LIFE IS A CABARET
Musical ode to Broadway favourites
When it comes to the latest production from Regina Lyric Musical Theatre, Ben Redant admits he’s dealing with a wealth of riches.
Redant is the director for Life Is A Cabaret, which will be presented from April 26-28 at The Artesian On 13th. The production features music from shows like Cabaret, Guys & Dolls and Chicago, with songs written by the likes of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Kurt Weill and Fats Waller.
Heading into the production, the biggest challenge for Redant was deciding which songs would make the final cut.
“Because it was such a broad spectrum and so much amazing music happening in that period, it was like, ‘What do I leave out so I don’t end up with a four-hour show?’ ” Redant said.
“There were a couple of songs that got cut along the way because they didn’t fit the narrative. Something else that played into this was that after we held auditions, it was sort of happenstance that we ended up casting all women in all of the roles — the group of women who came out to audition were overwhelmingly strong, it was like, ‘ We have to cast those.’
“So any song that wasn’t in the right range or suitable to a female performer, even though we’ve got a lot of women singing songs written and performed by men, a lot of songs didn’t fit that mould. In the end we got a pretty representational assortment of songs for the age and for the story we’re trying to tell.”
So is Redant pleased with the songs that made the cut?
“It’s definitely all killer, no filler,” he said with a chuckle.
The cast includes Amy Couzens, Nicole Hicks-Wedge, Georgia Laloudakis, Amanda Schenstead, Jessica Scheuer, Jamie Shaheen, and Jamie Young.
It turns out the smaller size of the cast has been beneficial to Redant.
“There’s less wrangling involved, then if one has a chorus to deal with,” Redant said. “I had to be so selective about who would be cast — all of the performers are very strong musicians and music readers and they all put in a lot of work to put their stamp on the roles.”
The venue also has an impact on the production. The Artesian is a cosy space that brings the audience into proximity with the performers.
The stage is smaller than at other venues such as the Regina Performing Arts Centre but Redant feels the venue works to the production’s advantage.
“It does pose some challenges, in terms of what you can fit on the stage and the scale you can work on, but having those type of limitations can be a real spur to the creativity,” Redant said. “How can we make this work in this limited space?
“But I think the intimacy of venue definitely works to our benefit. It really makes it easier for the performers to connect with the audience.
“It’s smaller than usual for a Lyric show but the space played a factor and because of the nature of the show and the quality of the music, it was best to have a small but very strong musical group.”
When Redant began seriously thinking about the production four months ago, he had a number of ideas of what the musical should look and sound like.
What he didn’t have was a completed script, which has made the rehearsal process additionally challenging.
“It’s been kind of scary. We didn’t have a set road map to begin with. We didn’t have a script until after we started rehearsing. We basically started rehearsing the songs and then building the script and the idea around that. It’s akin to building a bridge as you cross it,” said Redant.
The quality of the music has helped Redant shape and move the production forward.
“The songs continue to be relevant and performed all these years later, which I think speaks volumes about their durability,” Redant said. “It was such an innovative period where a lot of things were just starting to happen. Jazz was just being born in a form that we would recognize today. The brilliance of the music stands up to the test of time.”
One final note: Redant reiterated that the production, although it features songs from a number of successful Broadway plays, is not a telling of a specific play or musical.
“I wouldn’t want anyone to show up thinking they would be seeing Cabaret or Chicago or really anything like that,” Redant said. “The excitement that they might have, ‘Oh gee, they’re doing songs from Cabaret and Chicago; I certainly hope Song X is in there.’ I hope that excitement carries over.”
Tickets for the production are $30 and are available at Dancer’s Den Dancewear (1630 Albert St.) and online at reginalyric.com.