Following last year’s theme of ‘The Grammys,’ Westwood Choir presented Cabaret, with the theme of ‘Music Festivals,’ on Saturday, April 27. This year’s theme offered a wide variety in choices of music, such as the group opener Radio Ga Ga by Queen and the group closer All These Things That I’ve Done by The Killers, so students were able to showcase their diversity in music and performances.

“I really enjoy getting to perform for other people, so just playing and singing this year has been a really cool experience for me,” Andrew Stevens ‘20 said. “Also just getting to see everyone’s faces afterwards and everyone smiling, it’s a lot of fun. It’s kind of nerve-wracking, there are moments where I’m like ‘Oh shoot I’m actually on the stage right now and everyone’s looking at me,’ and then I have to kind of take a step back and hone back in.”

Cabaret featured two different shows, one at 2 p.m. and one at 7 p.m. The show presented two different lineups of featured acts, with some students performing in one or the other, and some who performed in both. Another feature unique to this year’s show was the use of a pre-show, allowing some students to perform at a different stage as people entered to see the main show. Students who were only performing in one of the shows got to do the pre-show for the one they weren’t featured in, along with some students who participated in the pre-show only.  

“Cabaret is really fun because you get to be with your friends, and it’s just a cool show to show what you can do,” Kyle Grimes ‘22 said. “I like [Timshel] because it fits right in our voices.”

The show was organized and put together by Head Choir Director Andre Clark, along with the help of two student officers, Maya Deol ‘20 and Manda Skevofilax ‘21. Student input was a large part of this show, as they got to chose some of their individual choir songs, such as Varsity Women’s rendition of Black Horse And The Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall, and even helped pick out the closer to the show. The group dances, Radio Ga Ga and All These Things That I’ve Done, were both choreographed by Elizabeth Wolf ‘20 and Rachel Rusch ‘20.

“Being behind the scenes is really fun because even though you’re not up front, you get to see what to do in order to make it all happen,” Skevofilax said. “You see the process to make it and being in Cabaret is a really fun experience because a lot of people come together in order to do some fun stuff.”

For some students, this was their last choir performance of the year before they graduate. The experience was bittersweet for the seniors, who all came together to sing the senior song Rivers and Roads by The Head and The Heart. As they stood together on stage in a uniform line, singing the somber song with lines such as ‘a year from now we’ll all be gone,’ the performance garnered tears from the crowd.

“I had fun singing and dancing with all my friends as a senior, and I’m gonna miss this school,” Nupur Sampat ‘19 said. “I think I was able to see all of our maturing throughout the years, especially the people who I was here with all for four years and are in my grade, I was able to kinda connect with them and have a one last hurrah moment.”

Cabaret isn’t the final choir event of the year, as the Varsity Women’s Choir will perform for the Girl Scouts of Central Texas next Friday, May 3, but it was the largest and most ambitious. From the posters, flags, and banners hanging around the cafeteria, to the numerous performances including live instruments, the entire experience was immersive and put on an impressive show.