‘Cabaret’ set for Friday and Saturday at Paramount

ASHLAND, Ky. — The Paramount Players are in final rehearsals to bring the Kit Kat Klub to life for this weekend’s performance of “Cabaret” at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland.

The Tony Award-winning musical, based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood, premiered on Broadway in 1966 and was adapted into a film in 1972 by acclaimed musical director Bob Fosse.

“It’s my favorite show ever, and I have been in over 100 shows,” Joshua Jannotta, of Ironton, who stars in the production as the Emcee, the flamboyant role played by Joel Grey in the film adaptation.

Jannotta, who serves as an education assistant, voice teacher and public relations assistant for the Paramount, said the musical, which focuses on two love stories, is set against the backdrop of the Nazi rise to power and tells the effects it had on the people of Berlin.

Two story revolves around two love stories. The first being that of Cliff, an American writer, portrayed by Greg Kiser, who falls for Sally Bowles, the British headliner at the club, played by Christina Dillow.

The second follows Fraulein Schneider, a German landlady, portrayed by Amy Nolan, and her admirer, Herr Schultz, the elderly Jewish owner of a fruit shop, played by Mark Baker. Their romance makes them a target in the anti-Semitic atmosphere of the era.

As the story progresses, the mood becomes darker, as the changes in Germany take hold and the atmosphere of the seedy club no longer allows people to escape their worries.

Jannotta said, in preparation for the production, a Bob Fosse dance teacher provided a master class to the cast.

“That way, they were able to understand the slinky movements of the Kit Kat Klub,” he said.

Jannotta, who has starred in “Cabaret” four times and has played the Emcee twice, said seeing the musical for the first time 20 years ago educated him and made him look into history.

“The storyline speaks to the heart and moves people,” Jannotta said. “It gave me a different view of the start of the Holocaust and Hitler’s reign.”

Jannotta said the performance of “Cabaret” at the Paramount will be dedicated to Helga Thorn, a survivor of the Holocaust, who lives in Huntington.

A German Jew born in Berlin in 1928, she was removed from public schooling at the age of 8 and sent to the south through Europe by her parents. She was then moved to Paris by a wealthy family, the Rothschilds, and lived there under a different name.

“When Helga was 8 years old, she was walking on her way home from school and passed Hitler,” Jannotta said. “To hide herself, Helga heiled Hitler, and went about her way.”

Her mother and younger brother were both lost in the concentration camps of the Nazis, while her father escaped from the camps and moved to the U.S. In 1940, at the age of 18, she was reunited with him in New York.

Jannotta said Thorn has contributed to theater in the Tri-State for more than 45 years and has served as the props mistress for many shows.

“Helga is a wonderful woman, and I am so happy to be able to dedicate the run of ‘Cabaret’ at the Paramount Arts Center to her,” he said.

The musical is directed and choreographed by Melanie Cornelison and directed by Mark Smith. In addition to Jannotta, the production stars several cast members from Lawrence County, including Hannah Rae Tussey, of Ironton as a Kit Kat girl; Kata Crizer, of Ironton High, as Bobby; Courtlyn Lewis, of Coal Grove High, as Kit Kat dancer Helga; Rick Payne, of Ironton, as Hans; and Savannah Burge, an Ironton High graduate, as Kit Kat dancer Texas.

Brianna Sexton, of South Point High School, serves on the technical crew, while Brandon Peters, of Ironton High is an assistant stage manager.

Performances of “Cabaret” begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $40 for VIPs and $25 for regular seats. Tickets will cost $2 more if purchased on the day of show. The performance is rated “R” for some sexual content. For more information, call (606) 324-3175.