FRENCH FARE: Circus cabaret swings into Ricks Centre to fund future musical

GREENFIELD – A lively production called “Circus Cabaret: French Kiss” is coming to the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts in downtown Greenfield on Sept. 7.

Producer Laura Krell calls the two-hour show “a congregation of circus artists,” including contortionists and aerialists who perform acrobatics with silks and hoops suspended high in the air.

Tony Seiler, who manages the Ricks Centre, said the production is the first of its kind at the Greenfield theater.

Krell said the cabaret is a family-friendly production despite the title, “French Kiss,” which is an homage to her new musical, “Just Beginning.”

The musical tells the true story of French women who were forced into servitude in the early 1700s, when they were falsely accused of crimes and shipped off to the French province of New Orleans to start tobacco plantations.

Krell became fascinated by the story after stumbling upon a meme about women being shipped to the New World in handcuffs, forced into marriage and servanthood.

“I thought, ‘This can’t be real,’ but I researched it and found out it was. I became fascinated from there,’” said Krell, who lives just outside Cumberland.

She created the circus-themed cabaret show to help bankroll her new musical, which she hopes to take to Broadway someday.

“It’s really a story of female empowerment,” said Krell, who earned a doctorate in vocal performance and theater from Ball State University in 2019.

The cabaret features the 10 cast members of her musical singing songs from the musical. The cast also includes a professional aerialist who trains and teaches aerial classes at Cirque Indy.

Krell debuted her musical at Franklin College in June and has more productions lined up for Aug. 30-31, Sept. 6-7 and Nov. 1-2., as well as a performance at the Ricks Centre in Greenfield in late March.

The playwright hopes to book more performances as she continues to fine-tune the production.

“Musicals typically go through so many versions before they’re really finished. Our dream is to get the show on Broadway someday,” she said.

Krell not only composed the musical but directs the cabaret, in which she plays the ringmaster to multiple performers throughout the Indianapolis area.

“What’s really cool about this show and about my musical is I have people (all the way back to) grade school connections in the show, professional actors who have traveled all over the place,” she said.

Krell was born in Kansas City, Missouri but eventually made her way to Indiana, where earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University.

She began performing at a young age and has served as music director for several local churches and theaters, composing for orchestra, choral and theater programs. She now teaches music at St. Susanna Catholic School in Plainfield and serves as the artistic director at the Stage Door Theater in Irvington.

Krell is excited for the public to see her new musical cabaret, as well as her “Just Beginning” musical, which she said is as relevant today as it was in 18th century France.

The story features strife and heartbreak as well as a number of love stories, she said.

“It kind of has everything in it. The actual history is insanely cool, that’s what sucked me in,” said Krell. “I was (researching) it kind of casually but then started learning all these true stories and I thought, ‘This has got to be on stage.’”

Krell said the cabaret is a family friendly event, while the musical is more of a PG-13 production due to its gritty portrayal of historic events.

The musical will hit the Ricks Centre stage March 28-29 and April 4-5.

The cabaret will hit the Greenfield stage in three weeks, at 7 p.m. Sept. 7. Tickets are $15 at the door.

For more details, visit rickscentre.com/events/circus-cabaret-french-kiss.

To learn more about Krell’s musical, visit justbeginningthemusical.com.