Quince Productions will get into the spirit of the season with its annual “A Very Quince Holiday Cabaret,” Dec. 3 at Tabu.
The event serves as a fundraiser for the theater company, known for producing offbeat, challenging and oftentimes LGBT productions.
The cabaret will feature veterans of Quince productions, such as this year’s GayFest, as well as stars of its annual “Full House: A Series of Cabarets,” “Vanities,” “Educating Rita” and “Mister, Mister.” Scheduled performers for the show include Shannon Agnew, Deborah Billups, Carly Bodnar, Kristine L. Bonaventura, Sarah J. Gafgen, John Hodges, Michael L. Medvidik, Alexis Newbauer, Brendan Norton, Harrison Post, Eileen Tarquinio, Elizabeth Maura Toal, Jordi Wallen, Crystal Why and LT Zerone. Each alum will perform a holiday-related song ranging from traditional holiday tunes to humorous, gender-bending, over-the-top numbers.
“The Holiday Cabaret is going to be a little bit tamer,” Zerone said, comparing Quince’s holiday show to “Full House,” Quince’s other large annual cabaret event. “It’s going to be holiday standards and a couple of fun songs. This is sort of a little taste of ‘Full House,’ so a lot of performers who have been in last year’s show or been in shows from the beginning are tapped and asked if they are available and want to do a song. Everybody just takes a song. It’s put together as a benefit to raise money for Quince. The idea, of course, is to heighten awareness of Quince and hype up what the next season will be like.”
Zerone said the upcoming show will pack the energy of past performances into one night.
“‘Full House’ is usually one of Quince’s staples because it’s for four or five nights, but there are a number of shows each night and they tend to bring in varied audiences. If you have a two-week run of shows, it’s a consistent audience. What I like about ‘Full House’ is it really runs the gamut. People use the cabaret term somewhat loosely. Sometimes it’s more like performance art. But I’m a die-hard cabaret person. I like the formula and telling a story. For me, it’s important to involve the audience. They typically leave laughing.”
“I think it will be a healthy mixture of loose and traditional,” added Medvidik, who will make his holiday cabaret debut as an accompanying musician for a number of the performers. “I have worked with the artists I’m accompanying before for the most part. I’m meeting with some of the singers one-on-one prior to rehearsals so we can work out the nitty-gritty of each piece. Some people are doing holiday numbers that are geared towards something a little bit naughty. Then you have the traditional numbers like ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas.’”
Quince vet Gafgen said her performance falls on the traditional side of things.
“I will be performing two songs; one is a solo from the show ‘Nuncrackers’ and the other is the classic Christmas duet ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside,’” she said.
Gafgen added that, if this year’s show is anything like last year’s, it will be a resounding success.
“We had a great turnout,” she said. “We had a lot of fun performers and everyone seemed to have a good time. We had a lot of performers who worked with Quince in a whole lot of different capacities. We had people who maybe had been in straight plays who were now showing off their vocal prowess. So that was really fun to see people in a different element than when we had seen them throughout the season.”
Zerone’s performance will probably land on the other side of the spectrum, as Quince artistic director Rich Rubin described Zerone’s contribution to the show as the “very gayest song” in the cabaret.
“I tend to test my audience a little and I sort of go on the border in terms of challenging the audience,” the performer said. “Sometimes I’m a little risqué in terms of content. I’ve done this holiday cabaret with them and it’s going to be at a bar, so it’s not like it’s in Society Hill or some other place. The song that I’m going to be doing is a children’s song through the eyes of a child, but it has more risqué language to it.”
Zerone added that Quince has been an avenue for him to dsplay his skills as a cabaret performer.
“A number of years ago I was trying to get back into cabaret singing and Quince was doing ‘Full House,’” he recounted. “So in 2009, they did the first ‘Full House’ in June, and in 2010 I did a show, and then in 2011 I did a double show. I actually skipped this year but I’m hoping to get back together in 2013. The mission of Quince is what I really like. Rich is all about an eclectic collection of theater music and art. It fits what I like to do. I’m a chorus and solo-cabaret performer. But I don’t do it for a living, I do it for the fun of it.”
In addition to the show, guests at the cabaret have an opportunity to get some holiday shopping done early through raffles featuring prizes like two nights at the Saguaro Hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“There are a number of local businesses that have contributed to our raffle,” Gafgen said. “Rich posts new teasers on the Facebook page each day when he confirms a new raffle prize. Local theater companies have donated tickets. Local business es have donated things like couch cleanings, massages, haircuts and things like that. There’s a little something for everyone and if you win, you can give people really nice Christmas gifts.”
Medvidik said that beyond the fundraising and prizes, the holiday cabaret is a way for the company to show its appreciation for the support audiences and local businesses have given.
“It shows the Quince audience that Quince is thinking about them outside of their normal season,” he said. “It shows during the holidays that Quince is still there and working to meet their entertainment needs year-round.”
Quince Productions presents “A Very Quince Holiday Cabaret” 5:30-8:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at Tabu’s Upstairs Lounge, 200 S. 12th St. For more information and tickets, call 215-627-1088 or visit www.quinceproductions.com.