Setting the stage
The Oklahoma Seniors Cabaret is celebrating 10 years of giving older Oklahomans a new purpose in life.
A joy for living, singing and dancing follows Joan Colee around like a blue bird of happiness.
The 84-year old Oklahoma City resident is the director of the Oklahoma Seniors Cabaret, a song and dance show she began in 2009. She shares her cheerful outlook with everyone she meets.
The native Oklahoman, a former Hollywood voice instructor, along with her cast and crew prepare to celebrate the cabaret’s 10th performance at 7 p.m. Oct. 13, and 4 p.m. Oct. 14 at Randall University (formerly Hillsdale College), 3701 S. I-35 Service Road, Moore.
“I never dreamed the show would last this long,” Colee said. “It is a good show, and it puts new life in everybody who is involved. I try to create a classy show and I work with people all year long.”
She holds two degrees from Oklahoma City University, and continues teaching singing and tap dancing. She is involved in all aspects of the nonprofit cabaret, including writing the skits for her shows.
She’s especially adept at discovering talent in people who didn’t realize they had any.
Howie Mandel, a judge on “America’s Got Talent,” said Colee is an inspiration, and the often grouchy Simon Cowell gave her a kiss on the cheek during her audition for a spot on the show last year.
“I sang and tap danced through three auditions,” she said, I didn’t make it to the finals, but I proved I could do it.”
Challenges inspire her and she inspires people who have never set foot on a stage and those who put their musical instruments in the attic decades ago.
Finding a different purpose
Jan Osban, 71, of Yukon, retired from a 40 year career in nursing and wanted to try something new.
She acts and sings in the cabaret and said her involvement in the yearly show, and smaller yearround engagements, has opened up her life to things she never thought possible. One of those accomplishments is singing solo.
“I am finally living for me,” she said. “After family and career I have a different purpose in my life now,” she said.
The people who join the show have become good friends who really care about each other, she said.
“My life has filled up with music,” Barbara Duer, 75, said about her three years with the group. “I sing, play the guitar, mandolin and the accordion. I hadn’t played my guitar for 20 years.”
Duer, a nursing instructor at Rose State, retired in June. She said the cabaret offers many different opportunities for people who have retired.
“I did tap dance one year in the cabaret,” Duer said, “because tap dancing was on my bucket list.”
Helping those in need
Not everyone is singing and dancing.
“I am the costumer,” Joan Sanders, 83, said. “I come from a long line of seamstresses. “I read an article about the cabaret 11 years ago and I thought it was something I would like to do. I went to the first audition and met people from all walks of life, and I found my talent was needed.”
Sanders said no one is paid. Money from the sale of tickets to the yearly event is donated to the John W. Keys Speech and Hearing Center, located on the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus.
People who need hearing aids and cannot afford them are helped by the success of the cabaret. Tickets are $15, and may be purchased at the door.
Bill Paulk is a former member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and also served as State Labor Commissioner. He said he is an old-fashioned guy who enjoys the music from the 1950s.
“I’m 86, retired from politics,” Paulk said. “I have enjoyed singing, I was 43 years old before I ever sang a solo in public. We are amateurs finding our way on the stage, where we sing, dance and do comedy skits.”
Colee said she has seen people overcome the sorrows in their lives through music.
“Many have changed their hairstyles, the way they dress and walk,” she said. “Life can be beautiful.”