Introduction and Mission
I had the pleasure of speaking with Susan Galbraith, Artistic Director for Alliance for New Music-Theatre, in great detail about the 2026/27 season of The George Fulginiti Series: Cabaret, Cocktails, & Conversation. Galbraith is passionate about her work with the group and also shared with me other inspirational and fascinating ventures that use community outreach and partnerships with international talent to tell stories that are important to be heard in this nation’s capital. I will do my best to summarize what I learned and experienced through this discussion and my attendance at Alliance’s 2025/26 Cabaret Series’ final show.
Alliance’s ongoing mission is to “change the conversation through the arts,” a goal they pursue by tackling heavy, localized topics and “promoting a deeper critical appreciation and understanding of the transformative power of the arts.” Highlighting this philosophy, Galbraith noted, “Music theater can be a catalyst to change the way we think and hear from different perspectives. Drama tells the story, while music breaks open hearts.” The Cabaret Series, which was the main focus of our interview, demonstrates this by nurturing professional growth and illustrating cross-cultural themes, with local talent to engage the community in the creative process.
Honoring George Fulginiti
The series itself is named in honor of a founding member and music director of the Alliance, George Fulginiti, who was a massive champion of the cabaret art form. Reflecting on his life and impact, Galbraith shared, “George was one of the original composers when we founded the Alliance in 1994. He was a terrific cornerstone of the music theater community in DC,” and he “loved cabaret and admired it as an interesting, personal art form.”
Galbraith shared this view, adding that cabaret, as an intimate art form, is uniquely suited for explicit social, political, and cultural commentary. By often breaking the fourth wall, the format fosters a direct connection with the audience and can serve as a “mirror” to societal issues and tackle deeply personal and socially relevant themes. This strategic series also serves as an incubator for long-term projects, employing local performing artists while the company develops original works at various stages of creation.
The Venue: The Arts Club of Washington
The 3rd Annual Cabaret Series is hosted at the Arts Club of Washington, an institution founded in 1916 in the former home of President James Monroe. The venue is the oldest not-for-profit club in the DC area and has a long history of boundary-pushing. Speaking to the club’s history, Galbraith explained, “Washington is full of white men’s clubs, but this was the first that allowed women and African-Americans to join. They even allowed lesbians, which was quite radical in its day.” This inclusivity during its founding era makes the space perfectly suited for Alliance’s purposes.
The Upcoming Cabaret Season
The 2026/27 season features six performances occurring every other month to start, with a different artist curating and headlining each event to expand the definition of the medium. In October, crossover artist Melissa Bonetti headlines a fusion of opera and jazz titled “Carmen Meets Lola.” Bonetti is also part of a chamber opera in progress about unintended encounters at the southern border, featuring a chorus of bilingual local youth. However, in light of the recent ICE raids and out of concern for the safety of the involved families, that planning has been delayed. “The kids were terrified their parents would disappear,” Galbraith stated.
Daniel Smith, who was part of the inaugural Cabaret Series, will perform in December in “Curtain Calls: Howard Edition.” This will be a first-time partnership with Howard University showcasing Smith’s student winners from the concluding competition of his cabaret workshop.
“A Gatsby for Our Time” in February will have Josh Cleveland, an alum of Alliance’s Composer-Librettist Studio. The event will include original music from Cleveland’s musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby, followed in April by “Suzy Plays the Saxophone” from musician Andrew Earle Simpson, who composed a previously Alliance-commissioned piece, The Man Ray Project: Caesar & The Mannequin. And in May, company member Cara Schaefer’s “Sing the Unsung” will highlight stories and lesser-known heroes.
The Weimar Cabaret Centerpiece
The series will culminate with “Mephisto As a Weimar Cabaret,” featuring the season’s headliners and previewing the theater’s future vision: a full-scale original piece titled “Cabaret Mephisto” — in the works for 2028, based on the film Mephisto — which follows actors in Weimar-era Berlin who go underground to perform cabaret as the Nazi party rises to power. Galbraith described the vision for the future production, explaining, “I want it to be about a young group of actors during the time the Nazis come into power. We see that in our country now, right? So it will also be very much about our own struggle to stay true to our values.”
This Weimar focus is not meant to be subtle as the season’s centerpiece. Weimar Cabaret flourished in Germany — primarily Berlin — during the Weimar Republic period (1918–1933). Performers utilized sharp satire, dark humor, and jazz-influenced music to challenge social boundaries and critique a fragile democracy. With the injustices and blatant fascist tendencies of the current administration, it seems perfectly clear why Alliance has chosen this particular style and tone to inform their upcoming season.
Local and International Initiatives
This commitment to social commentary extends beyond the cabaret, manifesting in several ongoing local initiatives. The organization is collaborating with Georgetown Ministries, Carpenter’s Shelter, and Cornerstones, utilizing theater to raise awareness and expand the reach of personal stories regarding homelessness. Detailing this outreach, Galbraith said, “We use music theater as a vehicle and catalyst for ongoing conversations about issues in our midst”.
