Introduction and Mission
I had the pleasure of talking with Susan Galbraith, Creative Director for Alliance for New Music-Theatre, in nice element in regards to the 2026/27 season of The George Fulginiti Sequence: Cabaret, Cocktails, & Dialog. Galbraith is captivated with her work with the group and in addition shared with me different inspirational and engaging ventures that use neighborhood outreach and partnerships with worldwide expertise to inform tales which can be essential to be heard on this nation’s capital. I’ll do my greatest to summarize what I discovered and skilled by means of this dialogue and my attendance at Alliance’s 2025/26 Cabaret Sequence’ ultimate present.
Alliance’s ongoing mission is to “change the dialog by means of the humanities,” a purpose they pursue by tackling heavy, localized matters and “selling a deeper essential appreciation and understanding of the transformative energy of the humanities.” Highlighting this philosophy, Galbraith famous, “Music-theater generally is a catalyst to vary the best way we expect and listen to from completely different views. Drama tells the story, whereas music breaks open hearts.” The Cabaret Sequence, which was the principle focus of our interview, demonstrates this by nurturing skilled progress and illustrating cross-cultural themes, with native expertise to interact the neighborhood within the artistic course of.
Honoring George Fulginiti
The collection itself is known as in honor of a founding member and music director of the Alliance, George Fulginiti, who was a large champion of the cabaret artwork type. Reflecting on his life and influence, Galbraith shared, “George was one of many authentic composers after we based the Alliance in 1994. He was a terrific cornerstone of the music-theater neighborhood in DC,” and he “liked cabaret and admired it as an fascinating, private artwork type.”
Galbraith shared this view, including that cabaret, as an intimate artwork type, is uniquely fitted to express social, political, and cultural commentary. By typically breaking the fourth wall, the format fosters a direct reference to the viewers and may function a “mirror” to societal points and sort out deeply private and socially related themes. This strategic collection additionally serves as an incubator for long-term tasks, using native performing artists whereas the corporate develops authentic works at varied phases of creation.
The Venue: The Arts Membership of Washington
The third Annual Cabaret Sequence is hosted on the Arts Membership of Washington, an establishment based in 1916 within the former house of President James Monroe. The venue is the oldest not-for-profit membership within the DC space and has an extended historical past of boundary-pushing. Talking to the membership’s historical past, Galbraith defined, “Washington is stuffed with white males’s golf equipment, however this was the primary that allowed ladies and African-Individuals to affix. They even allowed lesbians, which was fairly radical in its day.” This inclusivity throughout its founding period makes the area completely fitted to Alliance’s functions.
The Upcoming Cabaret Season
The 2026/27 season options six performances occurring each different month to start out, with a distinct artist curating and headlining every occasion to develop the definition of the medium.
In October, composer and outstanding silent movie musician Andrew Earle Simpson presents “Suzy Performs the Saxophone” accompanying the exuberant 1928 French/German silent movie, Saxophon Suzy, plus reside singing with new preparations of Weimar-inspired cabaret. Simpson composed a beforehand Alliance-commissioned piece, The Man Ray Challenge: Caesar & The Model.
Daniel Smith, who was a part of the inaugural Cabaret Sequence, will carry out in December in “Curtain Calls: Howard Version.” This can be a first-time partnership with Howard College, showcasing Smith’s scholar winners from his cabaret workshop competitors.
“A Gatsby for Our Time” in February may have Josh Cleveland, new firm member and alum of Alliance’s Composer-Librettist Studio. The occasion will embody authentic music from Cleveland’s musical adaptation of The Nice Gatsby.
In April, crossover artist, firm member, and Dominican Republic songstress Melisa Bonetti blends completely different music genres, pairing operatic arias with jazzy requirements to specific wild and deep feelings. Bonetti can also be a featured artist within the firm’s chamber opera On the Street to Arivaca, which explores unintended encounters on the southern border and contains a refrain of bilingual native youth.
And in Might, firm member Cara Schaefer’s “Sing the Unsung” will share her wit, expressive voice, and enormously beneficiant coronary heart, particularly for all creatures nice & small whose tales are missed within the mainstream narrative.
