Coinciding with Valentine's Day weekend, Trustus Theatre is performing its LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE CABARET — a musical exploration of love and the many forms it may take.
This isn't Trustus' first time putting on the show; it's been performed once before, but a little differently. Last year, attendees saw performances that were curated by the singers themselves for a one-night only event. This year, musical director Chris Cockrell and artistic director Chad Henderson produced the music you'll hear at the cabaret. Through exploring the intimate aspects of love, the directors created a "diverse evening of experiences."
What can you expect to see? Appropriately titled, audiences will be surrounded by love, love and more love during the intimate evening performances. Henderson explained how the cabaret will dive into the Greek's six words for love — each one describing a different aspect the word itself: "Agape" for all-inclusive love, "Eros" to describe passion, "Ludus" to define cheerful, light-hearted love, "Philautia" to express self love and "Pragma" for enduring love.
These forms of love will manifest themselves in the music of the show. Henderson said the cabaret will include show tunes, jazz, pop and hip hop with intentions of leaving the audience with "tingles, feels, and love."
"So when we’re exploring Eros, we’re going to hear songs that talk about passion, fire, sexuality," Henderson said. "So basically the tunes ARE the exploration of these different words."
The catchy title may sound familiar to you, as Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and star of hit Broadway musical "Hamilton," coined the line "love is love is love" in his 2016 Tony Award acceptance speech. The speech was a sonnet written for his wife, but that specific verse was a tribute to the massacre that had occurred the same day at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Michael Hazin, an actor and Trustus company member, spoke to this common thread between the show and Miranda's speech.
"I think when people with the talent and passion that someone like Lin-Manuel has, uses [their] platform to talk about love and how universal it can be can only be a good thing, especially in the time we're in, where hate seems to be easier," Hazin said.
Henderson also thinks that this message of universal love — one advocated for and popularized in the '60s — is equally as important today.
"Right now, I feel we deal with a lot of unloving behaviors from those around us. Whether it be social media, politics, the news and countless other sources – there’s a lot of pain out there right now," Henderson said. "We’re hoping that LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE cures what ails our audiences, and sends them back into the world with their hearts full and their pain relieved."