Moonstruck Theater Company Set to Perform Cabaret

Monday, July 08, 2013

Jeffrey Starr, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

The emcee and Sally Bowles in the upcoming production of Cabaret.

The local Moonstruck Theater Company is set for four performances of the legendary musical Cabaret July 19-21 at the West Boylston Junior-Senior High School.

Set in 1931 Berlin as the Nazis are rising to power, Cabaret focuses on nightlife at the seedy Kit Kat Klub. The action revolves around the 19-year-old English performer Sally Bowles and her relationship with the young American writer Cliff Bradshaw while the world around them teeters on the brink of destruction. Immortalized on screen by Liza Minelli and Joel Grey, the show features many classic Broadway tunes such as 'Willkommen", "Money", and the eponymous "Cabaret".

"Cabaret is a show that requires both strong acting and dancing. Our company has both actors that can handle the intense emotion of the scenes, and dancers who can perform the incredibly athletic dancing in numbers like 'Money' and 'Willkommen'," says Caroline Fonseca, owner of the Moonstruck Theater Company and choreographer for Cabaret.

"We wanted a show that would showcase our strengths. Beyond this, the past few years we have done some very light-hearted musicals that were very fun, but our best shows are the ones where we take something everyone's seen before and do it in a new way. To this end, our Cabaret includes multimedia elements of film and results in a very new conceptual take on an classic show."

This is quite literally a version of this classic musical you have never seen before, even featuring some elements that have never been done with this particular show, promises the choreographer.

"It's a great night of theater at an affordable price featuring local talent. I hope people enjoy themselves, see an old favorite in a new light, and maybe join us for our next production," she says.

The Moonstruck Theater Company

Moonstruck Theater Company is an arts charity founded by and for students of all ages. It was co-founded in the summer of 2006 by Fonseca with college and high school friends with a budget of just $200. There are members of all ages from throughout Massachusetts.

"7 years later, we are still here, doing big budget musicals with a full pit orchestra. Our mission is to educate anyone who wants to learn about stagecraft by getting involved in real productions, no experience necessary, just a passion for theatre," says Fonseca.

Moonstruck is continuing to thrive despite the fact the arts continue to struggle to survive in an environment often hostile to or unaware of their intangible benefits to the community, as Fonseca explains.

"Coming to these shows is a community experience. Sometimes you know someone in the show, sometimes you don't. After the show, you see an actor in the hall and tell them they were great. You go with a friend or a group, see a live performance--it gives you all something to talk about on the way home; you liked the set, you loved the way an actor performed a song, you wonder if it was anything like the movie. It leads you down a new avenue to discover something else artistic that you might fall in love with."

Cabaret promises to be yet another success for this young but prolific theater company.

The West Boylston Junior-Senior High School is located at 125 Crescent Street in West Boylston. The performances of Cabaret will take place at 8 pm on July 19 and 20; and 2 pm on July 20 and 21. Attendees can buy tickets here.