VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: SU student run theater organization hosts benefit for inclusive musical theater program
Noah Love: Solos. Duets. Trios. Acapella, bands and choreographed dances. Twenty performances at First Year Players annual show “Cabaret.” The show, however, was bigger than just the performances. For the past five years, First Year Players has partnered with Front Row Players to be the beneficiaries of the performance.
Deb Cavanagh: Front Row Players is a musical theater program for adults of all abilities where we provide a venue for our actors to share their passion for performance and musical theater with their community.
Love: Deb Cavanagh, the president of Front Row Players, says every year the group looks forward to this event and thinks both organizations benefit from this partnership.
Cavanagh: I think our missions are so closely aligned with giving people who have a joy and love for performance the ability to be on stage that it makes sense.
Love: Front Row Players has three soloists and one big group number performing in “Cabaret.” Those in the big group number said the rehearsal process leading up to the event was one word, fun.
Jordan Hagen: A lot of fun and laughs.
Love: Jordan Hagen has been in Front Row Players for six years and loves to sing and be with friends.
Hagen: I like that everyone with different types of disabilities are included.
Love: Kathleen Coughlin has been in Front Row Players for eight years and has performed solos in previous “Cabarets.”
Kathleen Coughlin: I’m so excited about that show.
Love: This is Bobby Pangborn’s sixth year in Front Row Players, and says he is honored every year to perform in “Cabaret.” There is one thing he was looking forward to the most about the show.
Bobby Pangborn: I’m in the big group number, and at the beginning I do a little dance. Even though we have different disabilities, we still have a gift.
Love: And this is what it’s all about. Noah Love, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Solos, duets, trios, a cappella numbers, live bands and choreographed dances filled the stage at First Year Players’ annual “Cabaret” show. The event featured 20 performances, but the night’s mission extended beyond the spotlight.
For the past five years, First Year Players, a Syracuse University student theater group, has partnered with Front Row Players, a musical theater program for adults of all abilities, to raise funds and awareness through “Cabaret.”
“Front Row Players is a musical theater program for adults of all abilities where we provide a venue for our actors to share their passion for performance and musical theater with their community,” said Deb Cavanagh, president of Front Row Players.
Cavanagh said the partnership aligns perfectly with the missions of both organizations.
“I think our missions are so closely aligned with giving people who have a joy and love for performance the ability to be on stage that it makes sense,” Cavanagh said.
This year, three Front Row Players soloists and one big group number performed during “Cabaret.” The performers said rehearsals leading up to the show were nothing short of fun.
“A lot of fun and laughs,” said Jordan Hagen, a six-year member of Front Row Players who performed in the group number.
Hagen added that being a part of the group is about more than just singing.
“I like that everyone with different types of disabilities are included,” Hagen said.
For Kathleen Coughlin, who has been in Front Row Players for eight years, performing at “Cabaret” is always a thrill.
“I’m so excited about that show,” Coughlin said.
Bobby Pangborn, a six-year veteran of Front Row Players, echoed that excitement.
“I’m in the big group number, and at the beginning I do a little dance,” Pangborn said. “Even though we have different disabilities, we still have a gift.”
First Year Players and Front Row Players both say they look forward to continuing the partnership, which has become a highlight for both groups each year.