Happenstance Theater's
CABARET NOIR
Performers
Stephanie Baird, Gwen Grastorf, Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Sarah Olmsted Thomas and Alex Vernon
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Music arranged for original production by
Karen Hansen
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Music arranged for this production by
Stephanie Baird
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Lighting
Kris Thompson
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Newspaper Puppets
Alex Vernon
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Costumes
Sabrina Mandell
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Stage Manager
Darielle Shandler
Runs approximately 80 minutes with no intermission
Particular Inspirations, References and Songs
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Overture Karen "Shorty" Hansen
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“Some days I feel like playing it smooth…” from Trouble is My Business, by Raymond Chandler, published 1939.
Blow Wind Blow (1987) Tom Waits
Upton Sinclair’s writing, esp. The Jungle, published 1906.
The novels of Raymond Chandler, esp. High Window, published 1942.
Films Noir, esp. Gilda, 1946; Double Indemnity, 1944; Laura, 1944; The Woman in The Window, 1944; Mildred Pierce, 1945; The Lady From Shanghai, 1948; Fury, 1936; The Wrong Man, 1956; Body Heat, 1981.
Wings of Desire, 1987, directed by Wim Wenders.
The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the Classic Era of Film Noir, by Eddie Muller, Published 2014
Vintage Radio programs, esp. Johnny Dollar and Dragnet, and the WAMU radio program “The Big Broadcast” hosted by the amazing Murray Horwitz.
“I hate you Johnny”…variations on dialogue from Gilda, 1946
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“It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in.” From The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler,
My Sin (1929) B.G. DeSylva, Lew Brown & Ray Henderson
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Quinlan: "Come on, read my future for me." Tanya: "You haven't got any." Quinlan: "What do you mean? "Tanya: "Your future is all used up." From Touch of Evil by Orson Welles
‘Round Midnight (1944) Theolonius Monk
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“The streets were dark with something more than night.” Raymond Chandler
Empire State Building Suicide Photo by Robert Wiles of Evelyn McHale (Life Magazine, May 12, 1947)
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Falling in Love Again (1930) Sammy Lerner & Frederick Hollander
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Office Girls Strike Song (2024) C.R. Jaster
Love Me Or Leave Me (1928) Gus Kahn & Walter Donaldson
Tea for Two (1925) Irving Caesar & Vincent Youmans
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Gloomy Sunday (1932) Seress Rezso. Lyrics adapted by Mark Jaster, arrangement by Karen Hansen
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“The world breaks everyone…” from A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemmingway, published 1929.
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"The sun is a joke..." from Day of the Locust, 1939
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"The Night never ends here." from Dark City, 1998
Put the Blame on Mame (1946) Allan Roberts & Doris Fisher
Lefty's Lament Stephanie Baird & Sam Slottow
Lonely at the Top (1970) Randy Newman
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Danse Noir Macabre Karen "Shorty" Hansen
Theme from Laura (1944) Johnny Mercer and David Raksin.
Red Herring:
“The origin of the expression is not known…Modern linguistic research suggests that the term was probably invented in 1807 by English polemicist William Cobbett, referring to one occasion on which he had supposedly used a kipper to divert hounds from chasing a hare, and was never an actual practice of hunters. The phrase was later borrowed to provide a formal name for the logical fallacy and literary device.” (Wikipedia)
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Apache Dance:
“In Fin de siècle Paris young members of street gangs were labelled Apaches by the press…In 1908, dancers Maurice Mouvet and Max Dearly began to visit the low bars frequented by Apaches in a search for inspiration for new dances. They formulated the new dance from moves seen there and gave to it the name Apache." (Wikipedia) Since those origins, the ‘semiacrobatic, violent duet’* apache dances have been recreated and parodied in films by artists as diverse as Milton Berle, Shirley MacLaine, Charlie Chaplin, Lucille Ball and Popeye, and even our own Sarah and Alex in Happenstance’s third Cabaret Macabre. Look for a new “Noir” twist in this show.
