A cabaret is a group of theatrical and musical performances from a variety of shows and entertainment types. But what is a miscast cabaret? Alpha Psi Omega, Creighton’s theater honors fraternity, answered that question in their show, “A Midnight Miscast Cabaret” last Thursday evening. 

The evening consisted of singing, tap dancing, and Muppeteering from members of APO and the wider Creighton Theater community. The free performance was open to the public along with Creighton students and faculty. 

A miscast cabaret happens when the performers that night would not normally be cast in the role they are performing. For example, a trio of men performed “The Negative” from the show Waitress, a song about waiting for the results of a pregnancy test. Among this trio was Brayton Matuska, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. Matuska is the Programming Chair for Alpha Psi Omega and performed a solo piece, “If You Knew My Story” from Bright Star.  

“This song [If You Knew My Story] is so beautifully written and has some folk-country influence that I thought would be enjoyable to perform. The trio chose “The Negative” because it is from a musical that we all love. It provided some comedic relief for the show and was really fun to perform,” Matuska said. 

While there were so many people that new seating had to be arranged before the performance, Matuska described how the turnout made performers more excited and ready to have a good time. 

The emcee of the night was Madi Barker, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. While her script was comedic, her showstopper (literally the last act of the show) was a performance of “Man or Muppet” from 2011’s The Muppets. 

“Brayton asked me to sing Man or Muppet, mainly because I’m known for being an avid Muppets fan, and it’s my go-to karaoke song. It’s also a goofy song, and I thought it would be fitting for the evening, especially since I was already the emcee,” Barker said. 

She described her favorite part of the night as the interactions and reactions that audience members had to the performances. “Also, getting to see my best friends shine and do what they do best — that is, being talented — was a rewarding part of the evening. They all make me so proud!” 

Megan Friel, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, attended in support of Jane Bailey’s performance of “Name of Song” from Thirteen. Friel’s personal involvement in theater has lessened over time to an audience member, but she described her admiration for the performers. “I’m always secretly so proud of classmates when I go to events and they surprise me by being involved in it, so it’s something I look forward to. It takes guts to get up on any sort of stage, but everyone is always talented, so I love supporting the theater department,” Friel said. 

Coming up next for Creighton’s Theater department is the senior showcases on April 28th and 29th at 7pm on the Lied Mainstage.