The production will take place at the school from 11 to 14 March with the highly-talented cast of pupils striving to bring the Broadway classic Cabaret to the high school stage. Choreographer Jaco van Rensburg, who has performed in the South African production of Jersey Boys, said Cabaret was an interesting choice for a school production as the story has many dark undertones and themes.
He added, “It’s not your typical sing-a-long musical. It is very much focused on the story which is interesting for a school to do.”
Head of the cultural department for Hyde Park High School, Danielle Bentel, said performers attended a three-hour history lesson regarding the ’20s and ’30s to truly understand the period portrayed in the musical.
Bentel added, “We think it’s important to take education out of the classroom.”
Directed by acclaimed actress and choreographer Elizma Badenhorst, the show will stay true to the original musical while giving the students topical issues to grapple with. Badenhorst said, “I would like kids to open their eyes to the danger of being ignorant. It’s so easy to say that this all happened 80 years ago and that it has no influence. But as I was working with the kids, their eyes opened to the relevance of the production.”
Badenhorst and van Rensburg believe that the school hosts a great deal of theatrical talent and that the show will be a big hit with prospective audiences who will fully appreciate the students’ hard work.
Van Rensburg concluded that they would approach the high school production as a professional production and try get it to the best standard with the talent that they have.
