Cabaret From Pajamas to Hairspray Audience Treated to an Evening of Broadway Hits

Author: Lanford Beard

Something old: Pajama Game.
Something new: Hairspray, the Musical.
Something borrowed: Countless Broadway favorites.
Something blue: An enchanting and scandalous lighting design.
This could have been the theme for this year's annual music students' cabaret, but instead it was "Once-a-Year Day," a song from the Pajama Game, one of the featured musicals.
The production quality for this year's show was decidedly better than normal. As the cabaret continues to develop, the dancing and overall organization of the students grows increasingly sophisticated.
This year's cabaret was exemplary in its group numbers, and unsurprisingly these were the pieces that gained the crowd's trust and favor to sustain them through the overly lengthy program.
The program began with "Once-a-Year Day," an ensemble piece, which featured the revue's hosts, Erin King '04 and Jake Nicholson '05. The piece was energetic and fun-picnic-inspired costumes and props added to the fun and excited the crowd.
After the group number, King and Nicholson stepped into the very comfortable role of co-emcees. They announced immediately that this was theirs and the other singers' once-a-year day to "make absolute fools of ourselves and overact for [the audience's] pleasure."
And make fools of themselves they did, but all in good fun. With natural chemistry, good timing and a little bit of hamminess where needed, these two began the series of pun-filled introductions to many Broadway solos and duets to come.
The first group number, Steven Beslow's '06 "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love" from Finian's Rainbow, really woke the crowd. The number featured Beslow serenading at any given time Teri Chadbourne '03, Dixie Dillon '05 or Nora Williams '06 with lines like "When I can't fondle the hand I'm fond of, I fondle the hand at hand."
Next came a duet between Pauley Tedoff '06 and Andrea Gissing '05 in their rendition of "Marry the Man Today" from Guys & Dolls.
The audience enjoyed this romp about marrying a man today and changing his every move and instinct tomorrow.
After Nicholson took the stage with an eager and powerful rendition of "Falcon in the Dive" from The Scarlet Pimpernel, the group once again assembled for a snazzy collection of songs from "Pajama Game."
Each song involved and excited the crowd more than the next. Adam Beard '06 led the cast in a boys-against-girls number, "Racing With the Clock," while Mary-Clare Feldmann '04 and Sarah Pieplow '04 showcased their strong voices in "I'm Not At All in Love."
In "Hey There," Thorin Schriber '05 actually sang a duet with himself (thanks to the wonders of the handy dandy tape recorder). Then Laura Rockefeller '04, Larissa Robtoy '04 and Hillary Waite '05 showed off their singing and tap dance skills in the crowd favorite "Steam Heat."
Also of note was the sultry lighting of "Hernando's Hideaway," which featured the flashlight-illuminated silhouettes of all 21 cast members and blue-lit tango refrain performed by Rockefeller and Beard.
After a short intermission, the second act went straight into the Broadway selections, starting with King's own "Vanilla Ice Cream" from "She Loves Me."
The highlight of this group was Williams and Beard's enchanting and endearing duet of "Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors.
The show wrapped up with hits from the hot new Broadway musical "Hairspray." Showing that they, too, can move with the times, the cast members donned hippie apparel, and drummer Corey Many joined Tom Cleary, the piano accompanist.
Teal Tigner '05, famous for her role as Hedy LaRue in last year's Middlebury College Musical Players' production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," proved that she is Middlebury's resident expert on the Long Island accent while wailing her heart out in "Good Morning Baltimore" and the first Hairspray number, "Welcome to the 60s," which also featured solos by King, Robtoy, Pieplow and Jessica Della Pepa '03.
Most certainly one of the most heart-warming performances came from Perry Blackshear '05, as he sang "It Takes Two" with the verve of Elvis Presley in his early days.
The show closed with Nicholson and cast singing "The Nicest Kids in Town." Overall, this program was a bit long but the cast were some nice kids, and the show was undoubtedly a good time.
Direction by Carol Christensen and Beth Thompson Kaiser added new touches of flair, like the dancing and drums, which were complementary additions to the cast's diverse set of voices.