This year’s Cabaret performances were truly spectacular, putting the astonishing talent of White Plains High School students on display. Cabaret 2026 was a significantly smaller production than the musical, but it was full to bursting with heart and humor. Performed in the Little Theater (D-03), the show came across as personal and intimate, with some performers interacting directly with the audience.
Cabaret 2026, directed and produced by members of Theater Unlimited, a club that meets every Friday in the Little Theater and is advised by the indefatigable Mrs. Cepler, was a tribute to former White Plains High School student Jonathan Larson. Larson went on to become one of the foremost playwrights and composers of his time before his untimely death in 1996. Larson wrote a multitude of well-known musicals such as “tick, tick … BOOM!,” “Superbia,” and his most well-known, “Rent.” Tragically, Larson died of an aortic aneurysm hours before “Rent’s” final dress rehearsal. He was 35 years old.
In Cabaret 2026, students performed some of Larson’s well-known hits alongside his more obscure works. Some songs performed were not even published before his death.
Belle Cepler, a sophomore, played a prominent role in multiple numbers in Cabaret 2026, including performing the show’s final solo number.
She commented on her experience performing Larson’s works, saying, “I felt like if [Larson] went to White Plains High School and did something great, then I could go to White Plains High School and do something great. I also loved being able to honor him in such a meaningful way.”
As for the performance aspect, being situated in the Little Theater was a unique experience for Cepler. “In the Little Theater, it’s a little extra nerve-racking. The audience is right there. I could make eye contact with every single person in the audience if I wanted to. That being said, when I perform, I don’t think about the audience, and I just do what I’ve been doing for weeks.”
According to Cepler, rehearsals dealt mostly with group numbers. Students performing a solo were left to practice on their own.
The final product after months of rehearsals was magical. Each performer drew the audience in with their charisma and charm as they embodied their roles from a variety of Larson’s productions.
While the set pieces were minimal and the stage was small, each performer made the audience feel as though they were watching a Broadway production. The show’s light and sound technicians — Ryan Kinzler, Zohar Rivel and Kate Weigand — all did a skillful job transporting listeners into a different time and place as well.
Some notable numbers included “Therapy,” a duet from “tick, tick … BOOM!,” performed by Alice Brodsky, a senior and president of Theater Unlimited, and Sebastian Casanova, a remarkably talented sophomore who can almost certainly be seen in any theater production at White Plains High School. The song mimicked a conversation between two lovers, where much of what they said was simply indecipherable, save for the key phrases at the end of each line.
“Yes, I know, that now you know
That I didn’t know, that you didn’t know
That when I said ‘No,’ I meant ‘Yes, I know’
And that now I know that you knew, that I knew you adored me,” one verse goes.
“Over the Moon,” performed by Vivienne Mittenzwei, Jane Mitschele and Molly Powers, incorporated elements of slam poetry into a song so absurd it became comical. Performing such an experimental piece was undoubtedly difficult, but the performers made it seem effortless.
“Out Tonight,” a solo performed by sophomore Viviana Gerontzos, kept the audience rapt as she nailed each and every vocal run, perfectly conveying her character’s brazenness and confident nature.
The show’s heartfelt finale, “Seasons of Love” from “Rent,” included the entire cast. Alice Brodsky, Sebastian Casanova, Belle Cepler, Viviana Gerontzos, Jane Mitschele, Vivienne Mittenzwei, Molly Powers, Nate Scafidi and Jia Vargas all came together on stage to conclude the show.
Each cast member had the opportunity to choose their own song, which provided insight into the performers themselves as well as Larson and who he was as a person and a songwriter.
Cabaret 2026 was a whirlwind of a show and an homage to a creative who had so much more to give. White Plains High School students paid tribute beautifully.
