Friday night will be full of songs during the “Polar Opposites” performance. The show will run Oct. 20 and 21 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. It will take place in the Colorado Mesa University Experimental Theater, or the Black Box. Music theater majors will be hosting this show, which is a cabaret.
“A CMU cabaret is generally a collection of songs that all follow an overarching theme,” Carly Nugent, a musical theater major and performer in the show said. “In the instance of ‘Polar Opposites,’ we are exploring the composers Irving Berlin and Cole Porter and how they differ stylistically.”
The cabaret last year of Broadway, Tin Pan Alley and the American Songbook completely sold out. The department decided to dive into American Songbook writers. This will be the first of three years that will focus on eight songwriters.
“In this show, there are mostly solo songs by students; however, the musical theater department head, Jeremy Franklin, and our costuming professor Jill Van Brussel will be performing a duet,” Nugent said. “There will also be a performance by the Mesa Out Loud.”
The Mesa Out Loud is a group of six performers who audition to be part of a performing recruitment group, for the theater department.
“They receive scholarships and perform at events around campus and travel with our department heads to recruit future theater majors and represent our department,” Nugent said.
A cabaret is different from the other performances that the theater department puts on.
“Rehearsing for a cabaret is much different than rehearsing for a more traditional show because we do most of our practicing by ourselves or with our voice teacher and accompanist,” Nugent said. “We get together to rehearse with the band accompanying us and Jeremy beforehand, and to rehearse the order of the show to make sure everything runs smoothly.”
The show takes place in the Black Box because it provides a more comfortable and intimate feel for the audience and performers. A cabaret also gives insights to the student performers as well because there are no specific roles.
“Because all the songs are taken out of context of the show they were written for, the performers play less of a “character” and we get to be portrayed as more as ourselves,” Nugent said.
Adult tickets are $10, $8 for seniors and $6 for students.
