Cabaret Old and New - Songs, Stories and a little Burlesque

Mighty Tiny (April 22-24) is an unusual choice for Cabaret, yet totally brilliant!

Cabaret takes many forms. Its range includes singers who keep the embers of great ballads alive, to the somewhat naughty Kit Kat Klub portrayed in the show and film Cabaret. But lately it is being reinvented especially by The Performance Lab in Boston. We'll get to them in a moment, but first some background.

Cabaret as an art form was born in the clubs of France and Germany in the late 1800's and became burlesque when it was transplanted to the United States. Baggy pants comedy soon gave way to fans, feathers and strippers and the last vestiges of that form died in the latter half of the 1900's. In Boston burlesque and pasties died when the Old Howard Casino in Scollay Square was razed to make room for Government Center. The Naked Eye bar continued the strippers, but not the art.

The late Nancy LaMott was the greatest cabaret artist of recent times.
Cabaret as personal music evolved separately. It sprung up in nightclubs and other small venues where the ladies like Eartha Kitt purred the lyrics, and men like Tom Anderson could bring tears to your eyes . It was Nancy LaMott and Michael Feinstein and it tended to bloom in upscale supper clubs like the Hotel Carlyle and the Rainbow Room of New York City,

Many Broadway stars found sustenance in cabaret when between shows. In Boston there was Blinstrub's until it burned down, and Freddy Taylor's Paul's Mall and sometimes even the Jazz Workshop. Lenny Sogoloff's Lenny's on the Turnpike even offered a chanteuse or two over the years.

But less visible have been the experimental cabaret practitioners like drag queens, experimentalists, and those who deliver acidic social commentary. For every Peggy Lee there has been a Tom Lehrer.

In my mind, Cirque du Soleil has its roots more in cabaret than circus. All Cirque shows feature a smallish band and live singers who act as the thread that holds the whole colorful tapestry together. And Baggy pant comedians? Well, more like clowns trained by Grotowski, and very sophisticated.

Cabaret then is a living art, still evolving. This spring and summer we will see a bit more of it in the Berkshires than in seasons past. In fact, 2010 kicks off with a Cabaret night at Taylor's in North Adams on April 16 with an open mic hosted by local favorite Katie Johnson. Katie and I are having an email discussion of the art form right now, which we will publish in April.

Creators of New Cabaret: (Top L) Jason Slavick, Artistic Director, (Top R) Rachel Hock, Artistic Associate and Webmaster, (BL) Kate Smolik, Production Manager and (BR) Josh Mocle, Media Coordinator
But now, to the main feature of this story, The Performance Lab, a new experimental theatre company based in Boston. They represent the new directions that cabaret as theatre is traveling.

Certainly The Berkshire Fringe has nibbled at the edges of this new form, as have many other groups. But the concept of The Performance Lab goes beyond anything most of us have seen before.

They will open their inaugural show, Le Cabaret Grimm –on April 8th in Boston.

Their first week features The Hubbub - a variety of performers drawn from the rich underground performance scene in Boston. The plan is to rotate the performers each week. Included are singers of songs, performers of poetry, and practitioners of burlesque, circus and more. They call this "a punk cabaret fairy tale (sans fairies)."

Johnny Blazes has a fluid sexual identity.
Le Cabaret Grimm and The Hubbub runs at The Boston Center for the Arts, April 8-24 in the Plaza Theatre. Performances times are Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00. The Hubbub will be hosted by its co-producer Johnny Blazes, a Boston-based cabaret performer whose gender-bending shows have toured throughout the US.

“We’re bringing a lot of cool things together in one place,” says Artistic Associate and Hubbub co-producer Rachel Hock. “There are so many exciting fringe happenings in Boston. This showcases what not a lot of people know about.”

The Performance LAB has partnered with Johnny Blazes to work with the fringe community. “Johnny has sharp insights putting together shows like this and is deeply connected to the alternative scene,” says Hock.

“I’m excited to work with some of my favorite people on the performance scene,” says Blazes. “It’s an opportunity to bridge two worlds that are important to me: the theatre scene and the variety arts scene.”

Lolita LaVamp lends some transgender talent to the new cabaret April 15-17.
The mission of The Performance LAB includes broadening the live entertainment offerings in Boston and expanding the audience for them. The LAB does this by bringing different audiences together and exposing them to new things.

“Boston has a history of being segregated – racially, geographically, culturally and sexually. We think of ourselves as an enlightened city, but to be that you have to experience things beyond your own comfort zone,” says Blazes. “When different communities interact there’s learning and exchange. That’s paramount to becoming a better society. We can’t call ourselves ‘the Greater Boston Community’ if we don’t have something connecting us across lines.”

