Cabaret Games To Hit Chicago

Do you miss live theater? Do you want to support a good cause? So do four suburban Chicago theater companies! The Highland Park Players, Big Noise Theatre, Big Deal Productions, and Music on Stage have decided to band together and create their own virtual stage to cope with these strange times. Starting on July 5th at 7pm CST, you can enjoy the fruits of their labors, and even participate in the fun by voting for which songs contestants will sing! This first of its kind program is being produced in association with the Highland Park Players and is being executed in partnership with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The contest, called the Cabaret Games, boasts theater celebrities such as Jason Robert Brown, Laura Osnes (Two Time Tony Nominee, Broadway: Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Grease, Anything Goes), Jessica Vosk (Broadway: Wicked, Bridges of Madison County), Amber Iman (Broadway: Shuffle Along, Soul Doctor), YouTube sensation Katherine Steele, Chris Jones (Chicago Tribune Theater Critic), Lesli Margherita (Laurence Olivier Award Winner, Broadway: Matilda), Samantha Pauly (Broadway: Six, West End: Evita), and Chicago theater favorite, Sawyer Smith. There is even an original theme song written by Chicago musicians, Aaron Kaplan and Michael Goldman!

The competition will air as four uniquely themed episodes on social media (Facebook and Youtube) on July 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th at 7pm CST. But don't worry, even if you miss the original airing, you can watch later!

The presentations are free to watch. To ensure you don't miss any exciting content or game announcements, be sure to like or follow the Cabaret Games Facebook page.

How the game is played: Each theater company functions as a team. Each week, the teams recruit a talented competitor to represent their organization. Episodes explore different themes ranging from Contemporary Musical Theater, Classic Musical Theater, Twisted Broadway, and even a Jason Robert Brown week. The public has an opportunity to vote on which songs the contestants sing, and then teams have 3 days to create the performance videos. The teams will be pulling out all the stops! A celebrity judge then ranks the videos. The team with the best cumulative rankings at the conclusion of the four rounds wins the competition.

The game is the creation of Highland Park Player's board member Holly Weis. "I think this game is unique because we are four theater groups that usually function independently but have joined forces, literally sharing our voices on social media, to create theater at a time that is almost impossible to do so."

Game creative staff includes Holly Weis (Executive Producer), Cathy Jacobson (Producer), Heather Benveniste (Producer), SarahAnn Sutter (Producer), Brad Rose (Highland Park Players), Frank Roberts (Music On Stage), Brent Walker (Big Noise Theatre), Lindsay Grandt (Big Deal Productions), Jacob Cohen (Public Relations), Martha Shuford (Costume Consultant), Aaron Kaplan (Theme Song), Michael Goldman (Theme Song), Henry Gessner (Media Assistant), Joshua Lederman (Game Advisor), Marty Karlin (Game Advisor), Ken Preuss (Game Advisor), and Tim Walsh (Assistant Script Writer/Special Content).

If you are interested in contributing to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, please visit the Cabaret Games fundraising page

See you at the Games! Learn more about our event: facebook.com/cabaretgames