Mark H. Dold ’96 in Nirvanov, Yale Cabaret 1994.
Bridget Jones ’06 in The Boss in the Satin Kimono, Yale Cabaret 2005.
were leaving in their costumes. Tan was usually so good-natured. Who knew she had it in her? “One production stands out in my mind,” says Beau Coleman ’89. “The Mikado. The cast was huge, and it was 90% non-actors. There was such delight in everyone’s eyes when they were performing. It seemed to epitomize what the Yale Cabaret stands for—a home for all YSD students to come together to create, collaborate and celebrate their discoveries with the audience.”
Political Action But if the Cabaret were just a weekly love-in, it wouldn’t be nearly as important to the culture of the school. “You didn’t feel like you had to ‘define yourself’ there, [but] that’s not to say people weren’t judging,” says Connie Grappo ’95 (ad ’93–’94). “It is, after all, the Drama School, where everyone has an opinion about everything and doesn’t hesitate to share. The shows opened every Thursday, and every Friday, word was out.”
Word is not always good, though Cullman feels that’s valuable. “I remember [that] even when the selections caused intense controversy, the Cabaret sparked important dialogue in the community,” he says. “For example, when there was a feminist outcry over a planned production of Miss Julie—the actress cast as Miss Julie decided the part was too misogynist and refused to go on—several dramaturgy students held a series of talkbacks before and after performances to generate a debate about the alleged woman-bashing in Strindberg’s text. Also, several students, from dramaturgs to directors to stage managers, went on as Miss Julie in the lead actress’ stead.” For Marshall Williams ’95 (ad ’93 –’94), helpful conflict arose over the nature of the Cabaret itself. “In my years, it was not really a political forum, which it definitely had been when it started,” he says. “In our year, there was an anniversary celebration for the Cabaret and a few ‘founders’ came back for it, and gave us a taste of how the Cabaret was started. I remember one of them saying, ‘Well, if it’s just going to be a song-and-dance evening of fun, that’s not what the
March 1971
1971–1972
Summer 1974
1974 –1975
Robert Brustein’s ’51 New York Times article “Can We Give Up the Theater?” mentions Yale Cabaret for the first time in the national press.
The Cabaret establishes its current schedule of performances Thursdays through Saturdays, with a new production each week.
The Summer Cabaret is officially created by a group of students including Christopher Durang ’74, Meryl Streep ’75, Walton Jones ’75, Mitchell Kurtz ’75, and James Ingalls ’76.
Christopher Durang ’74 premieres ’dentity Crisis. Yale Cabaret earns its first liquor license.
(Right) Ernie Hudson ’76 and Ron Recasner ’74 in the Cabaret’s 1973 production of Being Hit (Middle right) Wendy Wasserstein ’76, Albert Innaurato ’74, and Christopher Durang ’74
16
YSD 2008