Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July 9, 2019

Cheryl Farley
Director of Marketing, Communications, and Patron Services
cfarley@ogunquitplayhouse.org / (207) 646-2402 ext. 215  

Raw and Powerful Jazz Musical Cabaret to Open at the Ogunquit Playhouse

Ogunquit, Maine – Come to the Cabaret, your table’s waiting! Decadent nightlife meets dangerous times at Berlin’s alluring Kit Kat Klub in the iconic Broadway musical Cabaret, on stage July 17 through August 10. Set in the cabaret underworld on the eve of Hitler’s rise to power, the Ogunquit production is based on the searing Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall musical recently revived on Broadway and is staged by BT McNicholl, who directed the Playhouse production of Cabaret back in 2006. This unforgettable musical stars stage and screen actors Randy Harrison as the Emcee and Kate Shindle as Sally Bowles. The Ogunquit production also features Billy Harrigan Tighe as Cliff Bradshaw, Mariette Hartley as Fraulein Schneider, John Rubinstein as Herr Schultz, Noah Plomgren as Ernst Ludwig, and Katrina Yaukey as Fraulein Kost. The Ogunquit production features the Broadway set based on the original design by Robert Brill and the Broadway costumes by William Ivey Long.

Cabaret tells the story of Cliff Bradshaw, a young American writer newly arrived in Berlin, who falls in love with cabaret singer Sally Bowles. Their romance sizzles amid the back room culture of the cabaret and the tumultuous atmosphere of pre-Nazi Germany. Cabaret is a raw and powerful jazz musical that explores the dark life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. The show has had numerous Broadway and London revivals, features a book by Joe Masteroff and is the winner of multiple Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score for John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb’s (lyrics) compelling musical numbers which include, “Willkommen,” “Money,” “Tomorrow Belongs To Me,” “Maybe This Time” and “Cabaret.”

Starring as the cabaret’s master of ceremonies is Randy Harrison. He returns to this role after his standout performance in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2016 National Touring production. Mr. Harrison’s recent roles include Prior in Angels in America Parts 1 & 2 at Berkeley Repertory Theater and George in Guthrie Theater’s Sunday in the Park with George. In New York, he has appeared on Broadway in Wicked and Off-Broadway in Harbor, Edward the Second, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Singing Forest. Mr. Harrison’s television credits include Queer as Folk, Mr. Robot, and Bang Bang You’re Dead.

Kate Shindle makes her Ogunquit Playhouse debut as the sultry Sally Bowles. On Broadway, she has starred in Cabaret, Wonderland, Jekyll & Hyde, and was an original cast member of Legally Blonde. Her recent credits include Rachelle Max on CBS’s The Good Fight, her performance as Billie in The Sting opposite Harry Connick, Jr. at the Paper Mill Playhouse, and as Alison in the acclaimed First National Tour of Fun Home. In film and television, she can be seen in Lucky Stiff, Capote, Elementary, Law & Order SVU, White Collar, Gossip Girl, and The Stepford Wives. Ms. Shindle is the President of Actors’ Equity Association and President of the Theatre Authority.  

Star of the stage, screen, and television Mariette Hartley joins the cast as Fraulein Schneider, revisiting the role she first portrayed on Broadway in the 2003 revival of Cabaret. Her first film was Sam Peckinpah’s classic western, Ride the High Country, with Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott, followed by Marnie with Sean Connery, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Marooned with Gregory Peck, directed by John Sturges, and many more. An Emmy winner and five-time nominee, her TV credits include Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Grey’s Anatomy, Big Love, and in recent years includes recurring roles on FOX’s hit 911 and Law & Order SVU. Her numerous Broadway credits include Trojan Women, for which she received a Drama-Logue Award and Enchanted April for which she received an Ovation nomination. Starring opposite Ms. Hartley is Tony Award-winner John Rubinstein as Herr Schultz. Mr. Rubinstein originated the title role in Bob Fosse’s Pippin and won the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his performance in Children of a Lesser God. His other Broadway appearances include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ragtime, Hurlyburly, M. Butterfly, The Cain Mutiny, Getting Away with Murder and the Diane Paulus Pippin revival. He won the Lucille Lortel Award as Best Actor for his performance in Elmer Rice’s Counsellor-at-Law Off-Broadway. Mr. Rubinstein has recorded over 200 audiobooks, starred in over 300 television episodes and miniseries, and his film credits include Hello, I Must Be Going, 21 Grams, Red Dragon, The Boys from Brazil, Someone to Watch Over Me, Daniel, The Car, and Getting Straights.

