*Edited Mar 2nd, 2026 to clarify who is not doublecast and to add breaking news on alcohol rules for the production of Cabaret.
“It was the end of the world. And I was dancing…”
This is how the American main character, Cliff Bradshaw, of Shoreline College’s production of Cabaret describes how he spent his time in Berlin, Germany in 1930.
Cliff moves to Germany to work on his novel, but is quickly distracted by “the beautiful girls” and, perhaps even, the “beautiful boys” of the Kit Kat Klub. Cliff briefly forgets his troubles in America and the Emcee even asks us Americans in the audience if we’ve forgotten our troubles by the end.
The musical opened at our theater, the 1600 building, officially on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
The production unofficially started performing for audiences Tuesday afternoon. Only staff, students, and families were invited to the dress rehearsal that night. Wednesday night, local high-schoolers were welcomed to SC with free pizza and an even more polished version of Cabaret.
Expect a pre-show a half hour before the show starts and for snacks and drinks. Alcohol was not available Thursday night, and non-alcoholic wine was served instead
On Friday, February 27th, the production team for Cabaret sent out an email clarifying why alcohol was not served Thursday and why they will not be serving it in the foreseeable future.
“Regrettably, the Washington State Liquor Control Board have recently changed their rules regarding alcohol sales, as well as a directive being issued by the college administration, which prevents us from being able to offer liquor sales for our production,” the email announced.
The email further clarified, “We had issued all the proper documentation…well within the allotted application window and were informed that things were in place for us to offer these beverages.”
Unfortunately, the rule change happened before Cabaret opened Thursday night. Hours before patrons flooded the lobby at 7:00 p.m., the production team rushed to buy some non-alcoholic wine.
The Thursday, the 26th, and Friday performances are played by one cast, the Kit cast. While Saturday and Sunday are performed by the Kat cast. The ensemble actors stay the same but the female main characters, Sally Bowles, Shneider, Kost, and the role of Emcee are double-cast. Cliff Bradshaw, Bobby, Shulst, and Ernst Ludwig are not double-cast. Double-cast means two people learned to play the same role and will perform the role on stage roughly equally.
The traits that make people different can be used as tools of separation and control under totalitarian and dictatorial rule. Families during the twelve years that the Nazi’s were in power would regularly turn in their own family members who were queer.
The modern political climate leaves much to worry about outside of one’s basic needs. The liberty of women to choose to receive an abortion has been revoked by the Supreme Court when Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. In 2025 many of the protections afforded to undocumented immigrants were repealed soon after President Trump entered office for the second time. Many members of the public especially those who are in the LGBTQ+ community see a strong correlation between the MAGA Republicans and the National Socialists of Germany.
The musical asks the audience the question,“What Would You Do?” during the rise of Nazism. This musical leans very heavily into the queer identities of the cast, more-so than the original telling of the story to try and better connect the story to the politics of today. The persecution of Jewish people, the LGBTQ+ community, the disabled, the Roma, and Hitler’s political opponents are some of the worst actions in human history. This musical utilizes the period leading up to these injustices as a backdrop, in order to draw parallels to today.
