STARTING THIS WEEKEND: CABARET FESTIVAL

By Samantha Mastridge
November 5th, 2009

Tomorrow night kicks off Seattle's first annual Cabaret Festival, presented by the Can Can and hosted all over the place: shows will be at the Moore, the Triple Door, and Act Theatre.

As far as I can tell, everyone even sort of cabaret-y is going to be involved - The Tiger Lillies, Circus Contraption Band, Orkester Zirconium, even Emerald City Soul Club is getting in on the show.  Performance art and drag and comedy and something for pretty much everyone.

We recommend any of it, but particularly Scarlet Room with Vagabond Opera on Wednesday at the Triple Door.  There are two shows: one at 7:00 all ages, and one at 10:00 21+.  I particularly enjoy the description of Vagabond Opera: "Weaving elements of Kurt Weill, Duke Ellington, and Edith Piaf with absurdist flair, theatrics, and an old world mood, Vagabond Opera presents the new wave of opera - lusty voices singing in 13 languages and presenting a cabaret of rich musical phrasing, sparkling lyrics and indomitable stage presence, all played with exuberance, skill and a gritty Vagabond edge."    

We've talked about Scarlet Room here before, but the last time they played the Triple Door Bonnie Vie had this to say about them: "The Band is like a fantastic mechanical doll; churning out a whirl of circus and cabaret melodies, with a stage presence that is larger than life.  With dark music-box-style keys, Aleksandra Weil - the group's vocalist and pianist - weaves elaborate stories, written by Scarlet Room's drummer, Eloise Govedare."

The Triple Door is probably the perfect place for the spell of all this dark swirling cabaret.  You probably don't want to miss it.

Read more here: http://seattle.metblogs.com/2009/11/05/starting-this-weekend-cabaret-festival/