THIS NEW YEAR’S EVE, the Ukiah Players Theatre and Ukiah Brewing Company will ring in the new year with the cabaret fundraiser “Countdown to Curtain.”
The theater production will be held at the Ukiah Brewing Company on South State Street in downtown Ukiah. The event will begin at 10 p.m. and conclude at 1 a.m., with a New Year’s Eve champagne toast at midnight. All ticket holders will receive free appetizers and one glass of champagne.
Emmeline Swink, director of the production, said she’s excited to see the cabaret show performed for the local community.
“Cabaret is more of a big umbrella term for a lot of different things. Cabaret can essentially be equated to a variety show. I am excited to share this with everybody,” Swink said. “I grew up performing, being able to go from show to show and it really shaped who I was. I also like to give back to people who volunteer their time because they aren’t being paid for it. I am thrilled to be in Ukiah and adding that to this community.”
The cabaret performance will be the Ukiah Players Theatre’s main fundraiser this year, with all proceeds from ticket sales going to the playhouse.
Swink is a lifelong fan of cabaret theater performances. “Countdown to Curtain” will include a series of musical performances of Broadway hits that portray specific life challenges and emotions, she said. One performance portrays a young man telling his mother for the first time that he is gay.
“Every song has the aspect of someone going through a human experience,” Swink added. “Everything I come back to in musical theater is a quote that floats around in the industry, and that quote states, ‘We sing because we can no longer speak.’ That is the biggest momentum and inspiration for this show.”
“Countdown to Curtain” will be held at the Ukiah Brewing Company, 102 South State St., at 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Tickets start at $25 and are available at ukiahplayerstheatre1.thundertix.com/.
Editor’s note: Reporter Sydney Fishman has two family members in the “Countdown to Curtain” production.
This story originally appeared in The Mendocino Voice.