Here's the line up for the three different shows:

Week 1 April 8-10

Walter Sickert & the ARmy of BRoken Toys.
Walter Sickert & the ARmy of BRoken Toys, combining music and performance art they create a SteamCrunk, Organic-Industrial experience. "Really, any fan of the Velvet Underground, the Dresden Dolls, or those haunted merry-go-rounds that turn up in horror movies shouldn't miss Walter and the Toys, who elegantly merge the essence of all three" (The Boston Globe)

Jojo, The Burlesque Poetess, a personal commissionable wordsmithy known for her Betty Boop antics and "accidentally fanny flashing".

JoJo is a burlesque poetess. You gotta have a gimmick, right?
Madge of Honor, a queer performance artist who tells stories through drag, burlesque, movement, innovative costuming, clowning and poetry. Madge of Honor is a regular performer with the Femme Show and at Traniwreck, Jacque’s Cabaret, the Middle East, Great Scott, and the Midway.


Week 2 April 15-17


The Boston Typewriter Orchestra
The Boston Typewriter Orchestra, a collective endeavor which engages in rhythmic typewriter manipulation combined with elements of performance, comedy and satire. BTO has been featured on NBC Weekend Today, WCVB Chronicle, FOX 25 News, Fox Cable News, National Public Radio, live on WMBR (MIT) and in several major newspapers.

Ms. Lolita LaVamp, a proud Puerto Rican transgender female Burlesque Artist. She has worked as a professional domme and was featured in the PBS Lesbian and Gay television news magazine "In The Life." She has also performed for Boiling Point Burlesque and The Slutcracker: A Christmas Burlesque. Ms. LaVamp has been involved in HIV Prevention and Education for the past 14 years, advocating for LGBTQ individuals.


Week 3 April 22-24

Mighty Tiny, a journey into the depths of musical madness guided by six masked lunatics playing tunes dating back to the golden days of Tin Pan Alley - those days where songwriting meant more than a weepy man with a guitar at your local coffee house.

Dominique Immora, shades of Cirque!
Dominique Immora, a hula hooping, fire eating, burlesque dancing, stilt walking, poi spinning, whip cracking and aerial hoop artist. Dominique, is one of the longest running fire acts in the northeast. She has won a number of accolades, including Best Solo at the 2007 Boston Burlesque Expo, and appears on Season 4 of America's Got Talent. She has been called "a one woman Cirque du Soleil" by the Boston Phoenix.

Tickets are on sale at www.BostonTheatreScene.com or by calling 617-933-8600, $20 for students and $35 for adults. Discount promotions are available from www.performancelaboratory.com, through Twitter and Facebook. To preview the music, see a webseries of the show or for more information go to www.performancelaboratory.com.

Interviewing Jack Cutmore-Scott about "Entertaining Mr. Sloane"

An Actor Prepares.
When young actor Jack Cutmore-Scott, 22, strides onto the stage at the Boston Center for the Arts on March 11 in Entertaining Mr. Sloane, it's going to be a magical moment.

Bostonians will finally get to see this promising performer, a Harvard Senior, in the flesh. For all his theatrical credentials, this is really his first public professional appearance in the USA. The Publick Theatre is known for its crafty casting, and Cutmore-Scott not only looks the role of Mr. Sloane, he promises to follow in the footsteps of others who have used the role (Maxwell Caulfield and Chris Camack) to make lasting impressions on audiences.

Only 22 and already Jack Cutmore-Scott is a triple threat: actor, writer, director.
We talked with Jack via phone a few days ago as the rehearsal process got underway, and he is clearly excited about the professionals he is working with - director Eric Engel, and a superb group of actors which includes Nigel Gore (Ed), Dafydd Rees (Kemp), and the renowned Sandra Shipley (Kath).

Jack grew up in the Chelsea section of London, not far from Sloane Square. Perhaps it was a prescient sign that the role of Mr. Sloane in Joe Orton's comedy would one day be his.

He arrived at Harvard in 2006 to begin his studies and has undertaken a whirlwind slate of extracurricular activities - not just theatre, but film and television too. In a few short years he has performed in a dozen plays, directed or assisted in six others, and written (or helped to write) four original scripts. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Jack Cutmore Scott has racked up a lot of time on stage, and off. Here he gets drenched for a film.
About a year ago, he took on the title role in Shakespeare's Hamlet, following his earlier outing as Henry V. 2007 is remembered for his Max in Martin Sherman's Bent about the fate of gays in the holocaust. Most recently he appeared in Sartre's The Flies as Orestes.

But Cutmore-Scott is far more than just an actor. Last summer he wrote, directed and appeared in Breaking Up at the Loeb Experimental Theatre. It is clear that it is not just acting and applause that appeals to him, but the whole concept of theatre as a collaborative craft.

As a Senior, he is looking forward to graduating this year, and while his studies have concentrated on English and American Literature and Language, it is the theatrical side of his Harvard education that appeals.

