Contributed
An Evening of Cabaret is a fusion of music and comedy, which combines a number of musical genres and comedic styling, with everything from Edith Piaf, to Billy Joel, to Broadway and jazz.
The show opens and closes with a couple of well-known numbers from the musical Cabaret. There are also a few exciting guests who are sure to wow the audience.
The show features Danica Hardy, Heather Harker, Michael Jarzecki, Jeannine Kuemmerle, Alex MacArthur, Emily MacArthur and Rick Smith as the host. Coreen Smith and the Hot Flashes will also appear as special guests.
Most of these performers hail from the Okanagan, and are all looking forward to sharing their passion for music and performance with the Vernon community.
In their youth, Harker, Kuemmerle, Alex, and Emily performed throughout the Okanagan in various music festivals and community shows. They each left Vernon to pursue their passions in voice, piano and theatre.
Harker studied voice at Mount Allison University and received her master’s in voice at the University of Victoria. She also performed as a soloist with the UVic Orchestra and the Victoria Chamber Orchestra.
Alex studied piano at UVic and the Conservatoire de Montreal, has performed as a guest soloist with the Kamloops and Okanagan Symphonies and has performed many times with the Powerhouse Theatre.
Emily and Kuemmerle both studied theatre at UVic and Emily has performed in community theatres in Vernon, Kelowna, Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. Kuemmerle has also performed in numerous theatre productions and says she’s not bad, considering she’s asthmatic.
Hardy, who has been singing musical theatre since the age of eight, is a performer with the Vernon Community School Glee Club and was part of a local band called She Laughs for three years.
Jarzecki’s musical background is in piano, organ, and voice. He has accompanied numerous musical theatre productions, performers and choirs. He recently played solo piano for a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Lolanthe and is currently involved with the Cum Vino Cantus choir in Calgary.
Rick is well-known in the Vernon community as an accomplished singer and hilarious comedic presence, often seen onstage at the Powerhouse Theatre.
Each performer brings a different flavour to the show, as they each focus on a different musical style.
One of Hardy’s favourite genres is jazz, and she is excited to share some of her favourite tunes.
Emily’s greatest love is musical theatre, and she is hoping to bring a little Broadway to 30th Street on a Saturday night.
Alex is a rock-star on the piano, and will also be banging out some show tunes. Jarzecki is also a sucker for jazz and can’t say no to a good comedic interlude.
Harker’s forte is classical opera, and Kuemmerle will belt out a few old-fashioned classics and some contemporary hits to boot.
The idea for An Evening of Cabaret came when Alex, Emily and Harker reconnected for a recent musical performance in Salmon Arm, which Harker had organized. Jarzecki happened to be in town that weekend and gamely jumped up to perform some hits by Frank Sinatra and Tim Minchin. Hardy, Kuemmerle and Rick joined the group this summer to complete the cast of An Evening of Cabaret.
An Evening of Cabaret takes over the Elks Lodge #45, 3103-30th St., Sept. 30. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are available at the Bean Scene Coffee House and Expressions of Time. For more information, email eemacarthur@gmail.com.