Cabaret Night at Messalonskee High School – Saturday, February 10th @ 7 p.m.
Messalonskee sophomore Charles Surprenant became a fan of music at a young age and eventually took up the guitar and joined the choir, but he has never, not once, performed live in front of an audience other than in choral concerts.
That will change next Saturday night when Surprenant and many other Messalonskee students step into the spotlight for Cabaret Night.
The event, now in its second year, is slated for 7 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students.
Proceeds from the event will help fund financial assistance and various programs for students in the music department.
“Outside of chorus,” Surprenant said, “I’ve never really performed [live and publicly] and even in chorus [concerts], I get really nervous, so I think this is going to be a challenge.”
Surprenant will perform as part of a duo with classmate Julian Cain. They will sing “Dear Theodosia,” one of the tunes from the award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton.
“It is an emotional piece,” Surprenant said, explaining that the song is performed by Hamilton cast members playing the roles of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, two of the founding fathers of the country.
In the piece, the two men are coming to terms with being fathers and their determination to make the world a better place for their children.
“We both know the song by heart,” Surprenant said, “and we’ve sung it a lot … It’s kind of a bond we have.”
Cabaret Night, organized by Messalonskee chorus teacher Rebecca Reed and band director Andy Forster, featured a wide spectrum of music in its debut a year ago.