Windows on Broadway brings a modern cabaret to life

Take every pre-conceived notion you may have about productions staged within churches and throw them out the window.

Instead, imagine a night of interactive theater on a scale similar to a small theme parkâ┚¬â€and you have Windows on Broadway: A Musical Revue.

â┚¬Å”This is a modern cabaret,â┚¬Â explains artistic and dramatic director Trevor Keller, who many local theater fans know as the founder of Gypsy Productions. â┚¬Å”We have two emcees and two dancers appearing throughout the evening guiding the audience through the numbers.â┚¬Â

More than 25 performers will take to the stage the night of Friday, June 8, and about 10 more will be on hand before the show to help set the mood and transform the King of Peace Metropolitan Community Church into a cabaret-style theater.

While the production benefits the church's music team, the production itself is very non-church, says Jaye Sheldon, the musical director of the production and the church's director of music.

â┚¬Å”A year ago we realized we had a lot of talent on our music team, so we put together a revue,â┚¬Â Sheldon remembers. â┚¬Å”It was done mostly in house and only our members knew about it. This year we knew we could do something on a much larger scale.â┚¬Â

Once Keller joined the team, he and Sheldon put their creative minds together to create Windows on Broadway, which is an official St. Pete Pride 2012 event.

â┚¬Å”There is still this stigma of being gay and going to church,â┚¬Â Keller says, â┚¬Å”But we have to think outside of that. This huge event just happens to be going on inside a church and it features music the LGBT community has been a part of from the very beginning of Broadway.â┚¬Â

For dancer Robert Rocha, the show is an opportunity to do what he loves while supporting the music at the church. He and dance partner Lauren Bennett are characters in the production who he believes will be embraced by the audience.

â┚¬Å”There are candid moments with our characters,â┚¬Â Rocha says. â┚¬Å”We're like second-date optimists who are still figuring each other out. I think the audience will enjoy our interaction.â┚¬Â

Bennett, who is also helping to market the show, says that she and Roche have developed a chemistry that is both playful and skilledâ┚¬â€something that seems to happen naturally when two experienced dancers work together. This is the first time the two have danced together.

According to Keller, Windows on Broadway will also offer a window into the local arts community, since several guest performers from throughout Tampa Bay will take part in the show, offering their own versions of Broadway classics. Actors will also welcome ticket holders in the lobby, so guests should be prepared to be entertained whether actors are on the stage or not.

â┚¬Å”We'll have â┚¬ËœEliza Doolittle' here before the show selling flowers and a red carpet complete with a photo area and paparazzi,â┚¬Â Sheldon says. â┚¬Å”It's interactive theater and we encourage people to bring cashâ┚¬â€because all the money goes to the music team.â┚¬Â

There are also several prizes available before the show that patrons can bid on with donations. The community, Keller says, has come together to support the show in a way that has him excited to return to theater.

â┚¬Å”We went to Chris Rudisill at St. Pete Pride and he suggested making this an official Pride event, which is huge for us,â┚¬Â Keller says. â┚¬Å”We have a lot of professional performers in our team and it's great to have these artistic people here and ready to lend their talents.â┚¬Â

Sheldon says she can already see the emotional connection the cast has with the music of Windows on Broadway.

â┚¬Å”People with talent embrace an opportunity to share that with the community,â┚¬Â Sheldon says. â┚¬Å”As someone who creates art and theater, it's exciting knowing that the word is getting out there and that we have such a big product of which to be proud. I want this to become an annual event.â┚¬Â

And if the show is a success, that's exactly what it will become, according to Keller.

â┚¬Å”Due to many factors Gypsy is still on hiatus,â┚¬Â Keller says. â┚¬Å”This is a return to my true calling as a producer and director and my lie in theater. This also marks my own return to the stage as a vocal performerâ┚¬â€I haven't done that in 15 years.â┚¬Â

More Info:
WHAT: Windows on Broadway: A Musical Revue
WHEN: Friday, June 8, 8 p.m.
WHERE: King of Peace MCC, St. Petersburg
TICKETS: $15 in advance at 727-323-5857 or KingOfPeaceMCC.com; $18 at the door