Former Middletown student completes work on ‘Cabaret’

WILLIMANTIC — The first theatrical production of the fall 2018 semester at Eastern Connecticut State University was “Cabaret,” the Tony Award-winning musical set on the eve of Nazi-controlled Germany.

Kayleigh Shettleworth of Middletown, a member of the class of 2020 who majors in theatre and communication at ECSU, was assistant stage manager.

Musical direction for “Cabaret” was provided by Anthony Pandolfe, former co-band director at Middletown High School. In addition to an extensive musical career as a freelancer who has performed in such prestigious locations as the Vatican, Pandolfe is director of bands at Edwin O. Smith High School in Mansfield, according to a news release.

With six performances between Oct. 18 and 28, theater goers enjoyed a stage set in the “seedy” Kit Kat Klub in early 1930s Germany, “a time rife with political tensions that ultimately brought Adolf Hitler to power,” according to the release.

“The Kit Kat Klub is a promiscuous nightclub whose patrons seem happily oblivious to the shifting culture and crumbling society outside. Cliff Bradshaw ... an American writer seeking inspiration, finds his way into the ‘klub’ and becomes enamored with one of the dancers, Sally Bowles ... Cliff is quick to notice the rising Nazi movement, but Sally and her Kit Kat patrons would rather not think about politics,” the release said.

Contributed photo Middletown resident Kayleigh Shettleworth (not pictured), a member of Eastern Connecticut State University’s class of 2020, was assistant stage manager for performances of “Cabaret,” Oct. 18 to 28 in Willimantic.