Joining the cast as Cliff Bradshaw is Billy Harrigan Tighe. He performed on Broadway in Pippin, Off-Broadway in Sweeney Todd, and the West End as Elder Price in The Book of Mormon. Mr. Tighe has been in numerous National Tours including Finding Neverland as JM Barrie, The Book of Mormon as Elder Price, Wicked, La Cage Aux Folles, and Dirty Dancing. Noah Plomgren makes his Playhouse debut as Ernst Ludwig. Mr. Plomgren has performed in the National Tours of Finding Neverland and Hair, and Regionally in From Here to Eternity, Treasure Island, Guys and Dolls, and Lend Me a Tenor among others. Portraying Fraulein Kost is Katrina Yaukey. Her numerous Broadway performances include Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, productions of Cabaret in 2014 and 1998, Billy Elliot, Warhorse, and Company, as well as the National Tours of Billy Elliot, Sweeney Todd, Cabaret, and Victor/Victoria.

Performing in the ensemble as Kit Kat Klub Girls and Boys are Joel D. Bauman as Hans, Ryan Denardo as Victor, Margaret Dudasik as Texas, Staci Jo Johnston as Lulu, Joey Khoury as Bobby, Tommy McDowell as Herman, Kari Nelson as Rosie, Laura Sheehy as Frenchie and Jenna Zito Clark as Helga.

Returning to Ogunquit to direct the Playhouse production of Cabaret is BT McNicholl. He has helmed many shows for the Playhouse including Cabaret in 2006, Fiddler on the Roof, (2008), La Cage Aux Folles, (2007), the Moss Hart Award-winning West Side Story (2013), the award-winning regional premiere of Billy Elliot (2014), and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (2016). Serving on the creative team of twelve Broadway shows, he has associated with directors Sam Mendes, Rob Marshall, Stephen Daldry, and the legendary Mike Nichols, among others. His international productions and National Tours include Spamalot and The Producers. Mr. McNicholl is a BMI Award-winning songwriter and wrote the lyrics for The It Girl, published by Samuel French. He is currently the Producing Artistic Director of La Mirada Theatre in Los Angeles.

Choreographer for Cabaret is Andrea Leigh, who performed in the 2006 Ogunquit Playhouse production of Cabaret. She has served as Choreographer and Assistant Choreographer on numerous productions of Cabaret, including at the John Engeman Theatre, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, and on the National Tour. Additionally, she has performed in the National Tours of Phantom, Brigadoon, Oklahoma!, and Cabaret, and at the Westchester Broadway Theatre, Foothills Theatre, John Engeman Theatre. She has danced with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Buffalo City Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Hartford Ballet.

Returning to the Ogunquit Playhouse as Music Director of Cabaret is Bruce Barnes. Mr. Barnes was last at the Playhouse in 2006’s Cabaret and 1993’s Nunsense II. On Broadway he has worked on the productions of CATS, Peter Pan, and Cabaret, as well as Off-Broadway on Peter and the Wolf, Everything the Traffic Will Allow, and Class Mothers of ’68, and the National Tours of Cinderella, Peter Pan, Camelot, Happy Days, Jesus Christ Superstar, CATS, and Kiss Me, Kate. His work can be seen on television on HBO’s Cathouse the Musical, and he has served as accompanist for Patti LuPone, Penny Fuller, Dee Hoty, Ruthie Henshall, Beverly Sills, Billy Porter, and Eartha Kitt.  

The original Broadway scenic designs are by Robert Brill, whose Broadway credits include the Tony-nominated Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, the Tony-nominated Assassins, Jesus Christ Superstar, Guys, and Dolls, as well as the set and club design for the critically acclaimed revival of Cabaret, among many others. Original costume designs are by six-time Tony Award winner, William Ivey Long. He most recently designed costumes for the Broadway productions of Tootsie: The Musical and Beetlejuice: The Musical, as well as FOX’s A Christmas Story, Live!, The Prince of Broadway for legendary director Hal Prince, and the revised stage musical Young Frankenstein in London’s West End for Mel Brooks, as well as for the original Broadway production in 2009. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on FOX’s Grease: Live!, and designed the re-imagination of The Rocky Horror Picture Show starring Laverne Cox and Tim Curry. Mr. Long has designed costumes for over 70 Broadway productions and has been nominated for 15 Tony Awards.

Lighting Design for Cabaret is by Richard Latta. Mr. Latta is the resident lighting designer for Ogunquit Playhouse and recently was nominated for an IRNE Award for Best Lighting Design for his work on the 2018 production of An American in Paris. Kevin Heard joins the creative team for Cabaret as Sound Designer, returning to the Playhouse for his 18th Ogunquit production. Mr. Heard won an IRNE Award for Best Sound Design for his work on the 2017 production of Ragtime. Wig/Hair & Makeup Designer for Cabaret is Roxanne De Luna. Her previous creations were seen in the recent Ogunquit Playhouse productions of 42nd Street and Elf the Musical. Casting for the Ogunquit Playhouse production of Cabaret is by Anthony C. Daniel. Associate Director and Production Stage Manager is Robert V. Thurber.

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