our world. The cabaret was dealing with those issues when it was written,” he added.

The production is rated R. It will be held at the ALT Adventure Space, located at 2751 Civic Circle. Tickets are available at the box office, by phone at 806-355-9991 or online at tickets.amarillolittletheatre.org .

Showtimes for both masked and unmasked performances begin Feb. 3 through Feb. 20. More information on showtimes is available on the ALT website at https://amarillolittletheatre.org/ .

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: ALT presents first musical of 2022: 'Cabaret'