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On Sept. 11, Oklahoma City will host the debut Collage Cabaret — a single-night showcase that gathers performers across disciplines to present new work and commemorate a national anniversary. The event, set at Rodeo Cinema in Stockyards City, aims to knit the city’s creative scene closer while offering a reflective moment tied to the date.
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Organizers describe the Collage Cabaret as a deliberately mixed program: actors, musicians, dancers, filmmakers and even a magician will appear in short, varied pieces built to be seen live. The goal is not only to present work but to create opportunities for collaboration among local creatives who often operate in separate circles.
Co-founders — several of whom met at Oklahoma City University — say the show grew from conversations about how alumni and area artists drift into niche communities after school. Collage Cabaret is intended to reconnect those strands into a larger, shared platform.
What to expect on the program
- Live theater and musical theater excerpts and original songs
- Dance pieces from local choreographers
- The premiere screening of a short film produced in Oklahoma
- A newly produced music video and a live magic routine
- A dedicated segment honoring Sept. 11, including an interview with a survivor and a moment of silence
Following the performance, producers plan an hour-long mixer to encourage networking between performers and audience members — an explicit effort to turn a one-night event into ongoing creative partnerships.
Why the date matters
Producers chose Sept. 11 intentionally; alongside the artistic program they will present material that acknowledges the day’s gravity. The organizers conducted an interview with Jeff Bacone, who was in Manhattan near the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. That recorded conversation will be part of the evening, followed by a moment of silence and a theatrical piece that responds to the interview.
The inclusion of this tribute signals a broader intent: the event is both a celebration of local art and a space for community reflection. Organizers say confronting difficult topics within artistic settings can foster deeper conversation and empathy.
Logistics: time, place and tickets
The Collage Cabaret takes place at Rodeo Cinema in Stockyards City on Friday, Sept. 11, with a 7:30 p.m. curtain. Tickets are available through Rodeo Cinema’s website on the events page. Organizers emphasize that the show is designed to be accessible — priced for a wide audience while presented with what they describe as a “premium” production value.
Voices from the team
Producers acknowledge that staging a multi-genre show is a leap: the small core team has worked to coordinate disparate artists and media elements into a single evening. They say performers have embraced the risk, drawn by the chance to reach new collaborators and audiences in their hometown.
One producer noted the event’s experimental nature — a one-time-only format that encourages immediate attendance: once the night ends, that particular collection of works will not be repeated in the same form.
What this could mean for Oklahoma’s arts scene
By assembling different artistic communities for a joint presentation and post-show networking, Collage Cabaret could help strengthen local creative networks and seed future projects. For audiences, it offers a compact way to encounter a range of local talent in a single evening.
Whether this first edition grows into a recurring platform will depend on turnout and how well the event converts connections into lasting collaboration. For now, it stands as an experiment in civic-minded programming that pairs performance with remembrance.
