The McCallum choir performed its most widely anticipated concert of the year: Cabaret, in the MAC, Thursday through Sunday. This year’s theme was “Heroes and Villains of Broadway.” The choir performed songs from a variety of Broadway musicals featuring battles between good and evil. There were several full-group numbers such as “No One Mourns the Wicked” from Wicked, “One Day More” from Les Misérables and “Waitin’ For The Light To Shine” from Big River, as well as many solos, duets and class numbers. “Cabaret focuses less on traditional choral music and more on music people can relate to,” said sophomore Jewel New. “There’s also more of a performance aspect. I really enjoy doing the dances and group numbers. I also have a duet which has been such a fun experience.”

We are pleased to share some of our favorite moments from the 2019 Choir Cabaret as this week’s #Tuesday Top 10.

LAST MINUTE EDITION: Flanked by backup singers Darian Deitrich, Janael Copeland and River Rutledge, senior Duval Bignham performs “Hard to Be the Bard” during McCallum Choir’s Cabaret on Saturday night in the McCallum Arts Center. Bingham wasn’t assigned the singing role until the day the show opened, but when pressed into service he answered the call of duty. “I told Ms. Kashdan I would learn it that night,” Bignham said, “And then I learned the song and performed it on opening night.” Bingham is a member of the top choir, First Edition and had three solos in the show in this year’s show. “Cabaret is the best part of the year,” Bingham said, “because it’s the closest thing [in choir] to musical theatre.” Caption by Samantha Powers. Photo by Madelynn Niles.

ZOMBIE ENTOURAGE: Senior Cynthia Maldanado (aka Morticia) performs “When You’re An Addams” from the musical, The Addams Family. “It was really fun because I had to keep a straight face, which is a lot easier than smiling,” Maldanado said. The theme for cabaret this year was heroes and villains, which begs the question: are the members of the Addams Family heroes or villains? Photo by Kennedy Weatherby. Caption by Elly Schottman.

BEING THERE TOGETHER: Junior Marlee Foster performs “I Know Where I’ve Been” from Hairspray: The Musical. The song began as the final solo of the evening, then the rest of the choir joins Foster on stage. “I get to see everyone back me up, which is a magnificent feeling,” Foster said. “Cabaret is really cool because you get to see all the different choirs come together and make something” together. Caption by Anna Bausman and Elly Schottman. Photo by Anna Bausman.

SO, SO COOL: Angus Sewell McCann performs his solo “Cool, Cool, Considerate Men” during the final dress rehearsal for McCallum Choir’s 2019 Cabaret, Heroes & Villains of Broadway on Wednesday: “All choirs really got into shape on such short notice,” Sewell McCann said. “Last year’s show was really fun, so we had high expectations without a lot of time; however, I think we really pulled it together despite our short practice time.” This year’s edition of Cabaret focused on Broadway shows and musicals, both classic and contemporary. Caption by Kien Johnson. Photo by Alysa Bijl-Spiro.

THEIR OWN TWIST: Performing a featured duet, Sophomore Abigail Lehman and Senior Zion Flores sing with a dramatic glance down, a reference to the lyrics in their song. The two joined forces with to create their own choreography and twist on the piece. “I really loved the collaboration of this song,” Lehman stated. “Getting to work with Zion is so much fun, and to get the song and make it our own was a great experience.” Photo and caption by Madelynn Niles.

SHUT UP HEATHER: Seniors Janael Copeland and Cynthia Maldonado perform “Candy Store” from Heathers: the Musical. Copeland said while performing this song she felt very powerful. “My section was the main girl who gets to say, ‘Shut up, Heather.’ It was a fun little song to do and our costumes really put us in the mood for it.” Caption Anna Bausman and Elly Schottman. Photo by Anna Bausman.

A CHILSTROM CINDERELLA: Portraying the role of Cinderella, senior Kat Chilstrom sings a featured in solo in the Cabaret showcase. Soon after this portion of the number, senior Sami Gade came out on stage, playing the role of her fairy godmother, and transformed her into a princess ready for the ball. “Basically, I’m singing about how my life sucks,” Chilstrom stated. “It was fun, because I have never done a solo before in Cabaret, so the fact that I got one for my senior year felt really great.” Caption by Madelynn Niles. Photo by Anna Bausman.

BELLOWING BRILLIANCE : Junior Caleb Melville sings “Knights of the Round Table” from Monty Python and the Holy Grail during the “Heroes and Villains of Broadway” Choir Cabaret Concert. “Saturday night I felt was out best night, the crowd was cheering the loudest,” Melville said, adding that Cabaret differs from every other performance that the choir does. He said the ability to perform pop music and learn choreographed dances really stuck out to him. Caption by Javier Vela. Photo by Kennedy Weatherby.

PULLING YOU IN:  Senior Zion Flores reached out as he performs “Beauty Underneath,” a song from The Phantom of the Opera, as a part of the annual McCallum Cabaret showcase. Cabaret has been a tradition for more than 30 years at MAC,including featured soloists, small group numbers and each choir group. “[‘Beauty Underneath’] is a really scary song to kick off such a weird but joyful Cabaret show,” Flores said. “This is the first thing that really pops out to everybody because … this is the first song with real choreography.” Photo by Madelynn Niles. Caption by Madelynn Niles and Frances Arellano.

SHINE TOGETHER: Junior Trini De La Garza, second from the right, smiles and reached up as he sings “Waiting for the Light to Shine” alongside his fellow choir members. In this song, all of the choir students came together to perform a large group number. According to De La Garza, the number had “a lot of choreography to learn, but [he] was able to get it all together when it came time to perform.” Caption by Anna Bausman and Elly Schottman. Photo by Kennedy Weatherby.