Jack Cutmore-Scott as Mr. Sloane is irresistible. Susanne Nitter photo.
"Once I graduate I would like to continue doing what I have been doing here. Acting of course, but also directing and writing. I will likely head to New York City to try my luck there. But for me it is as much about making shows happen as actually being on the stage," he said. With this sort of wider view in mind, Jack is unlikely to remain available for long.

Jack's C.V. is already chock-a-block full of amazing credentials. After training with the British National Youth Theatre, he did a year-long stint at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts before taking his original play, Making a Scene, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It was well received.

But, we wondered, how did this all start.

"My first audition was almost by accident, and I ended up with a walk-on, walk-off role. But it introduced me to the world of theatre. Just watching the rehearsal process was the most amazing experience for me. Observing how the director worked with the actors revealed what interesting people they were," he said. Indeed, for many people seeing theatre people at work picking at the words, looking beneath the surface of things opens the mind to an expository way of looking at life, reading between the lines and seeing what is really going on. It is addictive.

"You pull it all apart, and then put it back together when you finally do it for real on stage...it's exciting," noted the actor. "And I find that often you get more out of the rehearsal process than you do onstage. You learn about yourself."

A rare moment to himself.
We turned to the Joe Orton play. Directed by Eric Engel, Entertaining Mr. Sloane  revolves around the charming, enigmatic Sloane as he arrives to rent a room from Kath (Sandra Shipley), a lonely, delusional landlady, in the junkyard house she shares with her declining father, Kemp (Dafydd Rees). A handsome opportunist, Sloane quickly ingratiates himself, entering into seductions offered by both Kath, and her estranged brother Ed (Nigel Gore), who soon employs Sloane as his driver. Sloane’s past misdeeds and the dueling affections within the family soon collide, leading to a desperate act that proves the limit of his charms, and reveals the ruthless and cunning strategies that Sloane’s victims will engage in to preserve their unique arrangement.

The delusional landlady Kath (Sandra Shipley) and cunning yet charming new tenant Mr. Sloane (Jack Cutmore-Scott) test all boundaries at their first meeting in Joe Orton’s dark comedy Entertaining Mr. Sloane. Susanne Nitter photo.
I wondered if the play, first performed in 1964 has stood the test of time. "It's still very contemporary, and still speaks to us," said Cutmore-Scott. "Nevertheless," he says, "I am still grappling with the role of Mr. Sloane. He is a very fascinating and bombastic character. As we work through it scene to scene I keep discovering something new. I try to remember it all, and Eric (Engel) has been terrific in helping me resolve the motivations behind his actions. They are, after all, pretty crazy characters and they do some pretty crazy things."

According to Engel, “The play is almost a farce, in which all four characters, because they are desperately lonely, allow their domestic, social and animal instincts to become irrevocably intertwined.” He adds, “Orton eliminates the line between the obvious and the Freudian, making things all the more confusing and delightful. Entertaining Mr. Sloane is a perfect play for today's audiences, who can explore sexuality with intrigue and open minds, rather than fear and judgment.”

The young actor seems to balance his demanding studies and extracurricular activities pretty well, though there can be an element of surrealism to them. "There are moments I feel a bit like a sponge, and others when people look at me like I am nuts. When I am riding the T for example, I am usually immersed deeply in my studies, and I tend to mumble absent-mindedly as I am stuffing material into my brain. If I glance up, the looks I get from the other passengers can be quite unexpected," he laughs.

"Sometimes I will take out my cellphone to cover, but when you are actually underground, and the phones won't work I just have to live with the looks."

Three different moods in one day.
"During my freshman year, I had a different problem. I would talk to people and they would look at me blankly because of my accent. But after four years, things are getting better, and I can pretty well understand American, too," he chortles. Cutmore-Scott once told the Harvard Crimson that the english accent is "my unfortunate and totally incurable speech impediment which I’ve had since I was a baby. But it is also my sexiest physical trait."

Entertaining Mr. Sloane is set in England, so his accent should come in quite handy in the months ahead.

Who knows, he might even write a play about it someday.

THE PUBLICK THEATRE
Under the leadership of Producing Director Susanne Nitter and Artistic Director Diego Arciniegas, The Publick Theatre has experienced a renaissance, garnering critical acclaim, including for last fall's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf with Tina Packer, Founding Artistic Director of the Berkshire's own Shakespeare & Company in Lenox.

Others involved in the production of Entertaining Mr. Sloane include Dahlia Al-Habieli (Sets), Kenneth Helvig (Lights), Molly Trainer (Costumes), and John Doerschuk (Sound).

Entertaining Mr. Sloane runs from March 11 to April 3, 2010 at the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street in Boston's South End. Performances are Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00pm. Tickets: $33.00 - $37.50. For tickets contact the BostonTheatreScene.com box office at 617.933.8600 or order online at www.bostontheatrescene.com.