Georgetown hosts 40th annual cabaret show

Cabaret 40 featured over 20 of Georgetown’s most talented performers including Enushe Khan, a third-year student. This year was Khan’s second year performing in Cabaret as a vocalist for the onstage band.

Khan said that singing in the Cabaret performance was something unique as a part of her on-campus musical experience. “At Georgetown, most of my campus singing experiences have been a cappella. With Cabaret, performing with a band is a totally different experience.

Photo by Tom Ferry

“There’s a different energy and a different hype. I love it! Last year we performed at the Black Cat, and that was one of my favorite Georgetown experiences.”

Tom Ferry, a senior at Georgetown, also performed in Cabaret two years in a row. He said: “My role in cabaret was actually miscellaneous, last year I played saxophone, and rapped this year I played a little bit of saxophone and rapped and MC’d as well.”

Ferry, the jack of all trades, riled up the crowd with his performance of F**kin’ Problems by A$AP Rocky with Ben Brooks, commonly referred to as “Deuce B”.  Ferry and Brooks’s performance was prefaced by other acts, all of which were thoroughly applauded.

“This year our band is ridiculously talented. Our guitarists, bassist, percussion, pianist, horns—this year’s band is amazing. This year’s band is exceptionally good. Other than that, we had a rapper, too, so that was new and really cool. Deuce B is awesome.”

According to Ferry, though the entire process was enjoyable, the night of the show is the most fun.

“It’s really fun on the night of especially because there’s so much energy in the crowd,” he said. “Everyone’s really excited for the show, and the crowd pumps up the performance.”

Attendance for Cabaret has risen over the last few years according to Ferry and Khan.

“Last year’s show was so great, which is why I think this year’s turnout was really high too. We had a very big audience last year as well, due to marketing efforts from Gwen Lockman,” said Khan “I think the year before that had a lower turnout—I wasn’t in Cabaret that year, but I remember being a part of Battle of the Voices that night, which had a full house.”

Ferry agreed and noted that less marketing was necessary than in years past. He said that he thought this year word spread mostly by mouth rather than through traditional methods.

Like Khan, Ferry noted that Cabaret is a unique group to be a part of at Georgetown University.

“Cabaret is definitely one of the more rewarding experiences I’ve been involved in at Georgetown because it brings a group of people together that normally wouldn’t spend time together and the performance is really fun,” said Ferry.

Audience members, like the musicians, were pleased with the show.

“I thought it was great, it was hours of practice and it showed,” said Michael Knuth, a senior at Georgetown University. “It was really cool, they did some really good songs. Everything was timed really well, the MC’s were great. I’m really happy that I went.”