“Mama doesn’t even have an inkling, that I’m working in a nightclub in a pair of lacy pants. So please, Sir, if you run into Mama, don’t reveal my indiscretion, give a working girl a chance.” So sang Molly Ringwald as Sally Bowles in Cabaret at Studio 54. The opposite, however, was true in real life, as Molly expressed to the company manager that she only wished her Papa, and Mama, could see her now in this role. Her father, jazz musician Bob Ringwald, is blind. The company manager told Molly about HAI’s Describe! Program, which provides live audio description of theater for blind and visually impaired individuals. A special HAI audio description of the January 22nd performance of Cabaret was arranged for Mr. Ringwald, visiting from out of town.

“It was absolutely wonderful. I’ve never had this experience before. They [HAI audio describers Laura Congleton and David Brophy] did an absolutely fabulous job,” her father remarked afterward, even jokingly asking Laura if she could tag along at a performance he was to attend the following night. The approval rating was high among the other Describe! attendees who enjoyed the tasteful but often challenging audio description of the lurid and graphic choreography onstage.