Fifty Years of Cabaret at Georgetown: An Exhibition from the University Archives

Pictured are Robin deSilva, Gary Kearns, and April Farmer. Organized by Frank Healey and Paul Burns, Cabaret 1976 was held in Darnall Lounge.

In its second year, Cabaret utilized Copley Formal Lounge. Proceeds went to the Community Action Coalition.
 

In 1978, Cabaret had moved from Copley Formal Lounge to the Hall of Nations in Walsh and by 1979, its production costs were around $6,000 per year. Performers included David Kleinberg, Teddy Zambetti, Mari-Lynn Valitutti, Janice Valitutti, Dana Galullo, Mary-Jo O’Reilly, Kimmie Harmuth, Greg Kozanski, Joan O’Grady, Joe di Carlo, Tom Landis, Carroll Carter, Lance Langston, Dave Shimchuk, Bob Coulehan, Steve Mohyla, Renato Blain, Robin Ryder, April Parmer, Sheryl Williams, April Farmer, Robin deSilva, and John Keane. The Masters of Ceremonies were Joe Pollicino and Tom Hearn.
 

Gary Kearns was a founding father of Cabaret. The Georgetown Voice noted in its May 1 review of Cabaret 1979: The night ends at 3:15 a.m. . . . Gary Kearns jumps from behind the ferns and the grand piano, giving his Christmas elf grin, and the music has a crazy fin-de-siecle, apres la deluge feeling of a lifetime of four years. "Dixie Chicken" turns into a medley as the audience bops and dips like pieces of driftwood on the ocean tide, the beat signaling the return to mundanity, insanity put back again into the cage of classes in the morning.
 

Mary Ann Brady served as emcee and musical directors were Lance Langston, John Colias, Robert Coulehan and Teddy Zambetti. Performers included Dana Galullo, Suzi Zibelli, Debbie Orloff, Muffy Potter, J.C. Dib, Carolynn Rockafellow, Janice Valitutti, Amy Dickinson, Lynn Gori, Joe Cammarata, Larry Chespak, Mac Connelly, Tom Winkler, Chuck Winnikates, Kris Reddington, Mary Ellen Conway, and Karen Moss.
 

Seen at the bottom of the second page are Bob Carlsen and Larry "Pops" Hicks. "Pops", an officer with the Georgetown University Police Department, played drums and percussion with Cabaret bands for nine years.
 

Pictured are Arlene Lotti, Cabaret 1984’s chief musical coordinator (left), and Pam Hoyt.
 

Cabaret ran from April 21-25, 1987. Students waited in line for the $14 tickets, some arriving sixteen hours before sales actually began, equipped with blankets, coolers, beach chairs, and even a VCR. The concert consisted of covers of over 30 songs from, among others, Steely Dan, Steve Winwood, The Pretenders, The Supremes, and Eric Clapton.
 

Cabaret 1989 was the first to be “dry” as it was held in Gaston Hall, where University regulations prohibit food and beverages.
 

Among the producers for Cabaret 1990 was Nancy Huang. Around $2500 was raised to help start a Covenant House chapter in Washington, D.C.
 

In 1991, Cabaret moved entirely off-campus, with performances at the Bayou and rehearsals in an upstairs room at Bill’s of Beverly Hills restaurant on M Street. A total of 18 performers took to the stage, a smaller number than previous years. The Cabaret band included members of campus bands Faded Blues, Fallout Shelter, Wet Spiders and the GU Jazz Band. The $5,800 proceeds from the show were donated to the D.C. Special Olympics.
 

During its three sold-out performances at the Bayou, Cabaret 1992 raised $6,500 for the Starlight Foundation of New York, a non-profit organization that aids critically and terminally ill children. The show was produced by Karen Bronzo, John T. McLoughlin, and Kirsten Thien.
 

Cabaret 1993 was produced by Kirsten Thien, Jaya Bateman, Hilary Drummond and Dan Marchese. The performances raised $5,700 for So Others May Eat (SOME).
 

Cabaret 1994 was held at the Bayou for the fourth consecutive year. Hosted by Jaya Bateman and Ron Faris, the show featured performances by Pat Conroy, S.J., and thirteen Georgetown students, backed by a seven member student band. Profits from the shows benefitted The Orphan Foundation of America.
 

Produced by Jeremy Neuner, Jaya Bateman and Mike Jones, proceeds from Cabaret 1995 went to the National Orphanage Foundation and the D.C. Schools Project.
 

Rehearsals were held in the basement of Café Niagara on M Street. The 1996 Cabaret band included Evan Field and Maureen Butler on guitar, Joe O’Brien on bass, Shan Vosseller on drums, C. Brian Crane on keyboards, and Matt Heckman and John Fishback as the horn section.
 

Cabaret 1999 moved from the Bayou (after it closed) to the Black Cat. Proceeds went to the D.C. Schools Project.
 

Cabaret 2003 moved from the Black Cat to the downtown night club Insomnia which had a state of the art soundsystem and a capacity of 1000, 300 more than the Black Cat. Proceeds again went to the D.C. Schools Project.
 

Diamant, a producer of the show, had nearly the entire audience singing along to her rendition of I Will Survive. Cabaret 2004 was held at Kili’s Kafe and Lounge on 8th Street, N.W., and benefitted the D.C. Schools Project.
 

The event venue was the Fur Night Club at 33 Patterson Street NE. Free buses, supplied by The Corp, took students there. A special preview performance was held at the Tombs. 
 

Cabaret 2015 was hosted at the Black Cat nightclub on U St. The show featured ten vocalists, including members of three different a cappella groups, two guitarists, three saxophonists, two drummers, a bassist and a keyboardist. Proceeds from the show went to the Center for Social Justice.
 

Cabaret 2020 was held at the U Street Music Hall. Proceeds went to Relay for Life.