After the 2022 success of Voices of Zion: The Black Georgetown Cemeteries Project, the theater has been partnering with Mount Zion Church and the Black Georgetown Foundation to build on the work with a piece about DC Emancipation Day. Galbraith highlighted the profound historical context of the piece, noting, “A lot of people don’t know that by the time of the Civil War, Georgetown was almost 45 percent African-American. They won early emancipation for DC.” With music from Voices of Zion composer Ronald Trey Walton, Alliance aims to commemorate how the Black Georgetown community lobbied and achieved early emancipation in the district on April 16, 1862 — nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
And on an international scale, the company is reviving its highly praised, Helen Hayes-recommended production The Trumpeter at Dupont Underground this November. According to Galbraith, it was previously cut short by snowstorms, but was originally built as “an immersive experience about the bombing of Mariupol and raised money for Ukrainian aid organizations.”
A Powerful Finale: Songs We Need Now
The breadth of these current initiatives reflects the same artistic philosophy that defined the closing show of Alliance’s 2025/26 Cabaret Series, Songs We Need Now, with Alan Naylor: using nontraditional formats; focusing on the good, the bad, and the ugly; and, above all, leading with love, compassion, and a desire for wholeness.
Galbraith was thrilled with Naylor’s performance, adding, “Alan is a tremendous performer. I ask artists to curate their cabarets and push the boundaries of what they think cabaret is.” And the evening was not what you would call a conventional cabaret, as Naylor off-handedly acknowledged at one point. It was a collaboration with pianist Erin Lee and composer/singer/pianist Marie Nikolaevna Herrington, and the set list was comprised of an amalgamation of forms — ranging from classical music and opera to acoustic guitar and incorporating poetry, momentous sonnets, historic speeches, and love letters from a soldier during the Civil War.
To say the event was “fun” would be a gross misrepresentation of what transpired. There were many joyous moments, of course. The program began with Naylor wistfully serenading the audience with “Rainbow Connection” — a song made famous by peace and happiness ambassador Kermit the Frog. However, the mood shifted with moments of deep reflection and mourning. Alan stoically delivered the Gettysburg Address as Herrington improvised accompaniment on the piano, and the devastating sadness conveyed in Alan’s translation of Jacques Brel’s “Alone” served as a stark counterpoint to the joyous beginning of the show.
Naylor, alongside Lee and Herrington, took the audience on a profound emotional journey. Through themes of patriotism, love, acceptance, and the fight for what is morally right, Naylor brought the room into dark places but did not leave the audience to wallow in their misery for long. The set concluded with the uplifting and hopeful note of Stephen Schwartz’s “Beautiful City.”
There was an undeniable unity of heart and mind in the small theater space that evening. Songs We Need Now felt like an expression of the shared grief for all that has been lost under the current administration, but brightened with the powerful reminder of what our country truly stands for.
This performance, however, was more than just a musical retrospective; it exemplified why the Alliance for New Music-Theatre serves as a vital beacon in the cultural landscape. By transforming complex, often painful social and political realities into intimate, shared experiences, they remind us that the arts are more than entertainment — they are essential tools for community building and reflection. In times that can feel too bleak to find a path toward peace, the Alliance’s commitment to “changing the conversation” offers a necessary, hopeful light, demonstrating that art remains our most compelling instrument for connecting with our community toward a brighter, more unified future.
Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.
Alan Naylor: Songs We Need Now played for one night on June 2, 2026, presented by Alliance for New Music-Theatre, performing at the Arts Club of Washington, 2017 I St. NW, Washington, D.C. Tickets for the 2026/27 Series are available for purchase as a Season Subscription for $390 plus fees (All-in price $403.65). Or you can purchase tickets for the individual cabarets for $75 plus fees (All-in price $77.63). For more information about the upcoming season and other Alliance productions, visit their website.
Artist Bios
Marie Herrington is a Baltimore-based soprano, composer, and keyboardist who works to culminate all of the hidden beauties of the classical world with the ever-growing world of post-classical/new music. Marie’s most recent performance endeavors include performing works by living composers as part of New Orleans’ Alluvium Ensemble’s Voice to Water festival and showcase, which featured performers J.T. Hassell, Marie Herrington, Sixto Franco, Timothy Krippner, and Loadbang’s Will Lang. Marie is excited to be making her debut at the American Alliance for New Music-Theatre in Washington, DC, with singer and pianist Alan Naylor, and Erin Lee performing Songs We Need Now. Being half Ukrainian, Marie sets a lot of Ukrainian poetry to music to inform American/English speaking audiences. You can find her compositions on YouTube and SoundCloud, or you can follow Marie’s works on her website, MarieHerringtonMusic.com.