*(American Heritage Dictionary)
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Cigarettes:
None of the Happenstance ensemble actually smokes, and we don’t think you should either. But smoking in the 1930’s and 40’s was commonplace, and it was an important element in noir films. To capture this feature of the genre, we are using harmless but realistic electronic prop cigarettes in the show.​​​​​
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We dedicate this show ​
to all those who have passed into the shadows
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Note from the Artistic Co-Directors:
CABARET NOIR was first devised in 2015 and then remounted in 2018. Since then we have built many shows and survived a pandemic. Upon revisiting the material, we decided to roll up our sleeves and tease out some of the themes. We love the high style of "Film Noir," its femmes fatales, fedoras, trench coats, torch songs, intrigue and suspense. We decided to keep the piece an evocative montage rather than a neatly tied up story. There is much scholarly debate about whether “Noir” is a genre, a style, or an era. The cinematic material ranges from poetically elegant to downright cheesy. In CABARET NOIR , we offer a playful wink at the form’s excesses and an admiring nod to its stark beauties. We hope you will enjoy it.
Mark Jaster & Sabrina Mandell
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Ensemble​
Gwen Grastorf is a performer and actor based in the DC metro area. She has been a company member with Happenstance since 2012, as well as the Social Media Maven. Gwen has worked regionally with Constellation Theatre, Taffety Punk, We Happy Few, Rorschach Theatre, Faction of Fools, the Tarot Reading, Washington Revels, and others. Gwen was raised in Frederick, Maryland, and got her degree at the University of MD, College Park.
Mark Jaster (Artistic co-Director of Happenstance Theater), has appeared in all Happenstance Theater productions since its founding, winning the Helen Hayes/Robert Prosky Award for his performance in Impossible! A Happenstance Circus. He served as teaching assistant to Marcel Marceau, and regularly teaches and consults on movement issues. He’s performed many times with the Cambridge and Washington Revels, for 38 years at the MD Renaissance Festival as a Fool named ‘O,’ and is again honored and humbled to haunt the shadows with this beloved ensemble.
Sabrina Mandell is the Artistic co-Director, general manager and visionary tornado of Happenstance Theater. She is a visual and performing artist, deviser of Theatre, and poet who loves art history, costuming, collecting images and stirring up sediment. She worked for ten years as a clown with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Program.
She’s a detective sergeant, she’s assigned to Happenstance detail. There is art to be made. Her job - make it.
Sarah Olmsted Thomas is a fifth generation performing artist. She has been a company member with Happenstance Theater since 2012. She is also half of the award-winning puppet theater company Alex and Olmsted which has toured festivals around the world. Sarah trained with the Pig Iron Theatre Company in Philadelphia and Le Samovar, École de Clowns, in Paris. B.A., Sarah Lawrence College.
Alex Vernon is an actor, puppeteer, tinkerer, and silhouettist. He's been a company member with Happenstance since 2012. Other known associates include Imagination Stage, Adventure Theater, Bread and Puppet Theater, as well as the original work he makes with Sarah (see above.) More often than not when the phone rings in his smoky office, it ain't the sultry voice of a breathy dame, but a series of ominous taps and the low hum of some unknown void in between.
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Stephanie Baird is a Baltimore-based pianist, teacher and performer. Stephanie is passionate about collaboration, and is delighted to be joining Happenstance once again for Cabaret Noir. Stephanie currently maintains a full teaching studio, serves as the collaborative pianist for Charm City Sings, and performs regularly with vocalists and ensembles throughout Baltimore. She received her masters degree in Vocal Accompaniment from the Peabody Institute.
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Happenstance Theater is a professional company committed to devising and producing original, performer-created visual, poetic Theatre. With the simplest means we elevate the moment when performers and audience meet, to lift the encounter beyond the daily and pedestrian into the realms of dreams, poetry, and art. Meaning is often found by happenstance.
Special Thank You to THE SHARE FUND, THE MORGAN FUND, THE NORA ROBERTS FOUNDATION, Maryland State Arts Council, Baltimore Theater Project, Nancy Mendez, Nancy Rodrigues, Sharon Crissinger, Round House Theatre, April and Jerry Blum, Alexander Colwell, Matthew Pauli, Constellation Theater, Karen Hansen and all those who have donated to Happenstance Theater through Fractured Atlas.
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