Oregon Cabaret Theatre: Raising the curtain with a song (and dinner, too) * Oregon ArtsWatch

""Our first priority was to keep the Cabaret's existing audience, improve the physical space and sound system, and learn - with Jim's guidance - how the theater operated," Val said. "When Jim passed, we were suddenly on our own in season selection and casting, and a lot of those early days just felt like being thrown into the deep end and fighting to stay afloat.""

""I loved it," he said. "The Cabaret was so vibrant and unique. On the car ride home, I immediately called Val and said we had to do it.""

""I immediately fell in love with the place and the town," she said. "I was ready to leap in when I was approached to potentially take over.""

Rick and Valerie Rachelle acquired the Oregon Cabaret Theatre after Valerie directed a show there and both decided to take ownership despite initial doubts about dinner theater viability. Co-founder Jim Giancarlo died suddenly before final papers could be signed, and the couple closed the deal two weeks later. Early priorities included retaining the existing audience, upgrading the physical space and sound system, and learning theater operations under Giancarlo's guidance. After his death they assumed full responsibility for season selection and casting and struggled through challenging early days. The intimate playhouse, housed in a former Baptist church near the Oregon Shakespeare Festival campus, has since become a vibrant cultural hub in southern Oregon.

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