NTID Theatre History: Cabaret: November 2018

The unique blend of deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students performing on stage together guaranteed theater-goers a one-of-a-kind experience at the debut of the Tony-award winning classic Cabaret at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The performance of the hit musical ran in Panara Theatre in Lyndon Baines Johnson Hall, at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, and 2 p.m. Dec. 1–2.

The show, directed by Andy Head, visiting assistant professor, welcomed theater-goers to the top-secret Kit Kat Klub, where the music was loud, the dances were flashy, and the party raged on. The club’s newest headliner, Sally Bowles, met American writer Cliff Bradshaw, and their lives became entwined. But, as Nazism spread throughout Germany, questions and concerns continued to grow about how the club, its patrons, and Sally and Cliff—played by Kyle Buohl, a third-year ASL-English interpretation major from Boston—would fare. The show was not appropriate for children under 12.

“Though it took place in a very specific era, Cabaret had a timeless feel to it,” said Head. “Set in Germany at the crossroads of the crumbling Weimer Republic and the rise of Hitler’s Nazi Party, it showed us how people reacted to a rising storm on the horizon. Some fled, some fought, some fell in line, and some ignored the problem. A story like Cabaret forced us to ask ourselves how we reacted when we saw injustice spreading around us.

“In addition, we changed the roles of many of the characters from hearing to deaf and the effects were far-reaching. It affected the characters, the way the story was told, and how the audience received the story. Because of these conceptual changes, audiences were treated to a truly new and unique Cabaret. On a daily basis, I was amazed by what our students could do. This show challenged them in ways they might never have been challenged before onstage.”

This was Victoria Covell’s first foray into musical theater. She took on the lead role of Sally Bowles.

“It had been a rich learning experience and I was loving it,” said Covell, a third-year graphic design major from Jacksonville, Ill. “I had to learn to balance my time with school work and memorizing my lines. But it forced me to get out of my comfort zone and learn how to be self-confident. I also loved that I had been able to make new friends along the way.”