Life Is a Cabaret My Friend
Q & A with Marilyn Levinson
MA & C : Tell me your story . Did you grow up in a musical family ?
Marilyn Levinson : Yes . Music was always a part of my life : My mother Marie Louise Rosenberg organized the guarantors for the San Francisco Civic Light Opera . While growing up , I went with our family to see all of the musicals her organization presented at the Curran Theatre . While my memories of all those shows have been eclipsed by the enduring memory of the delicious ice cream bon bons at the Curran (!), I nonetheless learned at an early age that music and theatre were something important . I worked , after my college graduation , for New York producers Joseph Papp and Arthur Cantor , and toured the country as a road manager for Yul Brynner . Hoping to get off the road , I went to law school and pursued a 20-year career as an intellectual property lawyer . It was a back injury that lasted two years that ultimately put me in touch with my passion for music in general and , in particular , live , intimate entertainment .
My uncle , Jim Schwabacher , an opera singer , and president of Merola Opera founded the Schwabacher Debut Recital series , which continues to run as part of the San Francisco Opera ’ s Opera Center . I often attended his master classes , when he would ask singers
30 Marin Arts & Culture
to simply speak the lyrics to a song , to communicate to the audience its meaning , and its truth .
MA & C : I ’ m wondering about cabaret . What makes it compelling to you and your audience ?
M . L .: What makes the cabaret form compelling to me and to Bay Area ’ s Cabaret ’ s audience is that it is about the truth … finding it , and communicating it in an authentic and individual way , to the audience . Experiencing a performer who is willing to weave stories about his or her own life into their show , in a way that feels genuine , somehow enables listeners to experience their own truth and a connection that is often not available in a larger venue with a greater number of distractions .
MA & C : Expand a bit on your programs from October 8 th through December 10 th .
M . L .: On Sunday , October 8 th , we will be presenting two singer / songwriters that best exemplify the art of cabaret : Tonynominated , platinum selling vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway , and cabaret icon Amanda McBroom . Amanda McBroom , of course , wrote the Grammy-nominated song , “ The Rose .” Her lyrics , melodies , and her delivery make each of her songs a small piece of theatre . “ Errol Flynn ,” her love letter to her actor father who worked with Errol Flynn , is one of the best songs ever written . At the Venetian Room , on October 8 th , we ’ ll be celebrating her gorgeous new album , Voices , and hearing both original and classic American Songbook songs performed with fresh arrangements by Ms . Callaway and Ms . McBroom . On October 29 th , Tony winning Broadway icon Brian Stokes Mitchell ( Kiss Me Kate , Man of La Mancha , Ragtime ) will preview his upcoming album Plays with Music , again presenting songs each of which tells its own story . On Monday , November 20 th , ( when the Fairmont ’ s life-sized gingerbread house and beautiful holiday decorations are in full swing ), Bay Area native and Tony nominee ( Aladdin ) Adam Jacobs will step off the stage of the Orpheum Theatre to perform , with his sister Arielle Jacobs ( Wicked , In the Heights ), a show about their journey to the Great White Way : Sibling Disobedience . Glee ’ s Jane Lynch brings comedian Kate Flannery ( The Office ) and Glee ’ s Tim Davis for a splash of fun in their retro holiday show A Swingin ’ Little Christmas on Sunday , December 10 th .
MA & C : Tell me what you do to relax ? M . L .: I don ’ t listen to the news .
Marilyn Levinson is the Executive Director at Bay Area Cabaret . www . bayareacabaret . org