By Sue Suchyta
The Dearborn Heights Civic Theatre will present the musical “Cabaret” for three weekends, April 17 to May 2, at the Berwyn Center in Dearborn Heights.
The show features music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and book by Joe Masteroff. Dearborn Heights resident Stan Guarnelo is directing the show, with choreography by Angie Kane-Ferrante, and musical direction by Stan Harr.
“Cabaret” is based on Christopher Isherwood’s “Berlin Stories,” and follows a young American writer, a British cabaret singer, and a colorful cast of characters caught up in the turmoil of Berlin during the early days of Hitler’s rise to power.
The cast features Leah Paige Cooley as the Master of Ceremonies, Kira Frabutt as Sally Bowles, Brad Miller as Cliff Bradshaw, Valerie Haas as Fraulein Schneider, Phil Booth as Herr Schultz, Aaron Adamkiewicz as Ernst Ludwig and Lisa Youngs as Fraulein Kost.
The ensemble includes Theresa Cunningham, Aaron Ferrante, Aaron Glenn, Hope Morawa, Morgan Neubacher, Cassiah Parker-Pegg, and Rebecca Whyte.
There will be a special opening night gala April 17 to celebrate the grand reopening of the Berwyn Center, 26155 Richardson. Refreshments will be served, and there will be a silent auction, as well as a post-production question and answer session with the cast and crew.
Show dates are April 17, 18, 24, 25, and May 1 and 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets for the April 17 gala are $25, while the rest of the run is $15 for adults and $13 for students and seniors. “Cabaret” contains scenes that may be inappropriate for children.
‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’ AT PLAYERS GUILD OF DEARBORN
The Players Guild of Dearborn closes out its 81st season with the audience-pleasing musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.” The show features book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.
The show will run for four weekends: April 24 to 26, May 1 to 3, 8 to 10, and 15 to 17. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m., with 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinees. There will be a special Gala for Guido benefit performance on at 6 p.m. April 29. The funds raised will be donated to the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute to benefit pancreatic cancer research, in tribute to the late Dearborn Mayor Michael A. Guido.
Set in Russia in 1905, “Fiddler on the Roof” focuses on Tevye, a poor dairyman, and his efforts to maintain his family and religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives. Through warmth and humor he copes with both the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters, whose choice of husbands move progressively further away from established customs.
The show also focuses on their harsh existence under tsarist rule on the eve of the Russian Revolution. Tevye explains that without their traditions, he and the other villagers would find their lives “as shaky as a fiddler on the roof.” The show’s familiar songs include “Tradition,” “Matchmaker,” “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset.”
Directed by Bob Jones (Dearborn), the show features musical direction by Ken Pletzer (Canton) and choreography by Laura Tyler (Canton). Richard Moore (Dearborn) is producing the show and Frann Stempek (Brownstown) is the assistant director.
Reprising her role from the Guild’s 1986 production is Diana Reynolds (Dearborn) as Yente. Patricia LaFramboise (Northville) who played Golde in the Guild’s 1986 cast, will be featured as Shaindel, Motel’s mother.
Others in the cast include: Mike Moseley (Allen Park) as Tevye, Sally Hart Goodman (Dearborn) as Golde, Sydnee Dombrowski (Dearborn) as Tzeitel, Anna Hnatiuk Dewey (Dearborn) as Hodel, Maura Donovan (Farmington Hills) as Chava, Maggie Donnelly (Canton) as Shprintze and Emily Pletzer (Canton) as Bielke.
The show also features: Brian Townsend (Dearborn) as Motel, the tailor; Nathan Napier (Warren) as Perchik, the student; Tom Sparrow (Allen Park) as Lazar Wolf, the butcher; Tim Carney (Livonia) as Mordcha, the innkeeper; Val Sisto (Taylor) as the Rabbi; Jake Dombrowski (Fenton) as Mendel, the rabbi’s son; Pat Landino (Garden City) as Avram, the bookseller; Kevin Rider (Dearborn) as Nachum, the beggar; and Margaret Winowiecki (Dearborn) as Fruma-Sarah.
Also in the show are: Matt Ripper (Livonia) as the constable; Joe Henkel (Dearborn) as Fyedka; Jeff Lokken (Livonia) as Sasha; James Kirwan (Dearborn) as Yussel, the hatter; and Westley Montgomery (Dearborn) as the Fiddler.
The ensemble includes: Lauren Bjerk (Trenton), Shelley Coulter (Dearborn), April Denny (Dearborn Heights), Trisha Donnelly (Canton), Eric Floetke (Brownstown), Emily Jannaro (Dearborn), Julienne Kobylasz (Flat Rock), Debbe Lavely (Grosse Ile), Mellissa L’Heureux (Southgate), Lindsay MacDonald (Canton), Stephanie Marengere (Southgate), Natalie Napier (Warren), Scott Rider (Lincoln Park), Clare Russell (Dearborn), Charles Sell (Dearborn), Katie Suchyta (Dearborn), Benjamin Timpf (Dearborn) and Emily Ward (Dearborn).
The Players Guild of Dearborn Theatre is at 21730 Madison in Dearborn, southwest of the intersection of Monroe Street and Outer Drive. Tickets are $18. Student discounts (with valid identification) and group discounts are available. For more information, call the Guild ticket line at (313) 561-TKTS, or go to the Web site at www.playersguildofdearborn.org.
Dearborn Heights Civic Theatre photo 1082:
“Cabaret” cast and crew members, shown clockwise from left, include: Rebecca Whyte, Cassiah Parker-Pegg, Morgan Neubacher, Stanley Guarnelo, Kira Frabutt, and Angie Kane-Ferrante.
Sally Hart Goodman, as Golde, and Mike Moseley, as Tevye, rehearse the dream scene from “Fiddler on the Roof.”