Many who end up with a career in theater got their love of performing in a high school production. Such was the case with Thomas Jacobsen, UMD Assistant Professor in Voice and Musical Theatre.
Jacobsen related, “My first involvement with theatre was as a senior in high school, in my high school’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors.” I auditioned for the ensemble but was cast as Seymour, and from that moment on, I knew that musical theatre needed to be a part of my life.”
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Jacobsen grew up in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin. He has BFAs in Vocal Performance and Musical Theatre from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from Tisch-NYU.
He was a teacher at the Milwaukee High School of The Arts and an instructor at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Jacobsen came to UMD in 2018, where he has taught a variety of courses in musical theatre, taught voice lessons, and directed and musical directed.
He is also a composer, including for the UMD production of “MAXA the Maddest Woman in the World.” He has music directed a number of shows at UMD, including “Pippin,” “Bare,” “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” and “Sister Act.”
For UMD, he has also directed “Natasha, Pierre, and the Comet of 1812” and “Bare.” He has a number of other directing credits, including several at Theater on the Main in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, Jacobsen has acted professionally in several theater productions, including playing one of his favorite roles, Mark in “Rent” for Theater on the Main. He was also an ensemble singer for the original Broadway cast recording of “Natasha, Pierre, and the Comet of 1812.”
Life is a Cabaret
About “Cabaret,” his current UMD show, he said, ”Cabaret” has always been a bucket list show for me. I love history, and this show had such an impact on me when I first saw it. My introduction to “Cabaret” was the 1998 Broadway revival with Alan Cumming. It was the first time I saw a show that ended in such an unhappy way; I left the theatre in a completely different state than when I entered it. Ever since then, I have been fascinated with this show and the power contained within this show.”
He added, “For myself, and the entire company, finding the balance between the material in the show and our lives outside of the show has been a challenge. However, realizing the importance and relevance of this show reminds us how grateful we are to be telling this story right now.”
“I am most excited for audiences to see the extraordinary talents of the UMD students! The actors, designers, and crew are all so ridiculously talented. It’s been a privilege to work with them every day, and I cannot wait for audiences to be blown away by their talent!”
“I hope audiences will be prepared for a night of provocative, thought-provoking theatre, and they’ll be entertained and challenged in equal measure,” said Jacobsen. “I hope they will recognize the power of this piece of theatre, and it will encourage fruitful conversations. This is a particular piece of musical theatre that will never lose its relevance or its potency. It will always remain an important story to tell.”
Information on UMD’s “Cabaret”
Written by Joe Masteroff, Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed by Thomas Jacobsen
April 18 | 7:30 PM
April 19 | 2:00 PM (ASL interpreted)
April 22, 23, 24, 25 | 7:30 PM
April 26 | 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM
UMD’s Marshall Performing Arts Center Main Stage
Advance tickets are available at https://z.umn.edu/UMDCabaret or 218-726-8561. Advance tickets $25 adult | $20 senior/UMD Faculty & Staff/Veteran | $10 all students. UMD students are also eligible for free rush tickets 30 minutes prior to a performance with a valid UMD student ID, subject to availability
Set at the Kit Kat Klub in 1931 Berlin, where the Master of Ceremonies ushers the audience through the story of Cliff, a young American writer, who is immediately taken with English singer Sally Bowles. Meanwhile, Fräulein 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. Based on the 1998 Broadway revival, the show explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. (From UMD Theatre)
Attendees should be advised that “Cabaret” explores sensitive issues such as anti-Semitism, Nazism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and abortion. This production also includes profanity, sexual content, physical depictions of violence, smoking, drug use, and alcohol use.
In partnership with UMD’s Baeumler-Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration Committee, performances on Friday, April 18 and Friday, April 25 will be followed by talks putting the events of the play into historical context. Since 1996, the Baeumler-Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration Committee has existed to inform and educate the UMD community about the Holocaust, its victims, causes, consequences, lessons, legacies, and memory. Members of the cast and creative team will also be on hand to discuss the process that went into bringing these stories to the stage.
