As snow flurried down outside the Patricelli ’92 Theater, the audience, huddled inside, was aflutter with anticipation as they awaited the beginning of the Spike Tape/SHADES Cabaret, organized by Oluchi Chukwuemeka ’25, Euniceca Marseille ’27, Vivian Orthwein ’27, and Hannah Sodickson ’26. 

At around 7:00 p.m., following a brief introduction from the coordinators, the lights went down, a screen unfurled, and the show began. Projected onto the screen was a black-and-white video of Henry Owens ’25 performing a sweeping rendition of the titular song from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard.” The camera followed Owens as he traversed the depths of the ’92 as if they were the “twisting,” “tempting,” and “frenzied” Sunset Boulevard. As the song reached its crescendo, the video panned to the steps of the ’92, and moments later, Owens burst through the open door and onto the stage.

This delightfully theatrical number was followed by a duet from Hudson Wang ’26 and Abrielle Belisle ’25. The duo sang “I See the Light” from “Tangled,” an apt selection for a show so closely following Valentine’s Day. Stephanie Monard ’25 was next, performing the first of the three songs from “Wicked” that would be sung throughout the night. The lighting designers really shone (pun intended) through with these songs, showering Monard in pink light during her spirited rendition of “Popular.” Later in the night, Alexandra Simon ’27 nailed her performance of “The Wizard and I,” conveying vividly Elphaba’s longing for a place to belong. Angelina Reddy ’25 and Lael Blackmore ’26 were the third and final group to bring Shiz’s students to the ’92’s stage, pacing under pink and green spotlights as they harmonized about their “unadulterated loathing” for one another.

Sasha Nelson ’28 made a dramatic tonal shift from the whimsy and exuberance of “Popular” with her choice of “On My Own” from “Les Miserables.” The ballad began subdued and quietly mournful, but soared to stirring emotional heights as Nelson showcased her technical talent by hitting masterful, vibrato-heavy high notes. While this was a tough act to follow, Natalie Piergrossi ’28 and Oliver Smith ’28 easily held their own in their performance of “Afternoon” from the musical “Alice by Heart,” tugging at the audience’s heartstrings as they conjured the tragic goodbye of two would-be lovers.

Yumi Takahashi ’25 took the stage with “Hellfire” from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” which once again represented a drastic shift in mood from the previous performances. Takahashi’s portrayal of Claude Frollo was equally haunted and haunting for the audience; the audience could practically see the specter of Frollo’s love for Esmeralda tormenting the character’s every move as Takahashi, through song, perfectly embodied the villain of this classic musical.

This venture to Paris’ Middle Ages was succeeded by two performances that expertly combined vocal chops and comedic timing. Flora White ’28, Percival Liftin-Harris ’28, and Avi Kahtan ’28 were first, singing “The Creation of Man” from “The Scarlet Pimpernel.” The group donned colorful accessories in their portrayal of two tailors promoting the power of fashion to a reluctant, buttoned-up prince, and impressively, none of the three singers stumbled despite the number’s myriad tongue twisters. Stuart Conrad ’26 followed, with the second “Tangled” song of the evening: “Mother Knows Best.” Conrad intermittently threatened, demeaned, and flattered the audience in begging them not to leave the theater, at times directly addressing those in the front row, and received rapturous applause when his adaptation of the song came to a close.

The Disney theme continued for the next two performances. Zoe Nagle ’27 performed “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid,” wholly embodying Ariel’s profound longing to walk on land. Owen Wiley ’25 and Izzy Bailey ’25 put on one of the most fun performances of the evening, throwing it back to 2006 with their rendition of “Bop to the Top” from “High School Musical,” complete with perfectly synchronized choreography.

Wiley and Bailey were followed by the second trio of the night—Saydie Grossman ’26, Isabel Auerswald ’27, and Sage Saling ’26—who sang “The Negative” from “Waitress.” Adopting Southern accents, the three swung deftly between silly and earnest in their depiction of three friends waiting for the results of a pregnancy test. The next two songs were both romantic duets, albeit ones of very different tones. Lincoln Turner ’25 and Gabrielle Walker ’28 performed “Crazier Than You” from “The Addams Family,” and Nat Wheeler ’25 and Olivia Snow ’25 performed “All I’ve Ever Known” from “Hadestown.” Turner and Walker did a remarkable job keeping straight faces while singing a song about love and torture, complete with lines like: “I wanna cut you with my love and with my knife.” Wheeler and Snow’s choice was more serious, evoking love as a symbolic bright spot in the depths of the underworld.

After the talented duos came two soloists. Mae Wrigley ’26 sang “How ’Bout a Dance” from “Bonnie & Clyde,” sweetly trying to cajole an unseen paramour into taking a spin around the ballroom floor, and Elijah Philip ’28 captured a moving devotion to one’s home in his rendition of “Anthem” from the musical “Chess.” We then returned to duets, with Conrad Lewis ’26 and Harry Resnik ’28 singing “Therapy” from “Tick, Tick…Boom!” Perhaps the most impressive part of this performance was that Resnik and Lewis provided their own accompaniment, both playing guitars while simultaneously managing to keep pace with the song’s frenetic tempo and tendency to ping-pong from one vocalist to the other.

On the topic of instrumentation, Elyot Segger ’28, Gavin Cui ’26, Jack St. Amand ’28, and Fiona Jin ’27 accompanied a number of the performances, providing yet another example of the dazzling array of music talent on campus.

For the penultimate performance of the night, siblings Ruby Keating ’27 and Jonah Keating ’28 donned frog onesies for a joyful rendition of “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog.” Then, Chloé Naudet ’27 performed “Maybe This Time,” aptly concluding the cabaret with a song from the musical “Cabaret.”

Overall, the night was a smashing success and a great opportunity not only for musical theater lovers to perform their favorites, but also for students to witness the talents of their peers.

Conrad Lewis is an Assistant Head Copy Editor for The Argus.

Anna Thomas can be reached at asthomas@wesleyan.edu.