It seems like only yesterday that the young actors at Western Washington Center for the Arts were giggling while they painted their faces and put on cute bug costumes for “James and the Giant Peach.”

Oh wait — that was only yesterday. But kids grow up, and so, it seems has WWCA.

Long known for putting on family-oriented musicals and comedies such as “Beauty and the Beast” or “the Pirates of Penzance,” usually featuring an array of the progeny of Director Jan Ewen, the theater has taken a giant leap toward maturity with the production currently underway, “Cabaret.”

Oh there’s still Ewen kids in costumes, but “cute” is not quite the right word for their black stockings and garter belts outfits.

The very adult-themed musical, which opened on Broadway in 1966, takes place in 1930s Germany as war clouds gather on the horizon. Most people remember it for the 1972 movie starring Liza Minnelli as the title character, Sally Bowles.

As Sally struggles to stay employed as a cabaret singer at the Kit Kat Klub, the darkness outside threatens to bust through the doors of the cabaret.

In one of the play’s most famous lines, the androgynous Emcee remarks, “So, life is disappointing. In here, life is beautiful.”

The other location in the story is the boarding house of Jewish landlady Fraulein Schneider, who rents a room to the American Clifford Bradshaw. Everyone is struggling to get by, not always by the most virtuous means.

Back at the Kit Kat Klub, the Emcee is played by Kenneth Miller, who last performed in “Forever Plaid” at the Jewel Box Theatre in Poulsbo.

Sally Bowles is played by Emily Yingling, and her love interest, the aspiring author Clifford Bradshaw, is played by her husband Ryan Yingling.

Other characters and the actors portraying them are Ernst Ludwig (Shane C. Hall); Fraulein Schneider (Anita Rose); Herr Schultz (Jim Curry); Gorilla (Rachel Ewen); and the Customs Officer (Ryan Scott).

Playing the scantily clad Kit Kat Girls are Corey Atencio, Beka Ewen, Chelsea Elkins, Kaitlyn Larsen, Krista Curry and Rachel Ewen.

The All Girl Orchestra is James Koop and Drake Haren, German sailors are Ryan Scott and Israel Davis. Additional chorus members are Harry Helm and Risa Daniels.

“Cabaret,” with book by Joe Masterhoff, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, gives audiences a fascinating look into a world that disappeared with the advent of WWII. It’s a world that is at once gay and glittering, dark and sinister. The bad people are really bad, and the good people are, well, not always so good either.

There is no happy ending to this story, but there are some beautiful songs along the way.

“Cabaret” opened April 28 and runs weekends through May 28 at the WWCA theatre, 521 Bay St., Port Orchard.

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 5 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets are $12 adults, $10 seniors, students and active military. Thursday shows are $10 adults, $8 seniors, students and active military. Reserve tickets by calling (360) 769-7469.