“What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play!” Liza Minnelli’s lyrics from Cabaret could easily be the theme song to Coachella Valley Repertory’s Summer Cabaret Series, which offers live performances weekly every Tuesday and Thursday.
The series started out as a virtual theater event during COVID then quickly became a beloved summer tradition. “We’re bringing out cabaret headliners and engaging local cabaret artists as well,” shares CVRep executive artistic director Adam Karsten.
This year’s lineup includes Jeff Harnar, Claybourne Elder, Christiane Noll, and Alix Korey. According to Karsten, performers are selected through recommendations from previous cabaret performers, through direct outreach, and by Jimmy Cuomo, who originally started the series.
“A lot of them have history here with some of the Broadway veterans and the theater community,” Karsten says.
What sets the series apart is its intimacy. No matter where you sit at CVRep, you’re close to the stage. “The artists [share] personal stories. It’s not a big concert, it’s not a Broadway show. It becomes very intimate, it becomes very real,” Karsten says. Audiences come not just for the music, but for the storytelling, the connection, and the chance to see performers in a more personal light.