The Weimar Cabaret Centerpiece
In June 2027, the Cabaret collection will culminate with “Mephisto As a Weimar Cabaret,” that includes the season’s headliners and previewing the theater’s future imaginative and prescient: a full-scale authentic piece titled “Cabaret Mephisto” — within the works for Fall of 2027, based mostly on the Klaus Mann’s novel made into movie Mephisto — which follows actors in Weimar-era Berlin who go underground to carry out cabaret because the Nazi celebration rises to energy. Galbraith described the imaginative and prescient for the long run manufacturing, explaining, “I would like it to be a couple of younger group of actors throughout the time the Nazis come into energy. We see that in our nation now, proper? So it can even be very a lot about our personal wrestle to remain true to our values.”
This Weimar focus will not be meant to be delicate because the season’s centerpiece. Weimar Cabaret flourished in Germany — primarily Berlin — throughout the Weimar Republic interval (1918–1933). Performers utilized sharp satire, darkish humor, and jazz-influenced music to problem social boundaries and critique a fragile democracy. With the injustices and blatant fascist tendencies of the present administration, it appears completely clear why Alliance has chosen this specific model and tone to tell their upcoming season.
Native and Worldwide Initiatives
This dedication to social commentary extends past the cabaret, manifesting in a number of ongoing native initiatives. The group is collaborating with Georgetown Ministries, Carpenter’s Shelter, and Cornerstones, using theater to lift consciousness and develop the attain of private tales relating to homelessness. Detailing this outreach, Galbraith stated, “We use music-theater as a automobile and catalyst for ongoing conversations about points in our midst”.
After the 2022 success of Voices of Zion: The Black Georgetown Cemeteries Challenge, the theater has been partnering with Mount Zion Church and the Black Georgetown Basis to construct on the work with a bit about DC Emancipation Day. Galbraith highlighted the profound historic context of the piece, noting, “Lots of people don’t know that by the point of the Civil Warfare, Georgetown was virtually 45 % African-American. They received early emancipation for DC.” With music from Voices of Zion composer Ronald Trey Walton, Alliance goals to commemorate how the Black Georgetown neighborhood lobbied and achieved early emancipation within the district on April 16, 1862 — 9 months earlier than the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
And on a world scale, the corporate is reviving its extremely praised, Helen Hayes-recommended manufacturing The Trumpeter at Dupont Underground this November. In keeping with Galbraith, it was beforehand minimize quick by snowstorms, however was initially constructed as “an immersive expertise in regards to the bombing of Mariupol and raised cash for Ukrainian assist organizations.”
A Highly effective Finale: Songs We Want Now
The breadth of those present initiatives displays the identical inventive philosophy that outlined the closing present of Alliance’s 2025/26 Cabaret Sequence, Songs We Want Now, with Alan Naylor: utilizing nontraditional codecs; specializing in the great, the dangerous, and the ugly; and, above all, main with love, compassion, and a want for wholeness.
Galbraith was thrilled with Naylor’s efficiency, including, “Alan is an amazing performer. I ask artists to curate their cabarets and push the boundaries of what they assume cabaret is.” And the night was not what you’ll name a standard cabaret, as Naylor off-handedly acknowledged at one level. It was a collaboration with pianist Erin Lee and composer/singer/pianist Marie Nikolaevna Herrington, and the set listing was comprised of an amalgamation of varieties — starting from classical music and opera to acoustic guitar and incorporating poetry, momentous sonnets, historic speeches, and love letters from a soldier throughout the Civil Warfare.
To say the occasion was “enjoyable” can be a gross misrepresentation of what transpired. There have been many joyous moments, in fact. This system started with Naylor wistfully serenading the viewers with “Rainbow Connection” — a tune made well-known by peace and happiness ambassador Kermit the Frog. Nevertheless, the temper shifted with moments of deep reflection and mourning. Alan stoically delivered the Gettysburg Handle as Herrington improvised accompaniment on the piano, and the devastating disappointment conveyed in Alan’s translation of Jacques Brel’s “Alone” served as a stark counterpoint to the joyous starting of the present.
