On March 4, 5, 6 and 7, Pioneer Players presented the in-person cabaret entitled “Hope Song Cabaret” for limited attendance with required mask wearing.
Cabarets are performances consisting of music, dancing, singing, or dramatic recitations and known to accompany meals or food, such as a casino or nightclub.
In order to view and to perform safely, both the audience and the performers followed specific guidelines.
Audience attendance was limited to a maximum capacity of 30 attendees for each performance. Audience members viewed the show from the first level of the Brodbeck Concert Hall in specially marked and socially spaced out seating, and were required to wear masks during the entirety of the show.
Likewise, Pioneer Players wore masks during the performance and socially distanced on stage.
The Hope Song Cabaret consisted of 23 pieces performed by 15 UW-Platteville students and spanned for 90 minutes.
Performances ranged from performers singing solos with musical accompaniment, singing duets with accompaniment, singing and playing their own accompaniment for solos and duets alongside poems and whole-cast performances.
The performance program quotes one of the flagship pieces of the show, “Hope is the Thing With Feathers” by Emily Dickinson: “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all.”
The spring semester brings hope of proper closure for graduating seniors, like theatre major and marketing major Madison Barbour and theatre major and music minor Beth Wallace, and hope of fresh beginnings for freshman Jessica Stefaniak.
In early May, the Pioneer Players will be performing “I HATE HAMLET,” by Paul Rudnick. More information will be provided as the semester progresses.