Central Thespian Cabaret

The 13th annual Central Thespian Cabaret is a fundraiser held by Central’s own Thespians. For the uninitiated, Thespians are basically the drama honor society. Drama club sponsor Ladonna Wilson described the cabaret as “It’s kinda a variety show. It’s a night of song and dance and skits.”

This year, the cabaret was held on December 16th. “This year, because it’s so close to the holiday break, it’s kinda holiday themed,” said Mrs. Wilson.

Kate Roth, the vice president of the Drama Club, said, “My favorite part of the cabaret is everyone getting their chance to be in the spotlight. There’s only so many spots in a show, but a thespian knows they can sing whatever they want at the cabaret… just knowing that everyone gets to do something they are really excited to do is really exciting.”

The point of the night is not just to showcase the amazing skills of the Central Thespians, but also to raise money to buy the rights to shows, paint and wood for sets, costumes, and more.

Now for everyone’s favorite segment: Reviews as given by someone who hasn’t been to a cabaret or anything music related in ages.

The night started with a short introduction from Mrs. Wilson. The highlight of this was a challenge to the tech group: Mrs. Wilson had bought a tree and they had to put it together with no instructions. The stagehands could only work on the tree between songs, while the announcers, Eric Lim and Sam Ryan, were speaking.

Eric and Sam would give a skit between each song, during which they would segway into the next. It was incredibly entertaining and kept the audience engaged all the way through.

See here for a full look at all the songs:  

-Laney Heggemeyer–”Watch What Happens” from Newsies 

-Robin Fitzgerald and Kate Roth–”Therapy” from Tick, Tick, Boom

-Bess Chamley and Eric Lim–”All I Ask of You” from Phantom of the Opera 

-Kelly Hong –”In My Dreams” from Anastasia 

-Sierra Smith and Elliot Penning-Bush–”Bad News” from Thirteen 

-Sam Ryan and Robin Fitzgerald–Dead Parrot Skit from Monty Python 

-Caden Hanlon– “World Burn” from Mean Girls 

-Bess Chamley and Wade Schacht–”Tango Maureen” from RENT

-LaDonna Wilson–”Merry Christmas, Darling” by the Carpenters

-Cecil Bell and Kate Roth–”First Time in Forever” from Frozen

-Soren Schrag– “Lost in the Woods” from Frozen 2

-Robin Fitzgerald– “Good Kid” from The Lightning Thief

-“Kid on Christmas” by Pentatonix featuring Sarah Schmohr, Jordan Rinkenberger, Laney Heggemeyer, Bess Chamley, and Amala Willenbrock

-Intermission–Live Auction of Thespian Baskets

-Ellis Mansfield–”No One Else” from Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

-LaDonna Wilson and Sarah Mohr–”Sing” from A Chorus Line

-Sam Ryan and Robin Fitzgerald–Dead Parrot Skit from Monty Python

-Kelly Hong, Laney Heggemeyer, Bess Chamley, and Ellis Mansfield–”Jingle Bell Rock” from “Mean Girls”

-Sierra Smith–”When He Sees Me” from Waitress

-Lars Anderson–”Home” from The Wiz

-Wade Schacht–”Santa Fe” from Newsies

-Bess Chamley–”Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl 

-Eric Lim–”White Christmas” from White Christmas

-Elliot Penning Bush–”Ireland” from Legally Blonde

-Cecil Bell and Caden Hanlon–”Seventeen” from Heathers

-Wade Schacht and Eric Lim–”Baby It’s Cold Outside” from Elf

-Group Dance–”Simply the Best” cover by Noah Reid featuring Sarah Mohr, Bess Chamley, Lars Anderson, Elliot Penning Bush, Kelly Hong, Amala Willenbrock, Laney Heggemeyer, Sierra Smith,Sam Ryan, Alice Bell, Ellis Mansfield, and Jordan Rinkenberger

-Final Collection of money with “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Caden Hanlon getting faster and faster.  

I can’t think of a single song I didn’t like. My personal favorite of the first half was definitely All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera, sung by Bess Chamley and Eric Lim. The passion and emotion was tangible and I loved their voices together.

During intermission, the baskets were auctioned off.

The second half continued, with more amazing performances and skits. My favorite song from this performance was the rendition of ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ by Wade Schancht and Eric Lim. They remixed the song to reflect the audience and how long the show was going on. The remix was hilarious and incredibly entertaining.

The night ended with ‘You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch’ sung by Caden Hanlon. Caden has a remarkably deep voice and it was a beautiful background to the final joke of the night: each Thespian ran through the crowd with hats, bags and whatever they could use to collect donations.

Everyone who watched the show loved it. Kelly Ryan said “I loved the energy and connection between the Thespians.”

“I was impressed with the whole thing. The bits were surprising and fun.” said Becky Anderson.

Kalah Weber said her favorite songs were, “Baby It’s Cold Outside, The Grinch, and Santa Fe.”

Max Ryan said his favorite part of the show was “The skits between Sam and Eric.” Andrew Kindratenko agreed with the addition of “Seric for life!”