CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — A local theater group is using its talents to raise funds for HOPE, Inc., an area non-profit that offers shelter and other services to victims of sexual assault or domestic violence.
Vintage Theatre Company’s Montani Cantanti is offering “She Will Rise: A Cabaret for Hope, Inc.” starting Saturday, June 7, with three different performance times over the weekend.
The performance is both directed and conceptualized by Sarah Nale. Joshua Stubbs will provide musical direction.
“I just got inspired listening to all of the great musical theater women’s songs, and I came up with the idea of putting them together,” Nale said. “Then I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could get all these powerful women together in using their talents to make a difference for other people.”
The song that first inspired the idea for Nale is “I’d Rather Be Me,” from the musical version of “Mean Girls,” and the concept continued to grow.
“A lot of it’s more recent. We have some from ‘Waitress’ and ‘9 to 5,'” she said. “We have some classical in there because we have a piece from ‘West Side Story’ as well. So there’s a little bit of something for everyone.”
This is week three of active rehearsals, though the cast was given their music prior to those meetings.
“These women are so talented a lot of them came in already knowing their music. It’s amazing,” Nale said.
The women in the show are local West Virginia women, with the bulk from the Bridgeport/Clarksburg area. The cast includes women traveling from Fairmont, Buckhannon and Weston as well — all ranging in age from high school freshmen to grandmothers
Nale said she leaves every rehearsal excited about something new.
“I’m really excited about the idea of students because we have freshman in high school that are taking part in this group as well,” she said. “I love the idea of them learning to use their talents to help other people, and seeing them working with these older performers is amazing.”
The songs featured in “She Will Rise: A Cabaret for Hope, Inc.” celebrates empowered female characters through topics such as motherhood, friendship, romantic relationships, and self-care.
Nale felt this was an important message to share both with her cast and with the community.
“One in every four women experience domestic violence at some point in their lifetime,” she said. “We have nine people in this group, so at least two of the people we are performing with either have experienced it or will experience it, and we just don’t realize that things like these are so prevelant in our lives. It’s great to be able to use your talents to help other women in need.”
Performances are Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8 at 7p and Sunday, June 9 at 2p in the rear performance space of My Mother’s Daughter located at 318 W. Main Street in Clarksburg, WV.
Tickets are $10. All proceeds from She Will Rise will be donated to HOPE, Inc.