Korean-American pianist Erin Lee is a passionate performer and educator driven by emotional expression and radical collaboration, and has enjoyed a multifaceted musical career in solo piano performance, chamber music, and musical education. She received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees, as well as her Graduate Performance Diploma, in Piano Performance from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University under Dr. Alexander Shtarkman. At just ten years old, Erin made her first orchestral appearance with the Los Angeles Doctors Symphony, and has since continued to share her artistry in venues across the country, including solo recitals at the Baruch Performing Arts Center and the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.
Erin has achieved significant success in competitions including the Bach International Music Competition, Concert Festival International Competition, Hulbert International Concerto Competition, Robert Turner Concerto Competition, Alice Frazier Scholarship Competition, Southern California Bach Festival, OC Korean Cultural Center Competition, Montecito International Solo Competition, and the LA Korea Times Competition. Erin has also performed in masterclasses from renowned artists such as Emanuel Ax, Gary Graffman, Julian Martin, Robert McDonald, Wu Han and David Finckel, and Richard Goode. A dedicated teacher, Erin is also heavily involved in many schools across the DMV area and frequently enjoys collaborating with other musicians in the community.
Alan Naylor is a Helen Hayes Award-winning actor, singer, and pianist with a talent for the poignant delivery of song. Whether singing Rodgers & Hammerstein, Puccini, Billy Joel, or his most beloved Muppets, his performances are sure to bring laughter, tears, and a sense of hearing things as if for the first time.
A resident of Washington, DC, he has acted throughout the United States in award-winning theaters such as the Kennedy Center, St. Louis MUNY, Signature Theatre, Washington National Opera, and Olney Theater, among many others. In addition, he has performed with such venerable groups as The Minnesota Orchestra, National Philharmonic, American Boys Choir, and St. Olaf Choir, and was a founding member of the American Broadway Chorus.
While collaboration is one of his greatest joys, Alan also performs regularly as a solo singer/pianist in recital, concert, and cabaret. His local concerts are widely followed and sought after by lovers of everything from art song to Queen and Freddie Mercury.
Alan Naylor: Songs We Need Now Setlist
“Rainbow Connection” – Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher
“With a Smile and a Song” – Frank Churchill and Larry Morey
“Beautiful” – Carole King
“Morning Möd” – Edvard Grieg
“Sunshine On My Shoulders” – John Denver
“Infinite Shining Heavens” – Ralph Vaughn Williams, Robert Louis Stevenson
“Kyiv. A Springtime Evening”/”Yesterday” – Mykola Zerov, Translation: Sergei L. Mosyakin; Paul McCartney
“Wither Must I Wander” – Ralph Vaughn Williams, Robert Louis Stevenson
“Alone” – Jacques Brel, Translation: Alan Naylor
“The Letter of Sullivan Ballou” – Major Sullivan Ballou, edited with improvisations by Marie Herrington
Piano Concert in G 2nd Movement – Maurice Ravel
Plyve Kacha – Marie Herrington, Vasyl Grendzha-Donsky, Translation Steve Repa
Death of Åse – Edvard Grieg
“Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” – Andrew Lloyd Webber
“Smile” – Charlie Chaplin, David Raskin, Geoffrey Parsons
Morgen – Richard Strauss, John Henry Mackay
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” – Rodgers & Hammerstein
“Gettysburg Address,” “Shenandoah,” and “America the Beautiful” – Abraham Lincoln, Samuel A. Ward, improvisations by Marie Herrington
“Beautiful City” – Stephen Schwartz
Alliance for New Music-Theatre 2026/27 Cabaret Season
October 6, 2026. CARMEN MEETS LOLA
Crossover Artist, Company Member, and Dominican Republic songstress Melisa Bonetti blends different music genres, pairing operatic arias with jazzy standards to express wild and deep emotions.
December 1, 2026. CURTAIN CALLS: HOWARD EDITION
Company member Daniel “Deacon” Smith takes the lead, helping us embark on a partnership with Howard University, leading award-winning student performers from a cabaret competition.
February 2, 2027. A GATSBY FOR OUR TME
This cabaret will feature songs from company member Josh Cleveland’s adaptation of Fitzgerald’s novel with original music and lyrics inspired by ’20s jazz.
April 6, 2027. SUZY PLAYS THE SAXOPHONE
Prominent silent film musician Andrew Earle Simpson screens an exuberant 1928 French/German silent film, Saxophone Suzy, accompanied by a new live score plus new arrangements of Weimar-inspired cabaret.
May 4, 2027. SING THE UNSUNG
Company member Cara Schaefer shares her wit, expressive voice, and enormously generous heart, especially for all creatures great and small whose stories are overlooked in the mainstream narrative.
June 1, 2027. MEPHISTO AS A WEIMAR CABARET
Join us when our whole cabaret ensemble reassembles in a season finale and a preview of a new work based on Klaus Mann’s novel, Mephisto, about making art in a growing Fascist society.
