New York-based performer, actor, playwright and cabaret artist, David Rhodes, has been appointed as the Producer and Artistic Director of Provincetown CabaretFest. He is also the Chairman of the Provincetown CabaretFest LLC Board of Directors.
Rhodes succeeds Patricia Fitzpatrick, who has been instrumental in the festival’s development since its inception in 2000 and its sole producer for the past 12 years. Rhodes’ own career spans various artistic disciplines, including stage, film and television, as well as solo performances in Provincetown, New York, Boston, New Orleans and London. As a cabaret artist, Rhodes’ shows often explore themes of queer identity, self-discovery and personal experiences.
Rhodes’ vision for Provincetown CabaretFest includes expanding the festival internationally and introducing an “in the know” insider’s Cabaret tool box podcast. Fitzpatrick will be honored with an Arts Enrichment Achievement Award, and a scholarship fund in her name will be established for aspiring cabaret artists.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks David Rhodes (DR) Six Questions:
NLE: Provincetown CabaretFest has long been a hub for education, artistry and community. As you step into the role of Artistic Director and Producer in January 2026, what is your guiding philosophy for the festival’s next chapter?
DR: The mission for Provincetown CabaretFest has alway been to celebrate the art of Cabaret and inspire and educate the next generation of Cabaret artists. Our intention is to create an unparalleled creative environment where seasoned professionals as well as students new to Cabaret can hone their skills and share 
their voices in a safe and supportive environment with tutelage from the best in the business. There are many opinions on what constitutes a successful Cabaret show. My personal philosophy is that there are as many versions of a successful Cabaret performance as there are artists who are brave enough to step onto a Cabaret stage solo, without a fourth wall, and share their voices and stories. Guiding new artists to find their unique voices while providing an ongoing platform for experienced artists to debut new work is our plan for the next chapter and many many more to come.
NLE: You’ve been both a Master Class teacher and performer at the festival. How have those dual perspectives shaped your understanding of CabaretFest’s value to both emerging artists and seasoned professionals?
DR: Anna says in The King and I that “if you become a teacher by your pupils you’ll be taught.” There is also a rather cynical George Bernard Shaw quote: “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” I’m going to have to side with Anna on this one and take exception with Mister Shaw. All our Master Class and Workshop faculty can do and can teach. The reciprocal exchange of creativity in our workshops and Master Classes is at the core of the festival and of immeasurable value to both students and 
faculty. For my part (and I suspect my colleagues would agree), we are all much better performers because we teach, and more vibrant teachers because we perform.
NLE: Your vision includes expanding the festival internationally and introducing an insider “Cabaret toolbox” podcast. Can you tell us more about these goals and how they might impact artists who can’t always be physically present in Provincetown?
DR: Europe has a surprising vital Cabaret community. I’ve had the privilege of performing annually at Crazy Coqs in London. I’d love to see a season featuring international artists and students, and for CabaretFest’s reach to expand to include artists and students from all over the world. With regard to the podcast, it seems a missed opportunity to assemble such an esteemed group of Cabaret artists and not take time during the festival week,as well as in between seasons, to glean insight from our faculty and share our experience and collective knowledge in real time in whatever platforms are available.
NLE: Patricia Fitzpatrick has stewarded CabaretFest from inception, and she will be honored with an Arts Enrichment Achievement Award. What does her legacy mean to you, and how do 
you intend to honor that foundation while still moving in bold new directions?
DR: Without Patricia Fitzpatrick there would be no Provincetown CabaretFest. Stepping into her shoes will be that much easier because of the firm footprints she has made in Provincetown over the past 12 years. CabaretFest has not only been a creative hub for so many artists but for me personally (and many others) it has been a springboard for a career that has taken me all over the country and abroad. Patricia’s legacy resonates for me, and in every performance by any professional or student whose life has been touch by Provincetown. CabaretFest. As far as moving in a new direction, the goal is inclusivity, diversity, developing a new generation of Cabaret artists and evolving the art form in an ever-changing contemporary landscape. “Inclusivity” includes all that is wonderful and classic and has defined Cabaret for decades. There will alway be room for tried and true standards, as well as o
pportunity to try new things and expand the boundaries of Cabaret.
NLE: The 2026 festival, A Sentimental Journey, centers on the American Songbook of the ’30s and ’40s—the era that first inspired Patricia. What excites you most about curating a theme that is both rooted in tradition and ripe for re-interpretation by contemporary cabaret artists?
DR: I love that you ask about re-interpretation. Making the songs and stories one’s own and reframing music we mayknow in one context, so that it takes on significance is a new context, is the magic of Cabaret and what keeps the art form fresh and vital. That is what excites me most. No spoiler—but I have reached out to some wonderful and diverse artists and students who I believe will do just that with the wonderful music of the era.
NLE: You trained at LAMDA, Carnegie Mellon and Wesleyan, and your performances blur the line between cabaret, theater and spoken word. How will your own artistic sensibilities influence the workshops, master classes and performance opportunities offered at CabaretFest under your leadership?
DR: The goal is to curate a festival that resonates with the artists and students and to help them find their audience. Provincetown CabaretFest’s educational forum is committed to helping students to develop their own uniquely individual voice, performance style and represent themselves authentically. Everyone’s artists’ journey is unique. My background in classical theater and contemporary drama, as well as my personal history, informs my work, but that’s not going to be anyone’s journey but mine. We have our own stories to tell and creating a place where those stories and each individual’s artistic journey can evolve and flourish is what Provincetown CabarerFest is all about!
Learn more about Provincetown CabretFest and the Master Class Program here, and more about David Rhodes here.
