Debuting Artist: Sarah Gibson

 OpenStage warmly welcomes Sarah Gibson, the lovely and multi-faceted actress playing Fraulein Kost/Fritzie in “Cabaret.” 

My favorite roles include Helen Hubbard (“Murder on the Orient Express”) at Candlelight Playhouse, Johnstown, CO, Norma Desmond (“Sunset Boulevard”) at New Century Theater, Minneapolis, MN, Nettie Fowler (“Carousel”) at Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, PA, Mrs. Wormwood (“Matilda”) at The Rose Theater, Omaha, NE, Signora Naccarelli (“The Light in the Piazza”) at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul, MN, and Doatsy Mae (“Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”) featuring Sally Struthers, at Artistry Theater, Bloomington, MN. In addition to performing, I teach voice lessons. I previously worked as a teaching artist for the Disney Musicals in Schools program and for The Rose Theater, both specializing in musical theatre productions for young performers.

I’d worked with Kenny previously and when I heard he was directing Cabaret, I had to audition as I’m a huge fan of his.  Here’s how Kenny directs: he taps into the best of you. Whatever that is for you, whatever level you are, whatever your specialty is. I wish I could articulate it better but if it was a quantifiable skill then every director would have it, and they don’t. He is a gift!

I used to think of “Cabaret” as a period piece, as an artistic rendering of the onset of one of the most horrific eras in history that illustrates: when the monsters come they won’t look like monsters. They won’t even be monsters. They’ll be your friends and neighbors. They’ll have “both-sides” discussions and advocate for protecting their personal freedoms and rights in order to deprive others of theirs. My cynical side says in our current sociopolitical climate the next revival of Cabaret will be told from the point of view of the Nazis. So…yeah. “Cabaret” seems pretty topical.