Cabaret Hours in NYC
Cabaret is often portrayed as seedy, relying on low lighting and cigarette smoke to create an atmosphere for the performers. However, this style of theater is actually very welcoming and entertaining.
The wildly popular musical Cabaret is back on Broadway with a new Olivier Award-winning cast. The show takes audiences to Berlin just as Hitler’s rise to power becomes a frightening reality.
1. House of Yes
In a Brooklyn warehouse with high ceilings, big screens for video entertainment and probably the best bathrooms you’ll ever find, House of Yes is one of the wildest nightclub experiences in town. Dedicated to sparking joy and inspiring self-expression, the world-renowned club and performance space (Time Out New York calls it “one of NYC’s must-visit clubs”) hosts dance parties, a circus variety show and theatre shows that push boundaries.
Co-founders Anya Sapozhnikova and Kae Burke are known for creating wildly inclusive events where you’ll find performers and artists having the time of their lives right next to 9-to-5ers and members of the C-suite. On any night, their dance floor is filled with people from all walks of life and ages.
When beloved local circus training space The Muse found itself in a precarious situation last week, House of Yes rushed to its aid with a series of epic fundraiser events. Their efforts raised enough to make a security deposit on a new space.
2. The Green Room 42
Located in the heart of Broadway’s Theatre District at Yotel Times Square, Green Room 42 is Broadway’s newest and most spacious cabaret club. Hailed by The New York Times as “Broadway’s Off-Night Hotspot,” this curated nightlife experience offers your favorite Broadway stars in performance with a delicious menu of food and drinks. Past artists include Josh Groban, Tina Fey, Katharine McPhee, Sara Bareilles, Alice Ripley, Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney.
Come see original Into the Woods star Danielle Ferland make her Green Room 42 solo concert debut! Through stripped-down arrangements, she’ll share songs that helped shaped her career in musical theater and beyond.
As restrictions ease, vaccinations increase and Spring arrives, live entertainment roars back into Midtown Manhattan. Kick things off with a rousing evening of big-time belters and classic crooners, who deliver selections a la Broadway or pop, at these hottest Midtown venues.
3. Company XIV
Company XIV is the only place where you can see aerial acrobatics, contortionism and operatic singing drag performers all in one night. This dance troupe, founded by classically trained dancer Austin McCormick in 2006, blurs the lines between high and low-brow entertainment with its evocative, sensual and decadent spectacles.
At their permanent performance space Theatre XIV in Bushwick, patrons sit in plush couches, chairs and intimate booths to be served cocktails and a curated menu. Performers wander amongst the audience interacting with guests, and the stage is surrounded by sexy baroque design.
The sultry troupe is currently enthralling audiences with XIVariete, a rousing extravaganza of striptease, music and magic. It is a perfect fit for this talented group, whose costumes can go from glam to seedy in the blink of an eye. A $50 ticket buys you a twenty-four hour pass to watch performances by aerialist and pole dancer Marcy Richardson, acrobats Troy Lingelbach and Katen, singers Lilin and LEXXE, and juggler Sam Urdang.
4. The Cabaret
Unlike the traditional Broadway musical, cabaret isn’t about a plot or a story. Instead, it’s about an experience where audience members sit or stand at small tables, enjoy drinks and food, and watch performers entertain them from a few feet away.
Sally Bowles represents the archetype of the self-involved, head-in-the-sand young person who seeks instant gratification and complete freedom from responsibility. The Emcee represents the film industry, the recording industry, and tabloid journalism—the media that makes extreme sexuality entertaining, appealing, inviting.
This is what’s so great about Cabaret—the audience members aren’t forced to choose sides, but rather are invited into a world where everything is permissible. The show has a unique charm that’s sure to leave you wanting more. And that’s what’s so great about NYC: the variety of experiences it offers is endless. Whether it’s a night of raunchy airotics or an enchanting variety show, there’s always something new and exciting waiting for you to discover!