Naylor, alongside Lee and Herrington, took the viewers on a profound emotional journey. By means of themes of patriotism, love, acceptance, and the combat for what’s morally proper, Naylor introduced the room into darkish locations however didn’t go away the viewers to wallow of their distress for lengthy. The set concluded with the uplifting and hopeful notice of Stephen Schwartz’s “Lovely Metropolis.”
There was an plain unity of coronary heart and thoughts within the small theater area that night. Songs We Want Now felt like an expression of the shared grief for all that has been misplaced underneath the present administration, however brightened with the highly effective reminder of what our nation actually stands for.
This efficiency, nevertheless, was greater than only a musical retrospective; it exemplified why the Alliance for New Music-Theatre serves as an important beacon within the cultural panorama. By remodeling advanced, typically painful social and political realities into intimate, shared experiences, they remind us that the humanities are greater than leisure — they’re important instruments for neighborhood constructing and reflection. In instances that may really feel too bleak to discover a path towards peace, the Alliance’s dedication to “altering the dialog” affords a essential, hopeful mild, demonstrating that artwork stays our most compelling instrument for connecting with our neighborhood towards a brighter, extra unified future.
Operating Time: Roughly 90 minutes, with no intermission.
Alan Naylor: Songs We Want Now performed for one night time on June 2, 2026, offered by Alliance for New Music-Theatre, performing on the Arts Membership of Washington, 2017 I St. NW, Washington, D.C. Tickets for the 2026/27 Sequence can be found for buy as a Season Subscription for $390 plus charges (All-in value $403.65). Or you should purchase tickets for the particular person cabarets for $75 plus charges (All-in value $77.63). For extra details about the upcoming season and different Alliance productions, go to their web site.
Artist Bios
Marie Herrington is a Baltimore-based soprano, composer, and keyboardist who works to culminate all the hidden beauties of the classical world with the ever-growing world of post-classical/new music. Marie’s most up-to-date efficiency endeavors embody performing works by dwelling composers as a part of New Orleans’ Alluvium Ensemble’s Voice to Water pageant and showcase, which featured performers J.T. Hassell, Marie Herrington, Sixto Franco, Timothy Krippner, and Loadbang’s Will Lang. Marie is worked up to be making her debut on the American Alliance for New Music-Theatre in Washington, DC, with singer and pianist Alan Naylor, and Erin Lee performing Songs We Want Now. Being half Ukrainian, Marie units numerous Ukrainian poetry to music to tell American/English talking audiences. You’ll find her compositions on YouTube and SoundCloud, or you’ll be able to observe Marie’s works on her web site, MarieHerringtonMusic.com.
Korean-American pianist Erin Lee is a passionate performer and educator pushed by emotional expression and radical collaboration, and has loved a multifaceted musical profession in solo piano efficiency, chamber music, and musical training. She obtained her Bachelor of Music and Grasp of Music levels, in addition to her Graduate Efficiency Diploma, in Piano Efficiency from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins College underneath Dr. Alexander Shtarkman. At simply ten years outdated, Erin made her first orchestral look with the Los Angeles Docs Symphony, and has since continued to share her artistry in venues throughout the nation, together with solo recitals on the Baruch Performing Arts Middle and the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.
Erin has achieved important success in competitions together with the Bach Worldwide Music Competitors, Live performance Pageant Worldwide Competitors, Hulbert Worldwide Concerto Competitors, Robert Turner Concerto Competitors, Alice Frazier Scholarship Competitors, Southern California Bach Pageant, OC Korean Cultural Middle Competitors, Montecito Worldwide Solo Competitors, and the LA Korea Instances Competitors. Erin has additionally carried out in masterclasses from famend artists reminiscent of Emanuel Ax, Gary Graffman, Julian Martin, Robert McDonald, Wu Han and David Finckel, and Richard Goode. A devoted instructor, Erin can also be closely concerned in many colleges throughout the DMV space and continuously enjoys collaborating with different musicians locally.
