An Anniversary Season at the FST Cabaret

Todays News

Pictured: Eric Scott Anthony, Hunter Brown and Ben Mackel in "Yesterday." Photo by: Matthew Holler

It’s a busy time at the Goldstein and Court Cabarets these days, with Soul Mates extending its run to Feb. 14, just as Yesterday opened, and the fifth edition of Laughing Matters right around the corner. With the stage set for this 20th anniversary season of the Florida Studio Theatre Cabaret series, Producing Artistic Director Richard Hopkins and Managing Director Rebecca Hopkins take stock for a moment.

“It’s a genre unto itself,” said Richard, as to the importance of keeping the Cabaret tradition alive. And each genre comes with its own particular challenges, part of the reason not many theaters feature regular Cabaret, the Hopkins agree. Cabaret requires a good environment, quality shows and great restaurant service, and all three have to come from the theater, including writing the shows. “And learning how to do all that is more than most people want to bite off,” said Rebecca.

Writing a Cabaret show typically takes around nine months for the pair, often working in collaboration with pianist Jim Prosser, as was the case for the British Invasion-themed Yesterday. Listening to every hit and chart-topper from 1955 to 1965, songs were ranked, removed or made note of according to quality, popularity and story-telling potential before becoming the matter to marry three distinct stories throughout the performance. “Our objective in all of this is to contextualize the songs in a fresh new way so that you hear it as if for the first time,” said Richard. “And that’s what’s made our Cabaret so successful.”

Successful enough so that on this 20th anniversary, the theater can celebrate the fourth season for the John C. Court Cabaret, opened in 2013. Already, the Hopkins say, seats are running out.

But perhaps one of most anticipated Cabaret performances this season comes with the arrival of the fifth edition of Laughing Matters, Sarasota’s own satirical sketch comedy musical in the vein of Saturday Night Live, except, the Hopkins agree, this show actually has to be good 100 percent of the time but still remain topical. “We go into rehearsal in a week and it’s still being written,” said Richard by way of explanation. And throughout the production’s run, Rebecca will continue to rewrite the show, along with her team of writers, including Prosser, Adam Ratner and Stephan Deghelder. But part of it also seems to be choosing one’s targets wisely. “Most of the world does not evolve as fast as you think it does,” said Rebecca. “Issues like overgrowth in Sarasota aren’t going away in four months.”

Soul Mate: A Journey to Hitsville runs in the John C. Court Cabaret through Feb. 14. Yesterday runs in the Goldstein Cabaret through May 1. Laughing Matters (Vol. 5) Lock the Gates! opens in the John C. Court Cabaret Feb. 17 and runs through Jun. 12.

Pictured: Eric Scott Anthony, Hunter Brown and Ben Mackel in "Yesterday." Photo by: Matthew Holler

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