Cabaret Performance 101 at Fordham University Encourages Young Singers to Pursue this Art Form

By Bart Greenberg***Multi-hyphenates David Sabella and Sue Matsuki guided a lucky group of students at Fordham University through the intricacies of performing in cabaret rooms. On August 5, 2021, they hosted a performance given by their class that highlighted each individual and also what they’d learned in the previous five weeks. The professors’ excellent tome, So You Want to Sing Cabaret, served as the textbook for the course. As Sabella explained, the emphasis of the study was to “tell a story from unique point of view” and to find that tale within the lyrics of their songs. Each individual sang one song of their choice and one they were assigned that they had never known before. All of the singers were accompanied by the impeccable David Gaines who served as the music director and arranger for the class.

All of the student performers showed certain skills in common: a clarity in both intention and pronunciation, a sense of control in building a number, a connection with the audience, and a sense of individual style in dress (something that Matsuki’s mentor Julie Wilson would have highly approve of). Each presenter—they came from a wide variety of backgrounds and experience—learned how to use their vocal powers to their best advantage.

In order of their appearance that afternoon they were:

David Wilson, who has his eyes on Broadway, sought to get comfortable appearing in front of audiences again after being restricted to Zoom performances. His fresh phrasing clearly reflected Sabella’s influence. His songs: “Something’s Coming” (Bernstein & Sondheim) and “No One Ever Tells You” (Coates/Atwood).

Stephanie DiDonato began her public life as a competitive skater at 10 years old, while also enjoying the performing arts, and wanted to renew the joy she derived from the latter. She found it a big adjustment to make direct eye contact with the audience, having been trained in musical theater to focus on a spot on the back wall instead. Her songs: “On a Wonderful Day Like Today” (Newley/Bricusse) and “You’ll See” (Coates).

Tori Sen displayed a nice sense of humor, confessing that she thought she was signing up for a dance class, but as an entertainment business student she thought it would be good to explore this new world. Her songs: “I’m Old Fashioned” (Mercer/Kern) and The End o0f the World (Sylvia/Arthur).

Anahita Subramanya exhibited her classical training (begun when she was 6 years old)—and she applied it to popular music, performing in both English and French. She also showed, as did all the performers, they had learned how to personalize their introductions to their numbers. Her songs: “If I Should Love You” (Robin/Rainger) and a medley of “My Heart the Dear Voice” (Cooper/Saint-Saens) and “If You Love Me” (Parsons, Piaf and Monnot).

Twila Duarte openly acknowledges her ambitions are aimed toward Broadway and hoped to expand her repertoire via this class and cabaret. She also exhibited a great sense of comedy in her performance. Her songs: a medley of “Buddy Beward” and “Night and Day” (both Porter) and “You Don’t Know What Love Is” (Raye and de Paul).

Justice! Somerville-Adair is a composer and musician in her own right, who is still in search of her future goals. Her songs: a medley of “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?” (Frankie & The Teenagers) and “When Did I Fall in Love?” (Harnick and Bock) and “Love Is Blind” (Ian).

Giordana Simurdiak was the one student that studied via the internet (originally the class was designed to be offered on line, but the shift in the virus allowed for most of the participants to gather safely in the classroom). Like Stephanie, she found it a shift from musical theater performance to cabaret in making more personal contact with audience members. Her songs: “Give Me the Simple Life” (Ruby and Bloom) and a medley of “Down With Love” (Harburg and Arlen) and “Falling in Love With Love” (Rodgers and Hart).

The course not only encourages these young people to explore their own future in cabaret, but also helps to build a new audience for the art form. Hopefully, the course will continue in future school terms.