January 9, 2018
2018 roars in like a lion as the remarkably fierce cast of Paramount’s Cabaret is announced!
Pay close attention to these denizens of The Kit Kat Klub who make up the show’s ensemble, namely: William Carlos Angulo, Kristian Brooks, Caron Buinis, Gilbert Domally, Patrick Du Laney, Carl Herzog, Erin Kilmurray, Amy Biddle Owens, Jessica Palkovic, Madison Piner, Cassandra Porter, Liam Quealy, Adrienne Storrs, Martin Ortiz Tapia, Aaron Umstead, Danny Dwaine Wells II and J Tyler Whitmer. Keep the kiddies home.
And now, I’d like to draw your attention to the woman renting a room along with her penchant for young sailors, “Fraulein Kost.” You may have seen her at Paramount before in Rent and scorching up the stage as well in Tommy as “The Acid Queen,” none other than three-time Jeff Award nominee Meghan Murphy, aka “Big Red” on the Chicago nightclub scene.
Handsome devil, Brandon Springman is “Ernst Ludwig.” Recently seen in a stand-out performance in Drury Lane’s 42nd Street, Mr. Springman will be making his Paramount debut.
The great Chicago actor Ron E. Rains is Jewish fruit shop vendor “Herr Schultz,” opposite incomparable Hollis Resnik, the multi-Jeff Award winning actress as his beloved “Fraulein Schneider,” the boarding house owner with rooms to let. It’s a true benchmark to have these two magnificent actors together on our stage making their Paramount debuts in Cabaret.
Kander and Ebb’s Tony Award-winning musical masterpiece is based on the writings of Christopher Isherwood, portrayed in the show’s book by Joe Masteroff, as “Clifford Bradshaw” who will be played by Garret Lutz, the rising young Chicago actor about to create a sensation in this role. Triple threat powerhouse Kelly Felthous, fresh from her Jeff nominated success as “Roxie Hart” in Drury Lane’s Chicago, will play “Sally Bowles” with a seductive energy and mega-watt talent to light up the stage.
The master of ceremonies “Emcee” of pre-Nazi Berlin’s underground nightclub world is Joseph Anthony Byrd of Broadway’s Kinky Boots fame returning to the Chicago theatre scene to set it on its ear. And I don’t think Aurora will ever be the same.
Making her Paramount debut as Director/Choreographer, Katie Spelman, who choreographed our Oklahoma!, Rent and In the Heights, has teamed up with Musical Director/Conductor Tom Vendafreddo (recent Jeff Award recipient for our Sweeney Todd) and Casting Director Trent Stork to bring you a company of actors I could not be more excited about.
I just left introductions for the cast on this morning’s first day of rehearsal commenting on the process leading up to the occasion of us all meeting one another. “In auditions, we were devastated at the show’s relevance. Something momentous is about to happen here. You have a tall order on your hands. But you’re in good hands.”
Love & thanks,
Jim
