Laurier Musical Theatre presents Cabaret Night

Laurier Musical Theatre (LMT) hosted a successful Cabaret Night on Sunday, in spite of a last minute venue change. “We’ve had the Cabaret at Wilf’s in years passed. We had the venue booked and the stage, and all of a sudden we had nowhere to do it,” LMT president Liz McNeil told The Cord regarding the pub being closed due to recent flooding. Luckily, “Jeyas [WLUSU Hospitality Services Manager] was so good about moving us up to the Turret. He was our tech guy, he took care of everything.”

“Cabaret is a talent show that’s open to anyone who wants to have a spotlight on them for the night. There are no auditions, you just sign up,” McNeil said of the event.

Performers in this year’s Cabaret showcased various talents, with a heavy emphasis on singing, and “a little bit of dancing, sort of musical theatre style,” said McNeil.

Although the Cabaret Night performances consisted mainly of covers, an original song was performed by LMT’s Drew Chester, entitled “Moonlight.”

Wilfrid Laurier’s improv team, lead by Jessa Fitzpatrick, performed at the Cabaret for the first time, taking advantage of the event to showcase their comedic skills.

Other participants in the Cabaret were Brandon Keupfer, Mackenzie Warner, Janel Halenko, Emma Halenko, Alyssa Brown, Emily Brown, Drew Chester, Anne Hascalovitz, Greg Evans, Emily Young, David Young, Chris Lee, Nathalie Roth and Bree Rody-Mantha.

Song choices included classic numbers such as the Beatles “Hey Jude” and Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.”

Later this year, LMT will be bringing their original musical production, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, to the Laurier community. The show, described as “a cross between South Park and Desperate Housewives, plus some music,” hopes to draw more students than years passed. “We wanted to really sell something to students, because we’re going get parents and friends out anyways. We wanted something that students would come out to and really enjoy. It’s always nice to look out and see a full house,” said McNeil.

McNeil described The Great American Trailer Park Musical as “a really hilarious show about a couple living in a trailer park and the wife is agoraphobic, so she won’t come out of the trailer. Her son gets kidnapped, a stripper moves in, and then there’s some infidelity, and fun songs, and flashbacks to the eighties.”

LMT will take the stage with their production from Jan. 19 – 21st.