By Becca Miller
A&E Editor
Due to school canceling last year, the Drama Department suffered the loss of its Upper School Musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. However, it still managed to put together a magnificent show: the Virtual Cabaret. MC’ed by Sophia Decherney, with her dog making some adorable appearances, the Cabaret included both group numbers and individual songs.
“Our first meeting was April 26, and we had one rehearsal the week after,” says Claire Mansheim ‘23. “So once we all knew what we were doing, the whole thing took about three weeks to put together.” The videos recorded by each drama student were compiled by music director Jeff Reim, which must have taken considerable time and effort. For the group numbers, according to Claire, “We had to play the track with our earbuds in while recording only our individual parts.
This way, the camera couldn’t hear the music, and we were all edited together with the track. Each video is basically one person with earbuds, mainly waiting for their turn to sing.” The result was that the group numbers sounded like they were all recorded together, an impressive and pleasing effect.
The drama students also had individual songs that weren’t always from Edwin Drood. These included an impressive rendition of Billie Holiday’s “Stormy Weather”, by Eliana Pasternak ‘23; and Rosie Ackerman ‘23 singing a song from The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. Several alumni also made appearances. Noah Hamermesh ‘21, was accompanied by his siblings, Sam Hamermesh ‘15, and Yonah Hamermesh ‘17, as they sang “A Big Bright Beautiful World”, from Shrek the Musical, which incidentally was the Upper School Musical in 2024. Rivkah Wyner and Maya Patent, graduating seniors last year, had several individual numbers and duets, as they said, or rather sang, their goodbyes to Barrack Drama. According to Claire Mansheim, “The individual numbers were mainly recorded the same way, with the person’s voice and the track being edited together.”
Overall, the collective talent and passion of the Barrack Drama Department was stunningly showcased in the Virtual Cabaret, which can still be seen on YouTube for those who haven’t seen it yet or want to see it again.