Based on the Play by John Van Druten
And Stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed by Dennis Garnhum

A daring and immersive experience in the McManus Stage

APRIL 9  TO MAY 4, 2019

LONDON, ONTARIO, DECEMBER 12, 2018 - The Grand Theatre is excited to announce that due to incredible demand, CABARET has been extended for seven additional performances on the McManus Stage, now running four weeks from April 9 to May 4, 2019. Directed by Grand Theatre Artistic Director Dennis Garnhum, CABARET will transport audiences into the Berlin underworld with a daring, immersive, and up-close production, featuring a cast of 9 – all playing instruments throughout – and cabaret-style seating. The Title Sponsor for CABARET is Bron Studios.

“With this production of CABARET, we have assembled 9 people of extraordinary musical talents,” said Garnhum. “The extensive audition process revealed the abundance of multi-skilled talents we have and I'm thrilled to be creating this intense new production.”

In CABARET, audiences will follow Sally Bowles downstairs as she navigates the nightclub underworld of Berlin on the edge of fascism. Patrons will be drawn into the excesses and decadence of a time where everything was possible – until it wasn’t.

“Some stories become more relevant years or decades after they premiere,” said Garnhum. “This musical is set against a backdrop where a brilliant society becomes a scary, scary world: freedoms become restricted and being unique becomes a threat.”

The cast features Tess Benger (THE PENELOPIAD, Grand Theatre) as Sally Bowles, Jewelle Blackman (DREAMGIRLS, Grand Theatre) as the Emcee, and James Daly in his acting debut at the Grand (GRAND HOTEL, Shaw Festival Theatre) as Cliff Bradshaw, a writer traveling through Berlin.

The Grand Theatre gratefully acknowledges Season Sponsor BMO Financial Group.

Tickets are general admission at $50 (HST and CIF included) and are available at grandtheatre.com, by phone at 519-672-8800, or at the Box Office, 471 Richmond Street. Prices are subject to change. Patrons can also Bundle it up and SAVE with the Grand’s Holiday Bundle with the purchase of 3 shows for as little as $123. Learn more at grandtheatre.com/holiday-bundle.

About the Grand Theatre – World Curious. London Proud.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Dennis Garnhum and Executive Director
Deb Harvey, the Grand is a leading cultural hub located in the heart of downtown London, Ontario. The Grand offers diverse, relevant, and original stories from around the globe through collaborations with national and international performing arts organizations and is committed to developing, producing, and premiering original stories through COMPASS New Play Development program. The Grand supports educational programming with The High School Project, the only program of its kind in North America. The Grand’s season runs from September to May.

For more information please contact:
Ashley Roberts, Communications Consultant, Grand Theatre
aroberts [at] grandtheatre.com (aroberts[at]grandtheatre[dot]com)

Cell: 937-554-1894

CABARET

Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the Play by John Van Druten
And Stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed by Dennis Garnhum

CAST

PRODUCTION TEAM

FEATURED GUEST ARTISTS

Tess Benger  Sally Bowles
For the Grand Theatre: Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad. Theatre Credits (Selected): The Last Five Years (YRG Productions); Girls Like That (Tarragon); Mamma Mia! (Citadel); Grease (Elgin Winter Garden); Chasse Galerie (Soulpepper/Storefront); Top Girls, Cabaret, Sweeney Todd, Philadelphia Story, The Next Whiskey Bar (Shaw Festival); Sunday in the Park with George (TIFT); Anne of Green Gables (Charlottetown).

Jewelle Blackman  Emcee
Grand Theatre credits:  The Wizard of Oz (’09),  Dreamgirls. Theatre Credits (Selected):  Mary Poppins (Young People’s Theatre); The Lion King (Original Canadian Cast); We Will Rock You; Dreamgirls; Caroline, or Change, Sousatzka and Hadestown (directed by Tony Award-nominee Rachel Chavkin); Tommy, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Cabaret, As You Like It and Fiddler on the Roof (Stratford Festival);  Once on This Island (Musical Stage Company); Man of La Mancha. Jewelle’s musical you know my name, not my storyis currently in development. Film/TV Credits: Nine Lives, Kim’s Convenience, Shadowhunters, Rogue and Shoot the Messenger. @jewelleblackman

James Daly  Cliff
Grand Theatre credits: Debut. Theatre Credits (Selected): Grand Hotel, Oh What a Lovely War, Peter and the Starcatcher, Master Harold… and the boys, Uncle Vanya (Shaw Festival); Sleeping Beauty (Ross Petty Productions); She Loves Me (Thousand Islands Playhouse); The Rocky Horror Show (Sudbury Theatre Centre). Film & TV: Letterkenny, Republic of Doyle, Saving Hope.