Emporia State Summer Theatre Opens With 'Cabaret'
Emporia, KS (06/10/2026) — The first show of the 2026 season of Summer Theater at Emporia State University will be "Cabaret," which opens Friday, June 12.
A musical, "Cabaret" is set in a Berlin nightclub as the 1920s draw to a close. There, a garish Master of Ceremonies welcomes the audience and assures them they will forget all their troubles at the Cabaret.
With the Emcee's bawdy songs as wry commentary, "Cabaret" explores the dark, heady and tumultuous life of Berlin's natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. Cliff (Jarrett Davis, Rossville), a young American writer newly arrived in Berlin, is immediately taken with English singer Sally Bowles (Charlotte Proctor, Altoona, Iowa).
Meanwhile, Fraulein Schneider, proprietor of Cliff and Sally's boarding house, tentatively begins a romance with Herr Schultz, a mild-mannered fruit seller who happens to be Jewish. The older couple is portrayed by guest artist Jean Averill of Lawrence and Jim Harris, ESU associate professor of theatre.
"Cabaret" will stage evening productions at 7:30 p.m. June 12 and 13 with afternoon matinees at 2 p.m. June 13 and 14. All performances will be in Ronald Q. Frederickson Theatre in Roosevelt Hall on the ESU campus.
Tickets cost $18 for adults, $13 for seniors, ESU staff and faculty and Theatre Guild members. ESU students are free. A select number of VIP tickets are available in the lounge next to the stage for $30. This production contains mature content and is not suitable for children under 13.
To order tickets, go online to emporia.link/theatre-tickets.
About Emporia State University
Emporia State University offers a range of academic programs through its seven schools: Applied Health Sciences, Business and Technology, Humanities and Social Sciences, Library and Information Management and Library and Archives, Science and Mathematics and Visual and Performing Arts, along with The Teachers College.
ESU stands out for its innovative education practices. It ensures accessible education by offering in-state tuition rates to full-time undergraduate students from all lower-48 United States. Additionally, full-time undergraduates benefit from flat-rate tuition - students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours with at least one credit hour on campus pay a flat rate.
For more information on how to build your future at Emporia State University, please visit www.emporia.edu.
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Gwendolynne Larson, ESU director of media relations, (620) 341-5528, glarson1@emporia.eduShare this Story
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