Western Springs teacher lands dream role in 'Cabaret'

Even after weeks of rehearsals, actor Scott Sawa still can’t believe he’ll soon be stepping onto stage in his favorite musical of all time in a role he never imagined he’d play.

“I keep pinching myself that I get to play Cliff – I never imagined myself in such a male ingenue role,” said Sawa, referring to his role as Cliff Bradshaw in Cowardly Scarecrow’s production of Cabaret, which opens Oct. 5.

He counts the first time he saw Cabaret, a national tour that stopped at the Rosemont Theatre, as one of the defining moments of his life.

“I was blown away by the Emcee’s androgynous pansexual energy and then punched in the gut by the ending. I remember seeing it with my best friends Julie and Mary…and I was absolutely giddy as we went to our cars. Something had been unlocked, and it's carried me through my acting journey to where I am today,” he said. “I can't wait to get drawn into this world every night!"

Set in 1931 at the seedy Kit Kat Klub in Berlin, Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. Among the stories that unfold during the musical is that of the young American writer Cliff Bradshaw and his relationship with English cabaret performer Sally Bowles.

“I think this show packs a gut punch. The music is so good and fun that it sweeps you up, and by the time you realize what’s really happening, it’s all so tragically inevitable,” Sawa said. “The combined effect makes you really think about what is happening in our current lives, what is the atrocity happening while we’re all enjoying ourselves.”

The LaGrange native has been performing in musicals since he played Harvey Johnson in his seventh-grade production of Bye Bye Birdie and he has never looked back. More recently, Sawa has been seen as Bob Neal in Ten Dollar House for Pride Films and Plays; Pete "TV Ugly" Rathbone in Hey! Dancin'! Hey! Musical! for The Factory Theater; The Bellhop in Nightmare in Paradise series for Nothing Special Productions; and “Straight” Darrin in the Bewitched parody Bewildered! and James Martin (Red Buttons) in The Poseidon Adventure parody Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical with Hell in a Handbag Productions.

In addition to Cabaret, Sawa was recently cast in American Blues Theater's The Lincoln Project as Abraham Lincoln.

“It will be my second time playing Lincoln in a show for school audiences – this time approaching it from the perspective of his relationship to the African-American men he freed, exploring the true motives of that decision,” Sawa said. “It's such an honor to play this amazing American (and Illinoisan!), especially at a time when our country is so divided.”

When he isn’t on stage, he is teaching the next generation of actors at Children's Theater of Western Springs, and has just begun offering coaching for adult actors as well. Even in his downtime, he’s still singing as he hits up karaoke around town.

Catch Sawa on stage in Cowardly Scarecrow Theatre Company’s production of the Sam Mendes version of Cabaret, running Oct. 5-25, 2019, at Chief O'Neill's Pub in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood. More information is available at www.cowardlyscarecrow.com.