The Cab is fab, and dinner theater delicious

What do Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, and David Duchovny have in common? The answer lies closer to home than you might think: all three actors attended Yale and were once involved with the Yale Cabaret. Duchovny, in fact, credits the Cabaret as the primary impetus for his decision to pursue a career in acting; it was a haven of energetic creativity for the young X-Filer amid his otherwise tedious, Group-IV-drenched undergraduate existence.

The Yale Cabaret, located at 217 Park St., is a dinner theater run by graduate students in the School of Drama. A different show goes up each weekend, with performances at 8:30 and 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. The Cabaret puts together six performances of a different show each week for nine weeks every semester. This ambitious schedule, pursued among the commitments of graduate student life, may be the primary reason for the Cabaret's reputation as the boldest theater in New Haven. With such a high output of productions and constantly changing casts and crews, the Cabaret revels in risk-taking.

It is difficult to characterize the Cabaret, because within each season it puts forth a tremendous cross- section of productions--from original works to repertory classics to dance pieces to musicals to one-man shows. As Managing Director Ruby Tugade, DRA '98, insists, there is no standard set of requirements considered in the choosing of the season's line-up. Even the performance space is uncharacteristic: a tiny stage at one end of the Cabaret's basement looks out onto three rows of tables accomodating 100 viewers for each performance.

The space can be seen as either intimate or claustrophobic. Danny Beaty, ES '98, who will perform his senior project next weekend at the Cabaret, argues that the small space is a benefit. He feels it allows for greater interaction between audience and performers, fosters a more casual atmosphere, and forces viewers to have a more direct relationship with the performance.

Just as the intimate nature of the space breaks down the traditional relationship between viewer and actor, the Cabaret's organizational structure attempts to break down traditional theater's standard hierarchies and politics, striving to be the most egalitarian theatre in town. Cabaret productions are usually put together and performed by drama students, but it is not rare to see an undergraduate or faculty face in a Cabaret role--even the celebrated chef, Kristyn LaPlante, makes frequent appearances on the stage. For drama students, the Cabaret offers an opportunity to break from traditional roles. Playwrights get a chance to direct, performers get a chance to write, the crew make frequent cameos in productions, and actors by no means occupy their traditional bottom-of-the-theater-ladder positions in making creative choices. Artistic Director Wade McIntyre, DRA '98, characterizes the Cabaret as simply "a stage where Drama School students can come and do their own thing," even if it is not what they normally do.

Although the Cabaret is a resource that remains largely untapped by the undergraduate population, it has always enjoyed a strong following from the graduate community and a body of faithful viewers from the New Haven area. This year, the Cabaret is making an unprecedented effort to attract undergraduates as both viewers and performers. Perhaps the most striking example of this will occur next weekend, Nov. 13 to 15, when Beaty takes center stage at the Cabaret in Paul Robeson, a one-man show written by Philip Hayes Dean and originally performed by James Earl Jones.

The show, roughly 30 percent song and 70 percent acting, chronicles the life of Paul Robeson, an immensely talented and accomplished performer whom Beaty characterizes as "the greatest artist of the 20th century."

Robeson's life certainly provides more than enough material for a one-man show. The son of a minister and former slave, Robeson was the valedictorian of his class at Rutgers University, where he lettered in four varsity sports. He then attended Columbia Law School, and went on to have one of the most dynamic dramatic careers of the 20th century. His achievements, among many others, include playing the original Joe in Showboat and starring in the longest running Shakespeare production in the history of Broadway.

Beaty adapted the script slightly for his performance--in addition to the character of Paul Robeson (played by Beaty), Regina Bain, ES '98, will portray the various people Robeson encounters throughout his life. Despite the numerous possibilities in Robeson's life for dramatic portrayal, the show is far from a simple revue.

A celebrated member of the International Communist Party, Robeson was heavily involved in politics . In an effort to reproduce the synthesis between art and politics that was so central to the development of Robeson's career, the show incorporates several critical events that played a significant role in shaping the cultural climate of the 20th century, such as the the Spanish Civil War, the rize of Nazism, and the development of the Cold War. Beaty was originally drawn to the script because it traced not only the life of an artist but also the ways in which art and public life converge. Robeson's formation of his artistic beliefs and goals had numerous antecedents in the international climate of his own lifetime.

The organization and frequent output of the Cabaret lends itself to a hit-or-miss paradigm. With little time to prepare for shows, some productions are more successful than others. But one constant amid the Cabaret's multiple variables is that each week offers a fresh, new experiment. It is precisely this environment of creativity, intensity, and artistic freedom that has given the Cabaret its reputation. As Assistant Artistic Director Vivian Keh, DRA '98, attests, "Some of the best stuff around has happened at the Yale Cabaret; it is the boldest theatre in New Haven." Indeed, the viewer never knows quite what to expect.

To get an idea of the Cabaret's taste for eclecticism, one must only glance at the list of productions in this fall's season. The line-up includes Eleemosynary, Lee Blessing's repertory classic focusing on the lives and interactions of three generations of women; Quickies, a highly successful production of eight five-minute original plays about sex contributed by a randomly chosen group of people linked with the Cabaret; Christopher Columbus, a one-act chronicling the adventures of the famous explorer; and She's Got Great Form (playing this weekend), an original dance piece conceived and created by two drama students Adrienne Carter, DRA '99, and Joey Parsons, DRA '99. These only make up half of the Cabaret's season. Granted, the Cabaret takes a kamikaze approach to theater, but the randomness is what makes it such a genuine forum for different kinds of creativity. The constant new ideas and new approaches, and the requisite flow of energy and intensity given the few rehearsals for each show, are what keep the theater from stagnating or only appealing to a small group of individuals. The Cabaret's willingness to take risks and to operate outside the traditional and often restrictive structures of many theaters is what makes it so refreshing.

Admission for the general public is six dollars per show, but Yale students can enjoy a reduced seasonal membership fee of 40 dollars, which not only grants free access to all shows and special events, but also entitles members to bring a friend for five dollars. Before and during shows, viewers can enjoy the culinary creations of LaPlante. There is a reduced menu on Thursdays, offering desserts, drinks, and snacks (minimum three dollars), and on Fridays and Saturdays, viewers choose from a full menu of soups, salads, appetizers, entrees, and desserts (food and drink minimum four dollars). An additional feature this year is the Friday pre-show, a brief curtain-raiser that showcases different undergraduate performance organizations each week.

The Cabaret's choice to offer their stage to an undergraduate production such as Paul Robeson is a partial break from precedent, but in the Yale Cabaret, precedent clearly does not occupy a hallowed position. So descend into the bowels of the ivy-covered Cabaret one of these weekends, eat a delicious dinner, and sample a slice of cutting-edge theatre. You could encounter almost anything. And who knows, maybe you'll unknowingly witness the fledging career of the next David Duchovny.

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