On Saturday, Apr. 5 and Sunday, Apr. 6, Lawrence International held its 49th annual Cabaret show in Stansbury Theatre. Cabaret is a yearly international variety show in which artistic acts such as musical and dance performances are presented from numerous cultures around the world open to Lawrence students, staff and faculty and the greater Appleton area. This year’s theme was “Adult Swim,” paying homage to the afterhours adult-oriented programming block that aired on the Cartoon Network channel. It was announced on the Lawrence International Instagram page that Adult Swim was picked as the theme to represent the journey into adulthood from one’s teenage years.
Performing groups and individuals reflected on their K-12 school days, growing up in general and the educators that made an impact in their life to pay homage to the theme. The fashion show in Act Two, for example, displayed clothing worn for important coming-of-age in different cultures.
This year’s emcees were the treasurer of Lawrence International, Junior Nikki Kim, and Sophomore Natalia Aklilu. Aklilu said she felt encouraged to emcee after being impressed by the Lawrence International board and their hard work towards making Cabaret run smoothly. She said that her favorite thing about Cabaret was how many community members show up for the show.
“So many residents of Appleton come out every year to watch our students showcase their cultures, and in a time like this, it’s so special to see how excited the community is for our show,” Aklilu said.
Aside from the acts, the emcees included games into Cabaret such as international trivia to engage with the audience more. Prizes were given out to those who won.
Cabaret will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year. Aklilu reflected on this upcoming milestone, explaining the importance of continuing to hold the event.
“Cabaret is so important because for such a small campus, we have so much diversity,” Aklilu said. “From international students to domestic, the heart of Cabaret is cultural exchange, and all the audience members got to understand a little more about the background our students are coming from during this show.”