Theater premieres “History has its eyes on you” cabaret on May 9

On May 9 at 7 p.m., Troupe 6885 will perform a cabaret, or a collection of short performances of dance and song.

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photo by Brandon Nieten

Junior Desiree Snell, sophomore Carter Wegmann, senior Courtney St. John, junior Alexane Ayup, senior Andy Ayup, and sophomore Julia Register rehearse their song and dance in a small group. “To see the growth over the years has been exponential,” Solomon said. “You can see the love [the students] put into everything they’re doing.”

Sorry Hamilton fans, but this cabaret is not about the meteoric rise of one of America’s founding fathers, but Troupe 6885’s final performance of the year. 

Featuring songs from shows like Six, Come From Away and The Greatest Showman, the “History has its eyes on you” cabaret will premiere on May 9 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Tickets will be sold at the door for $5. Only members of the acting competition class and selected seniors will perform, along with an appearance from theater teacher Jamaal Solomon, who will be singing a song from The Greatest Showman and Titanic

“[This performance] is really really special for me this year, because the seniors that are performing were freshmen my first year here. So it’s kind of like we’re all seniors together,” Solomon said. 

His students expressed the same excitement in sharing a stage with their mentor.

“He’s definitely been a big role model and the teacher that has been there for me a lot,” senior Grant Gibson said. “He’s been a very central figure in me being in theater. So I like the idea of getting to do one last performance with him.”

Coming off his performance as Prince Charming in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Gibson will be performing in the opening and finale of the show, along with “From Now On” from The Greatest Showman and a solo, “Still” from Anastasia

“I think the reason I want to be a part of [the cabaret] is because I get to perform songs from some shows that I would have not thought of before,” Gibson said. “I never would have picked out [the song from] Anastasia.”

Although this will be the cast’s seventh show, the performance did not come without challenges. 

“I was labeled as not a good dancer because I’m too small,” senior Averie Newton said. “So over the past year, I’ve been taking private dance classes to perfect my technique and perfect my craft to be able to say that I am a good dancer.”

Despite these challenges, Newton still pushes on to fulfill her dreams of being an actor. After taking dance classes, she was promoted to dance captain for the Cinderella production, getting her one step closer to reaching her dream. 

“Theater is the one thing that I want to do for the rest of my life. I’m actually going to college for musical theater,” Newton said. “And [being a part of theater] really helped me to be more well-rounded. Not only as a performer but as a person. So it’s like you discover yourself along the way.”

Rehearsing since the end of spring break, Newton encourages people to come see the culmination of the cast’s hard work. 

“You should come see it because of every single talented person that has put in so much hard work this year,” she said. “It’s worth your time and you will be entertained.”

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