Ballard High School will be performing the musical Cabaret at the end of the month in a production intended to make a spash.

"It's different from what Ballard High has done in the past. I wanted to make a splash," said Shawn Riley, the new BHS Theatre director.

Riley came to Ballard a mere two weeks before the start of the school year after teaching at Olympia High School for 13 years.

"Cabaret is a real American classic and yet it's relevant to what's going on the world today," he said.

The musical takes place in a night club in Berlin at the end of the 1920s. It's a tumultuous and heartbreaking era leading up to World War II. But whatever their troubles, people can forget them at the Cabaret. The story follows a british singer who ran away from the UK to be free in Berlin. When she's fired from the Cabaret she get slapped in the face with reality.

"It's a classic. Everyone knows it, or the music at least," said Courtney Rowley, director of vocal music, "People love the music."

The production is based on the original musical rather than the popular movie.

"Many people will be surprised, it's not like the movie," Riley said. "But I think it will be surprising in a good way."

The production features a bigger cast than the original musical in order to put more students on stage.

"We have 10 Kit Kat girls and a bigger ensemble," Riley said. "We're trying to give an opportunity to as many kids as possible."

This includes the orchestra. Riley chose to put the orchestra on stage instead of hiding them in the pit as so many musicals do.

With Riley being new to the school, all students had to audition solely relying on their performance at the audition.

"I had no back info on the students, which was kind of exciting," Riley said. "They were all new to me."

The auditions were a four-day event consisting of acting, singing, dancing and call-backs.

"This is the closest some of these kids will get to a professional audition," Riley said.

The cast has been rehearsing since the third week of December and "hit it hard" since January 2 with rehearsals Monday through Saturday, Riley said.

"This has been really incredible and a huge challenge for me," said student Eliza Palasz who's playing Sally Bowles. "Sally isn't the part I would have picked but it's the best I could have gotten."

Palasz said doing this production made her learn a lot about set building as Riley makes the actors work, too.

Marley Niland is playing the part if the elderly, concerned Fraulein Schneider. For Niland, a singer, this is her first part in a musical that is not in the ensemble.

"I have learned a lot about myself as an actor," she said. "I'm really enjoying it. I thought it was a happy show but it's a lot darker than you'd expect."

Still, Niland said the show is for everyone.

"The music is great, the dancing is impressive and the acting is demanding, it has funny parts and a surprise ending," she said.

"People really look forward to the Ballard High School musical every year. We've sold out in the last two years," Rowley added.

"We're so excited to have Shawn here. He's the third part to our performance arts and we're excited for the community to see this debut."

The musical will be performed for six nights on two weekends. Performances will be held March 24, 25, 26, 31 and April 1, 2 at 7:30p.m. in Ballard High School's Earl Kelly Performing Arts Center.

Tickets are available online at http://www.showtix4u.com/