There’s Nothing Like Live Theater: Artful, Scary, Entertaining

This performance of “Cabaret” has everything: pre-theater announcements in German, vivid choreography, striking imagery, a message about blind nationalism that most of the world ignores and an understudy stepping in to play a small role at the last minute.

“This is live theater,” director Bradford Blake declared before the show, with all its thrills and spills.

It was entertaining theater, too. And sobering.

“Cabaret” opens with the Kit Kat girls stretching, flexing, loosening up for the show. They are wearing scant undies and vivid makeup and the kind of impassive, doll-like expressions that make the vulgarities less startling. This is Berlin in 1931. Nazis are taking hold in a country recovering from World War I. There’s poverty and license and forced gaiety and corruption.

And lots of lies.

The Emcee (played by a cunningly wicked Richard Damaso) tells us, “Life is beautiful, the girls are beautiful, even the orchestra is beautiful.” And the girls, “each and every one of them is a virgin.” The trombonist lets out a cascade of tones and encourages the audience to “enjoy the sauerkraut.”

And then Sally Bowles, a British showgirl with red hair and outrageous behavior, shows up. Samantha LaMendola plays her as an incautious child, uneasy, desperate. 

She moves in with Clifford Bradshaw (Michael Schaner), a gay American novelist looking for material in Berlin. Their landlady, Fraulein Schneider (Tracey Marble), stands at the center of this piece. She falls in love with an elderly Jew, Herr Schultz (touchingly played by David Halliwell), and walks away from the consequences. The first act closes with a sailor, a puppet, manipulated by strings tied to a swastika and the chilling song, “Tomorrow Belongs to Me.”

The show is artful and scary and very entertaining. 

Latest News

Kent Town Hall, where the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission approved the draft settlement.

Kent Town Hall, where the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission approved the draft settlement.

Leila Hawken

KENT– A year-and-a-half-long legal dispute over an unpermitted roadway and dock built through wetlands on North Spectacle Pond is approaching a resolution. The KenMont and KenWood summer camp and the town’s Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission are close to reaching a mutually acceptable agreement.

The conflict began after the IWWC denied the camp’s retroactive application in March 2024 for the road and dock, which were constructed without town approval sometime last decade. The Commission found both structures violated town regulations, leading the camp to file a legal appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
GNH blanks St. Paul 34-0 in Turkey Bowl

Wes Allyn breaks away from the St. Paul defense for a reception touchdown Wednesday, Nov. 26.

Photo by Riley Klein

BRISTOL — The Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic co-op football team ended the season with a 34-0 shutout victory over St. Paul Catholic High School Wednesday, Nov. 26.

It was GNH’s fourth consecutive Turkey Bowl win against St. Paul and the final game for 19 GNH seniors.

Keep ReadingShow less
Students curate Katro Storm portraits at HVRHS

“Once Upon a Time in America” features ten portraits by artist Katro Storm.

Natalia Zukerman

The Kearcher-Monsell Gallery at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village is once again host to a wonderful student-curated exhibition. “Once Upon a Time in America,” ten portraits by New Haven artist Katro Storm, opened on Nov. 20 and will run through the end of the year.

“This is our first show of the year,” said senior student Alex Wilbur, the current head intern who oversees the student-run gallery. “I inherited the position last year from Elinor Wolgemuth. It’s been really amazing to take charge and see this through.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Mini horses, big impact: animal learning center opens in Sheffield

Le Petit Ranch offers animal-assisted therapy and learning programs for children and seniors in Sheffield.

Marjorie Borreda

Le Petit Ranch, a nonprofit offering animal-assisted therapy and learning programs, opened in April at 147 Bears Den Road in Sheffield. Founded by Marjorie Borreda, the center provides programs for children, families and seniors using miniature horses, rescued greyhounds, guinea pigs and chickens.

Borreda, who moved to Sheffield with her husband, Mitch Moulton, and their two children to be closer to his family, has transformed her longtime love of animals into her career. She completed certifications in animal-assisted therapy and coaching in 2023, along with coursework in psychiatry, psychology, literacy and veterinary skills.

Keep ReadingShow less