{"id":28404,"date":"2018-04-13T03:59:42","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T10:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=28404"},"modified":"2018-04-13T08:41:29","modified_gmt":"2018-04-13T15:41:29","slug":"cabaret-a-timely-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2018\/04\/13\/cabaret-a-timely-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Cabaret a timely show"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Wilkinson, left, and Kurtis D\u2019Aoust in Royal City Musical Theatre\u2019s Cabaret<\/em>, which plays at Massey Theatre until April 29. (photo by Emily Cooper)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The musical Cabaret<\/em> is a classic in the English-speaking world. Since its Broadway premi\u00e8re in 1966, it\u2019s been staged multiple times in many countries, and its acclaimed movie version of 1972 won eight Oscars. This April, Royal City Musical Theatre (RCMT) brings the show to New Westminster\u2019s Massey Theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw the Cabaret<\/em> movie many years ago, but it\u2019s quite different from the stage musical, which I saw for the first time on Broadway in New York, starring Alan Cumming, in 2015,\u201d actor Michael Wilkinson told the Independent.<\/em> \u201cThe Broadway production was spectacular; not only is the show filled with great songs and dance numbers, but the various storylines were, and are, timely to current events that we\u2019re seeing around the world today.\u201d<\/p>\n

With music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, the show is loosely based on the book Cabaret<\/em>, written by Christopher Isherwood.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking place in Berlin [in 1931] just before the Nazis came to power, Cabaret<\/em> demonstrates how there was an increasing presence of far-right wing politics, which is not dissimilar to some of the political movements we\u2019re seeing in the United States,\u201d said Wilkinson, who is a member of the Jewish community. \u201cIt provides a stark reminder of how we need to stand up for those who are most vulnerable in society.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the RCMT production, Wilkinson plays Victor, one of the performers at the cabaret. Victor is a dancer, singer and waiter, Wilkinson explained. \u201cAs Victor, I spend most of the play singing and dancing in the ensemble numbers, as well as serving and fooling around with the patrons. It\u2019s a fun role, and many dance numbers are very energetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike most members of the cast, Wilkinson doesn\u2019t see his professional life revolving around theatre. \u201cI actually am not studying acting,\u201d he said. \u201cI did study theatre for one year right after high school in New York at NYU. However, after an amazing year, I decided that theatre school was not for me, so I returned to Vancouver. I\u2019m currently one year away from graduating with a bachelor of arts from UBC\u2019s Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice. I would love to work in arts marketing or management, but I am also very passionate about youth education.\u201d<\/p>\n

For him, theatre is a beloved hobby, although he did want to be an actor as a child. \u201cI grew up taking theatre and music classes, which I loved. I went to the fine arts theatre program at Lord Byng Secondary School,\u201d he said. \u201cI participated in school plays. I also participated throughout high school in many community and professional theatre productions across the Lower Mainland. And I\u2019ve continued to do so into adulthood. I love to do theatre in my spare time, and companies like RCMT provide a great opportunity for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being in a musical is ideal for the young performer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started playing violin when I was 5 and I played oboe in my high school band, so music has always been a part of my life,\u201d he said. \u201cMusicals just seemed like a natural genre for me to fall into when I became interested in theatre. I love being in big musicals, like Cabaret<\/em>. RCMT is a great company because they present big musicals every year, which is not something that every theatre company is able to do. This is my fourth show with RCMT. With them, I\u2019ve had lots of fun in the smaller featured roles or as part of the ensemble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past several years, Wilkinson has performed with many theatrical companies in Vancouver. In addition to RCMT, he has played in shows put on by Theatre Under the Stars, Awkward Stage Productions, Gateway Theatre, Bard on the Beach, and Footlight Theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of them have been non-paying [roles], which was fine growing up and going through high school,\u201d he said. \u201cI never expected to get paid at that age. However, this year, RCMT introduced an actor honoraria, which is very helpful to offset transportation costs. While this is certainly not the case for many other cast members, I\u2019m not at a point where I\u2019m looking to make a living from doing theatre. I have two other part-time jobs, my UBC classes and rehearsals, so [being in] shows that do not pay, or at least not very much, works for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The timing of a show is more important to him than the financial side, because he has to juggle his schedule. This is why he doesn\u2019t go to auditions very often. \u201cI only audition for productions that I would really want to be in and that I know I can commit to, in terms of rehearsals and performance dates,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He enjoys everything involved in putting on a show. \u201cI love the rehearsal process,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause it is so exciting to watch a production come to life with all its elements: music, choreography, scene work, props, costumes, sets and lights, and eventually the audience. It is also great to get to know a new group of actors as we come together to work on a production. The Vancouver theatre community is quite small, so there are usually some familiar faces, but every cast kind of becomes a family for the duration of a show \u2013 some of my best friends I\u2019ve met through theatre. And, of course, performing the final product in front of the audience is always very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilkinson is not sure yet what his future holds, or even where he will be after graduation. \u201cI\u2019ve lived in Vancouver my whole life, minus my one year in New York,\u201d he said. \u201cVancouver is home, but if a really great job presented itself outside of Vancouver, I would never say no. I\u2019m also interested in doing my master\u2019s degree at some point, so that may involve a move, as well. I think it\u2019s important to be happy in whatever we\u2019re doing, so that\u2019s how I try to guide my education, work and theatre to balance in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cabaret <\/em>opened at Massey Theatre April 12 and runs until April 29. For tickets and information, visit royalcitymusicaltheatre.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Wilkinson, left, and Kurtis D\u2019Aoust in Royal City Musical Theatre\u2019s Cabaret, which plays at Massey Theatre until April 29. (photo by Emily Cooper) The musical Cabaret is a classic in the English-speaking world. Since its Broadway premi\u00e8re in 1966, it\u2019s been staged multiple times in many countries, and its acclaimed movie version of 1972 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[729,53,3607,5586,6296],"class_list":["post-28404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-cabaret","tag-holocaust","tag-massey-theatre","tag-michael-wilkinson","tag-musical-theatre"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}