Alan Naylor is a Helen Hayes Award-winning actor, singer, and pianist with a expertise for the poignant supply of tune. Whether or not singing Rodgers & Hammerstein, Puccini, Billy Joel, or his most beloved Muppets, his performances are certain to convey laughter, tears, and a way of listening to issues as if for the primary time.
A resident of Washington, DC, he has acted all through america in award-winning theaters such because the Kennedy Middle, St. Louis MUNY, Signature Theatre, Washington Nationwide Opera, and Olney Theater, amongst many others. As well as, he has carried out with such venerable teams as The Minnesota Orchestra, Nationwide Philharmonic, American Boys Choir, and St. Olaf Choir, and was a founding member of the American Broadway Refrain.
Whereas collaboration is one in all his biggest joys, Alan additionally performs often as a solo singer/pianist in recital, live performance, and cabaret. His native concert events are broadly adopted and wanted by lovers of every little thing from artwork tune to Queen and Freddie Mercury.
Alan Naylor: Songs We Want Now Setlist
“Rainbow Connection” – Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher
“With a Smile and a Music” – Frank Churchill and Larry Morey
“Lovely” – Carole King
“Morning Möd” – Edvard Grieg
“Sunshine On My Shoulders” – John Denver
“Infinite Shining Heavens” – Ralph Vaughn Williams, Robert Louis Stevenson
“Kyiv. A Springtime Night”/”Yesterday” – Mykola Zerov, Translation: Sergei L. Mosyakin; Paul McCartney
“Wither Should I Wander” – Ralph Vaughn Williams, Robert Louis Stevenson
“Alone” – Jacques Brel, Translation: Alan Naylor
“The Letter of Sullivan Ballou” – Main Sullivan Ballou, edited with improvisations by Marie Herrington
Piano Live performance in G 2nd Motion – Maurice Ravel
Plyve Kacha – Marie Herrington, Vasyl Grendzha-Donsky, Translation Steve Repa
Dying of Åse – Edvard Grieg
“Wishing You Have been One way or the other Right here Once more” – Andrew Lloyd Webber
“Smile” – Charlie Chaplin, David Raskin, Geoffrey Parsons
Morgen – Richard Strauss, John Henry Mackay
“You’ll By no means Stroll Alone” – Rodgers & Hammerstein
“Gettysburg Handle,” “Shenandoah,” and “America the Lovely” – Abraham Lincoln, Samuel A. Ward, improvisations by Marie Herrington
“Lovely Metropolis” – Stephen Schwartz
Alliance for New Music-Theatre 2026/27 Cabaret Season
October 6, 2026. SUZY PLAYS THE SAXOPHONE
Outstanding silent movie musician Andrew Earle Simpson screens an exuberant 1928 French/German silent movie, Saxophone Suzy, accompanied by a brand new reside rating plus new preparations of Weimar-inspired cabaret.
December 1, 2026. CURTAIN CALLS: HOWARD EDITION
Firm member Daniel “Deacon” Smith takes the lead, serving to us embark on a partnership with Howard College, main award-winning scholar performers from a cabaret competitors.
February 2, 2027. A GATSBY FOR OUR TME
This cabaret will characteristic songs from firm member Josh Cleveland’s adaptation of Fitzgerald’s novel with authentic music and lyrics impressed by ’20s jazz.
April 6, 2027. CARMEN MEETS LOLA
Crossover Artist, Firm Member, and Dominican Republic songstress Melisa Bonetti blends completely different music genres, pairing operatic arias with jazzy requirements to specific wild and deep feelings.
Might 4, 2027. SING THE UNSUNG
Firm member Cara Schaefer shares her wit, expressive voice, and enormously beneficiant coronary heart, particularly for all creatures nice and small whose tales are missed within the mainstream narrative.
June 1, 2027. MEPHISTO AS A WEIMAR CABARET
Be a part of us when our complete cabaret ensemble reassembles in a season finale and a preview of a brand new work based mostly on Klaus Mann’s novel, Mephisto, about making artwork in a rising Fascist society.
