The Cast of CABARET
Melissa Hart, Broadway veteran and TONY nominee, is pleased to reprise her role of Fraulein Schneider she performed while an Associate Professor of Theatre at PSU in 1994-1996. Broadway: Candide, Scarlet Pimpernel, Cabaret, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Apple Tree, and Georgy for which she received a TONY nomination. She starred as Sally Bowles on Broadway and in the first national company of Cabaret, under the director of Hal Prince. Ms. Hart also played opposite Tony Roberts in the first national tour of Promises, Promises. Regional: Melissa has appeared in principle roles in many regional theaters including the Guthrie, Alley Theatre, North Shore Music Theatre, Old Globe, Ordway, Westchester Broadway Theater, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Shaker Mountain Opera Festival, Goodspeed Opera House, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Pennsylvania Centre Stage, Florida Repertory Theatre, Hippodrome State Theatre, and Florida Stage Theatre. She has won the Philly Award, Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award, and three South Florida Carbonell Awards.
Tom McClary will join the cast of Cabaret as Herr Schultz. He has previously appeared in the following FUSE shows: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Senex), Les Misérables (Thenardiér), My Fair Lady (Alfred Doolittle) and for three consecutive years played Ebenezer Scrooge in Scrooge! The Musical. His other musical credits include The Producers, La Cage Aux Folles, The Fully Monty, and The King and I.
Katie Kensinger, who played Lilly St. Regis in FUSE’s Annie, joins us to play Fraulein Kost.
Newcomer to FUSE, Rob Barnes, plays Ernst Ludwig.
Seth Tucker, returns to State College after his sensational FUSE debut as David in last year’s The Santaland Diaries. This time, Seth will take on the iconic role of the Emcee. Seth was most recently seen as Carmen Ghia in The Producers at Maltz Jupiter Theatre. This past summer he played Miss West Coast in Pageant at Arizona Broadway Theatre, which he also directed and choreographed. Seth originated the role Off-Broadway and can be heard on the cast album. Favorite Credits: Coneybear in …Spelling Bee(Encore Award & AriZoni Award), Leo Frank in Parade (AriZoni nom) and Hunter in [title of show]. Seth is also the host and creator of Tucker Talks a ridiculous interview series.
Playing Sally Bowles is local actress, Penn State student, and FUSE regular Cat Rokavec. Cat was part of the ensemble in our 2015 production of Les Misérables and most recently co-starred in Assassins as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme. Recently, she was seen on stage as Kitty in SCCT’s The Drowsy Chaperone. Other credits include Jekyll & Hyde and Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike. Cat is pursing a BFA in acting at PSU.
Tyler Sperrazza will play Cliff Bradshaw, the American writer living in Berlin. Tyler played John Wilkes Booth in FUSE’s Assassins and is our resident lighting designer. Tyler is a Ph.D. candidate in History and African American Studies and serves as a Graduate Instructor for the Penn State School of Theatre.
The Kit Kat Girls will be played by Julianna McNeal, Clara Hanahan, Morgan Middleby, andAbby Simon. Also playing Kit Kat Girls, FUSE is thrilled to welcome two faculty members from the Performing Arts School of Central Pennsylvania, Rebecca Maciejczyk and Linda Bowen Hildebrand. Linda’s Broadway credits include Chicago and Fosse.
Jacob Brittingham, Noah Hanahan, Ryan Ordnung, and James McCready are the Kit Kat Boys, officials, and sailors.