“Singeaux: LIVE!” puts a unique twist on a range of classic musicals, combining familiar songs and energetic performances.
LSU’s Musical Theatre Club is closing out its 2024-2025 season with its production of “Singeaux: LIVE!,” directed by Jasmine Garrison and co-directed by Jada Petrie, who are both senior social work majors. “Singeaux” is a cabaret-style show featuring upbeat songs from a myriad of musicals, including “Hamilton,” “Shrek: The Musical” and “Hairspray.”
“The theme this year is ‘Singeaux: LIVE!,’” Garrison said. “I chose that theme because I really like a lot of lively, upbeat musical theatre songs. And in previous Singeauxs, I felt like they do solos and duets, which is fine, but I always wanted to highlight a lot more people on stage.”
This year’s Singeaux is an ensemble-heavy production, boasting a cast of 38 people who are able to showcase each of their own talents in both the large and small ensemble numbers. Another reason Garrison chose to cast such a large ensemble was because of the chemistry she saw among them during the auditions.
“We didn’t want to let them go,” Garrison said. “We saw them at dance call. They were so happy and cheering each other on. This was during the audition process. This wasn’t even, you know, no one got in. We can’t let these people separate because they’ve already formed a bond.”
The connection within the cast has only gotten stronger throughout the rehearsal process, with many new friendships forming as a result.
Abbey Mohr, a freshman communication disorders major, has been involved in MTC since the fall, participating in the “Haunted Hallways” cabaret in October and “High School Musical” in November. Through the shows, Mohr was able to meet new people and form friendships she never would have otherwise.
“The bonds and the friendships I have made so far have really been very strong,” Mohr said. “I knew a good bit of people from ‘High School Musical’ and cabaret, but just getting to meet newer people, like people who hadn’t been involved in the club before, and everybody just being so ready and willing to jump right in.”
However, the show has been met with a few challenges. Many students dropped the show, which required some of the numbers to be reworked to fill in the gaps. Another challenge has been finding spaces to rehearse.
“I think the most challenging part has probably been that we don’t have one set rehearsal space,” Nico Wachtel, freshman kinesiology major and stage manager, said. “So we have to move around a lot and adjust to different spaces, which has definitely been difficult.”
Still, the cast and the crew agree that the hard work and dedication put in by every member of production has been more than rewarding. Petrie is proud of the actors for working so hard and pushing themselves to give each number their all, and she loves watching them grow in their confidence with each rehearsal.
Part of what makes “Singeaux: LIVE!” different from other cabarets is the liveliness of it, Garrison said. Every song is upbeat, so there is never a lull in the energy of the show, and there is also a level of audience involvement.
“I think it’s just the live element of it and the fact that it’s very cast-involved as well,” Garrison said. “We have cast interacting with the audience. I wanted it to feel as if somebody was sitting in an actual cabaret. I wanted to close that gap between audience watching a show and more so audience being a part of the show.”
Mohr believes this new, lively spin on the classic cabaret is guaranteed to keep the audience fully engaged the whole time. The variety of musical numbers also ensures that there is bound to be a song for everyone to enjoy.
“‘Singeaux’ is definitely for people who want a little bit of everything for musical theatre,” Mohr said. “It’s not all over the place in a bad way, but there’s so much variety in it that there’s something there for everybody.”
“Singeaux: LIVE!” will have its only showing Thursday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the LSU Union Theater. Admission is free for everyone, and no RSVP is required.
