ABOUT US
Our HERstory:
Anita Kallen and Catherine Thomson met in the summer of 2010, when they were among 38 students from around the world selected to attend the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University. They worked with Broadway veterans such as Faith Prince and Tovah Feldshuh, as well as cabaret legend Julie Wilson. In 2011, they debuted a successful two-woman show at Davenport’s Cabaret in Chicago called Dangerous Women, a comic exploration of the many ways in which women can be dangerous. The show was reprised at Davenport’s in 2012. Anita and Catherine spent 2017 and 2018 as part of a quartet celebrating Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday. Bernstein at 100 was performed several times in the Chicago area, with Cabaret Scenes magazine describing it as, “a loving salute to Maestro Bernstein.”
In 2019, they premiered a sold-out debut of HERstory: The 19thAmendment Turns 100!, a celebration of the law that affirmed women’s right to vote. When the pandemic caused the cancellation of live performances, Anita and Catherine promoted a digital version of the show, which played around the country from 2019 to 2021. The show has since been updated and retitled as HERstory: The 19th Amendment and the Power of the Vote!
In 2022 Anita and Catherine followed up with a new show, HERstory: Trailblazing Female Firsts, saluting the gutsy gals who boldly defied society’s conventions - going where no woman had gone before - and achieved groundbreaking female “Firsts.” And in 2024, they added a third show to their repertoire, HERstory: A Century of Songwriting Sisters, celebrating the famous and not-so-famous women songwriters who have contributed to Tin Pan Alley, the Great American Songbook, the Broadway canon, and contemporary popular music, with songs that span the decades. They now tour with all three HERstory shows, bringing them to senior residences, public libraries, community centers, corporate audiences, religious and civic organizations, as well as the Skokie Theatre.
In addition to their work as a duo, Anita and Catherine have also logged considerable success as solo and ensemble performers.
In the early summer of 2013, Anita’s first solo show, That’s So Cliché! (But Music to My Ears), played to full houses at Davenport’s and received a standing ovation from enthusiastic audience members, as well as a review in Cabaret Scenes magazine declaring her "rock solid vocally and confident interpretively which enables her to tell a heck of a story... Today's confident shimmery Kallen has become a real entertainer!"
Anita’s second solo show, When You Least Expect It! debuted in 2015 with Cabaret Scenes noting that “Kallen delivers a musical exploration of the unexpected,” with “great songs choices” and landing “all the laughs.” She reprised it in 2019. In late November 2021, Anita debuted her third solo project and first “tribute” show, The Cy Coleman Story: You Know His Music - If Not His Name, to a full house and looks forward to touring with it in the year ahead.
In addition to her acclaimed work as a cabaret singer, Anita is a theater actor, with leading roles that have included Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Fiona in Brigadoon, Marian Paroo in The Music Man, Laurey Williams in Oklahoma, Irene Molloy in Hello Dolly, Joanne in Godspell, Mrs. George Bernard Shaw in the 2014 Midwest Premiere of Mark Saltzman’s comedy, “Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood” at Chicago’s Greenhouse Theater and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire in the western suburbs.
Enjoy demo recordings and performance videos from Anita's Chicago Cabaret Professional's member profile here.
Catherine has been reviewed in Cabaret Scenes as "...a cabaret artist to watch. Not only does she sing like a canary and move like a cat, she gets the art of cabaret and thus is, above all, a wonderful story teller."
She performed sold out shows of Recognition with Yale colleague Duncan Moore in late 2010. Cabaret Scenes reported, “Thomson delivers Irving Berlin’s “You’d Be Surprised” with sensual pleasure and without the usual coquettishness and it is grand. In “Guess Who I Saw Today,” Thomson found the perfect balance of sorrow and bitterness to convey this understated story song.”
Catherine followed up with solo shows. Songs in the Key of Peace has played widely in the Chicagoland area from 2011 onwards, and The Rich Diet of Life debuted in 2013, with Cabaret Scenes magazine declaring, “Thomson also delivered entertaining new material [and] built it well.”
Catherine’s theatre credits include Dr. Eve in Sordid Lives, Odette in Southern Baptist Sissies, The Mistress in All Over, Velma in Hairspray, and Penny in Urinetown. Catherine’s passion for the arts extends beyond the stage, and she spent several years as an arts educator, most notably as a gallery educator (docent) at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) and now serves as a docent for the Chicago Architecture Center.
Enjoy demo recordings and performance videos from Catherine's Chicago Cabaret Professional's member profile here.
As members of the Chicago Cabaret Professionals (CCP), Anita and Catherine have also sung in several CCP musical reviews and shows, including CCP’s annual Galas at the Park West and the Epiphany Center for the Arts, both in Chicago. Chicago restaurant patrons have also heard them around town at Petterino’s, Drew’s on Halsted, and Sayat Nova, as well as the late Serbian Village, Blue Star Wine Bar and the Old Town Brasserie. Anita also sings at St. Vincent DePaul Church in Lincoln Park, and Catherine served in the St. James Cathedral choir from 2014 - 2021.
Music Director: Beckie Menzie, an award-winning concert artist, has appeared at some of the nation’s top nightclubs and concert venues including the legendary Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Birdland in New York, Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre and Park West, as well as at concert halls and art series across the country. Hailed by Chicago’s WGN Radio as “one of the city’s finest cabaret performers,” Beckie is a three-time winner of Chicago’s After Dark Award for Outstanding Cabaret Artist. You can read more about Beckie at her website: www.beckiemenzie.com.
Administrator, Female Faith-based Organization
“We had a rare occurrence yesterday. There was nothing but accolades from everyone about your performance and how much they learned. … Even received calls today to say how wonderful your performance was.”
Corporate Client
“BRAVO!!!!! Standing Ovation!!! More, more, more!! Ladies- you absolutely nailed it! That was such a fun way to take this historical journey. Your passion came thru and made for a very inspirational show. It has been a pleasure working with you both.”
Librarian
“Thank you both so much for the wonderful performance! We had a great turn out and members enjoyed the program! I’m excited to hear more about your new show.”
With the Chicago Cabaret Professionals at the Upside Down Parade.
Launching Women's History Month with Sami Scot at Drew's.