Cabarets are a casual staple celebrating Broadway musical hits without actually paying the big bucks to see a full-length show.
But the one-woman scripted show, once a New York phenomenon, is making inroads into the local cabaret scene.
“Cabarets tend to have personal stories. When I was younger I saw Sherri Sommerville perform in a scripted show and it was so funny. After I saw it, I wanted to do a theatrical one-woman show as opposed to a personal story,” says Tara Brodin.
The vivacious Edmonton-based singer/raconteuse is about to go off her rocker with I’ll Show Ya Crazy, a tongue-in-cheek peek at a woman who believes she’s losing her mind. It plays Feb. 2 to 7 at Catalyst Theatre.
Accompanying her is Ryan Sigurdson, former St. Albert Children’s Theatre musical director. They have been friends since their MacEwan College student days and both graduated in 2001.
Brodin also tapped Stewart Lemoine, a prolific writer of about 60 plays and founding artistic director of Edmonton’s Teatro La Quindicina, to pen the script. “He’s incredibly insightful, quirky and funny.”
The premise starts with a woman who visits a therapist, an idiosyncratic analyst who has invited the audience to listen as she sings her way through the insanity.
Woven into the lyrically loopy script are 17 unhinged songs such as Losing My Mind from Follies, Around the World from Great Gardens and Unusual Way from Nine.
In the middle of the playful lunacy, musical director and vocal coach Sigurdson has developed a light-hearted reputation as “a slave driver,” laughs Brodin.
“Ryan has incredibly high standards and I totally appreciate that. He’s very particular and wants to understand every nuance of the music. He is excellent at musical interpretation.”
The evening start time is 7:30 p.m. with weekend matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20/adults; $15/students and seniors. Tuesday evening and Saturday matinee are pay-what-you-can. Call 780-420-1757 or visit www.tixonthesquare.ca.
