Cabaret is awarded Best Musical

published: Fri, 20-May-2005   |   updated: Sun, 23-Jul-2006

Wow, this is bloody beautiful. Back in February, with three performances every weekend, the Rep at the Fine Arts Center produced Cabaret, the musical. I directed it, and it was my first time at directing a musical. Today the Gazette (the local paper) published its "Best Of" section for the period June 2004 to May 2005 and Cabaret was awarded Best Musical. Yay!

Here's the item:

BEST MUSICAL

GO! CHOICE: “Cabaret,” Fine Arts Center

The Fine Arts Center’s dark, sexy production of “Cabaret” deftly shifted from romance to drama. And the younger-than-usual Sally and Cliff — Taylor O’Donnell and David Jackson — gave this usually seedy show a welcome core of innocence and lightheartedness.

Actually it gets better. Jon Eberhardt who played the Emcee in my production was named Best Actor:

BEST LOCAL ACTOR

GO! CHOICE: Jonathan Eberhardt

To insiders, this may be a stretch, but no local actor stretched himself more, or more successfully, than Jonathan Eberhardt. Best known for his behind-the-scenes work with makeup and wigs, Eberhardt followed a breakthrough comic role as Hysterium in the Fine Arts Center’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” with a breakthrough dramatic role as the mysterious Emcee in “Cabaret.”

And not only that, but last summer I played Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew, and...

BEST THEATRICAL COMEDY

GO! CHOICE: “Taming of the Shrew,” Theatreworks

Is it possible to get bruised just watching a play? In Theatreworks’ madcap production, it was as if a band of superliterate circus clowns had taken it on themselves to deconstruct Shakespeare — blending Chaplinesque gaits with rimshots and high-energy pratfalls.

Kudos to director Richard Crawford and to his cast, which had to do the actual work.

Brilliant, just friggin' brilliant. What a fabulous day! I'm so happy I'm even using exclamation marks!

Many, many thanks to Jon, Taylor, David, Mike, Sue, Greg, Diana, my talented gorgeous sexy female dancers, my talented gorgeous sexy male dancers, my tech crew (including my wife, Donna, as Stage Manager), my production staff. The Best Musical award is for you all. Woo-hoo!