Unbeknownst to some, Millikin holds a cabaret series a few times during the school year. On Thursday, Sept. 2, the series had auditions at the Crystal Palace, a known “theatre house,” for their upcoming cabaret, “Did You Just Assume My Gender?!”

The auditions asked for the auditionee to perform 32 bars of a musical song of the opposite gender, aka a gender-bent song. They had to provide a score for the accompanist that showcased their vocal range.

Senior BFA stage management major Elizabeth Pillow shared her idea with senior BFA acting major and cabaret coordinator Spencer Clark. Now, she’s directing the show and Clark is choreographing.

“I have never directed anything before, so I’m very excited to push myself out of my comfort zone as a growing artist. I’m also stoked to get to help my cast grow and perform songs they wouldn’t normally be able to perform,” Pillow said.

Pillow explained that she got the idea from other musical productions and from seeing other musical theater students who desired singing gender-bent songs.

“I feel like every musical theatre lover in the world listens to soundtracks of musicals and thinks, ‘Man I want to sing that song he’s singing.’ Or vice versa, depending on your gender. So I thought, ‘Why not give people the chance to do that!’ Broadway stars do a similar concert every year called ‘Broadway Backwards with Broadway Cares,’ where Broadway stars sing gender-bent songs,” Pillow said.

Among the 20 students who auditioned, 10 of them were cast for the cabaret: freshmen Paige Boomer and Sean Garfias; sophomores Olivia Irmiter and Genesis Brito; juniors Kyle Kite, David Blakeman, Jacob Melssen, and Stephanie Simon; and seniors Michael Lambton and Heather Bilecki.

“It wasn’t my best performance, but I thought it went well,” Brito said.

She sang “Live in Living Color” from Catch Me if You Can.

“I’m excited to see what direction the show goes, and I’m excited to see how the group numbers go,” Brito said.

Sophomore theatre major Hannah Deaton thinks that a cabaret such as this one is an important concept.

“Normally in theatre, we’re stuck performing certain songs based on our gender, but gender-bending allows us to branch out and try pieces we normally wouldn’t think of performing,” Deaton said.

Melssen sang “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady and is looking forward to the production process.

“I’m really excited to work with a new group of people that I haven’t worked with before. I know a lot of people in the cabaret, but I’ve never been in a production with them. It’s also really fun to see my friend Elizabeth Pillow in the director’s position. I think she’s going to do very well!” Melssen said.

Though the title is humorous, Melssen revealed that the performance won’t be entirely comedic.

“Even though reversing the genders of the songs is a comedic concept, we’re still going be able to tell some deeper stories with a few of the songs,” Melssen said.

The show will run Sept. 18 at 4:30 pm in Kauper Hall, no tickets or money necessary.

“It’s the same weekend as Fall Family Weekend, and the show is super family-friendly, so families are welcome!” Pillow said.

If anyone is having family visit them for that weekend, be sure to let them know about this unique performance.

“I’ll definitely go! I don’t really know what to expect, so I’m not sure what I’m looking forward to, but I’m excited to see my classmates perform!” Deaton said.

Stay tuned for more information on the next cabaret in the series, “Any Moment,” directed by senior music education major Michael Lambton.