Palace Theatre opens 2022-2023 season

A group of roughly 30 long-time Palace Theatre patrons, donors and board members gathered Friday for a special dinner party before the opening of Cabaret.

Guests mingled during the evening event, hosted at the Georgetown Art Center, while theater staff members prepared drinks themed after the show’s main characters — the Emcee and Sally Bowles.

“This is our first opening night party we’ve had since Covid,” Executive Artistic Director Ron Watson said during a toast. “This is very special to have you all here opening night of the season.”

Cabaret kicks off the Palace’s 2022-23 season, which includes 15 shows spread between the Springer Stage — which seats 275 people at 810 South Austin Avenue — and the Palace Playhouse — a more intimate theater at 216 West Eighth Street that can fit an audience of 76 people Set in 1930s Berlin, Cabaret tells the story of the fictional Kit Kat Klub and its patrons through a mix of jazzy choreography and musical numbers hailed as classics by Broadway die-hards.

The musical, which is being revived on the Springer Stage for the second time, is directed by Emily Taylor and music directed by Veronica DeSantos Ryan.

The production is the result of the hard work of about 35 cast and crew members, who met and rehearsed for six weeks to collaborate, memorize lines, build two-story set pieces and select costumes for the show, Mx. Taylor said. Each person involved played a significant role in bringing the show to life, they said.

“I’m hoping we make people think about how they treat those that are different,” Mx. Taylor said. “I think that’s always a timely message — that we should always make spaces for the kinds of people that don’t quite fit in [to the norm].”

The production, which features Dawson MacLeod as the Emcee and Kris Glorioso as Sally Bowles, earned a standing ovation from its opening night audience. It will continue to run for the next four weekends, with shows ending on November 6.

“We’ve been pretty lucky and everything has gone well and hopefully will continue to do so,” Ms. Taylor said.

What is a season and how does it work?

While the opening of Cabaret signifies the beginning of a new season for theater patrons, it’s business as usual for staff members, marketing director Jessica Tanner said.

“Our season close for Singin’ in the Rain was September 26 and our season open for ‘ Cabaret’ was October 7,” Ms. Tanner explained. “There’s not a ton of turnaround, but it feels the same as in between most shows. We know when we have to take everything out, strike it and take it away and then we know when the build and the load in is for the next show. It’s pretty cyclical.”

Ms. Tanner is one of less than 20 Palace staff members vital in preparing for new seasons and ensuring all theater programs, including the education programs that take place in the Doug Smith Performance Center, run smoothly.

The term “season” refers to shows performed at a theater over a select portion of time. At the Palace, seasons usually last from October to September of the following year. While the number varies a bit each year, the theater is putting on 15 productions for its 2022-23 season.

For Mr. Watson, the start of a new season signifies the beginning of one of his most important and daunting tasks: selecting a lineup of shows for the next year.

“I’ve already got ideas kicking around,” he said. “Summer 2024, I already know what show I want to do there. I have a specific artist in mind, so I’ve got to work with them to schedule it. I’m trying to secure that early.”

Mr. Watson has been involved with the Palace Theatre since 1999, when he started as a stage director. He has moved up the ranks and was promoted to the executive artistic director position in 2019. In this position, he is in charge of selecting the line-up of shows — a task that usually comes with a number of unexpected twists and turns, he explained.

Before a season can be finalized, Mr. Watson reads through scripts, determines budgets for each production and lines up directors, music directors and choreographers. The process usually begins in January and includes evaluating the wants and needs of the community through conversations with volunteers and feedback surveys submitted by patrons.

“There’s really two distinct groups you’ve got to appease,” he said. “You’ve got to do shows that your core patrons are going to want to come and see and then you’ve got to do shows your actors are going to want to be in. Hopefully that all matches up and they’re all the same, but that’s rarely the case.

“There are shows the actors are going to enjoy more. Those are usually the lesser known titles because the close knit, die hard theater people are more likely to know it, whereas the general public isn’t going to be quite as familiar. It’s really a balance that I’m striving for each time.”

Once Mr. Watson has a good idea of which shows he wants to pursue, he begins applying for the rights to perform, which is necessary to legally produce copyrighted shows. The process can take several months and must be done before the season is announced.

Being a community theater can sometimes add a layer of complication to this, as professional theaters have precedent over amateur theaters.

“If a professional theater in our area wants to do a show at the same time as we do, we won’t be given the rights,” Mr. Watson said. “It makes it a bit complicated. It’s all a puzzle. When we actually [get the rights to everything] and go final, that’s the best part because I can be done thinking about it.

“Then, it’s just the hard work of putting it together.”

On average, production costs for musicals, commonly produced in the Springer Stage, sits around $25,000, while non-musical productions land closer to $4,000 each. These costs don’t factor in general theater expenses, such as salaries, utility bills, building maintenance and other overhead costs, Mr. Watson said.

With thoughts of future shows rattling around in his brain, Mr. Watson said the main focus of the Palace staff is bringing 2022-23 season — which includes shows such as Cinderella, The Play That Goes Wrong, Holiday Inn and The Sound of Music — to life in the most authentic way possible.

Season tickets, as well as individual tickets, can be purchased online www.georgetownpalace.com.