Sara James is a Birmingham theater veteran, having performed on area stages before college and after graduation from the University of Montevallo. Something she hasn’t done is cabaret … until now. She’ll perform “Don’t Make Me Sing: A Cabaret featuring Sara James” on Aug. 16 at Homewood Theatre. It’s a Theatre Downtown production, and the evening will also include revealing that theater’s new space, which James, president of the TD board, and her board have been searching for.
You seem to be busy. Have you been looking for a slot to do the cabaret?
Staying busy keeps me out of trouble, so I’ve usually got at least one project in the works. I have actually wanted to do this for a VERY long time. I think the board first approved it almost three years ago, during Covid Time, with the intent to do it once things opened up again. Once that started to happen, however, I went straight from “Proof” at Homewood Theatre to “Puffs” at BFT to “9 to 5” at VST to “Kinky Boots” at RMTC and then rounded it out with “Side by Side by Sondheim” back at BFT. Then 2023 was almost solely dedicated to producing and directing “The Crucible” and looking for a space, so this August was the best available slot to conflict with as few events as possible and give me time to program and prepare.
Tell me what people can expect from the show.
Hope y’all like metaphors! Candidly, the songs tell the loose story of my struggle with alcohol abuse, the depths of my active alcoholism and my journey into and maintaining recovery. There will be poignant moments, but anyone who knows me knows that I love a good joke at my own expense, so there will be plenty of laughter and a touch of silliness. I’ve chosen a wide variety of musical theater songs and styles, and I think they tell my story exactly the way I want to tell it.
Do you have a band performing with you?
Yes, I have an amazing group of musicians playing with me. Maria Wilson is on piano, Matthew Williamson is on guitar, and Maury Levine is on percussion. I went to college at Montevallo with Matthew and Maria, and they are just top-notch musicians. I’ve been working with Maury since back in the early days of Centerstage Productions and… well, everybody loves Maury. There are also a few surprise vocalists who will join me as well, but I’m keeping that close to the vest.
Is cabaret something you’ve done before, or is this a first-time thing?
Never cabaret, exactly, but I did do recitals as a vocal performance major in college. Though I still absolutely love classical singing, this will be more Sondheim, less Schubert. I am very excited about a more casual setting and just being myself onstage, which is not something I do often.
How is preparation different for this than a standard stage show?
The biggest difference for me is that there is no character work. I am singing these songs, not the character from the show. They mean what they mean to Sara James, not Lizzie Borden or Cathy Hyatt (spoiler alert.) There’s a necessary level of vulnerability that is not always comfortable to access, but ultimately incredibly rewarding. That’s why I hope y’all like metaphors.
Tell me about the title. I assume you do sing in this show, correct?
Rest assured, I do sing! The title is from a “Saturday Night Live” sketch In which Kristen Wiig is at a party where everyone is asking Jon Hamm to play piano. Kristen keeps repeating with false modesty, “Oh, don’t make me sing…” when no one is asking her to sing. But she very clearly wants to be asked to sing. It’s an over-the-top character, but I definitely identify with her in a lot of ways, as do a lot of performers, I believe, whether we admit it to ourselves or not. I workshopped a few titles, but this one came to me out of nowhere and it was perfect. No one asked me to do this, but I want to, so I’m doing it anyway.
What’s next for you?
Immediately next, I start rehearsal for “The Exonerated” directed by Leah Luker and Marc Raby at Encore Theatre & Gallery, which goes up in September. After that, I’ll be directing the shadow cast for this year’s Rocky Horror Masquerade Ball, and then turning my focus to Theatre Downtown’s November show.
“Don’t Make Me Sing: A Cabaret featuring Sara James,” a production of Theatre Downtown at Homewood Theatre, Aug. 16.
