Life Is a Cabaret

Le Scandal, put on every Saturday night, consists of three components: variety show acts, showgirls and live music, with Dunn as the reigning queen of the whole affair.

Dunn recommends the show for corporate parties or a night out with co-workers. There are special packages for corporate events; it's even possible to rent out The Cutting Room for larger events.

When hired for corporate events, Dunn takes care to customize each show to the demographic of a company, fine-tuning the risque factor to cater to the most liberal or conservative crowd.

She stresses that Le Scandal must maintain professional standards, often casting performers from professional backgrounds in theater, dance or acting. The quirky Dirty Martini, known for her classic burlesque dances, graduated from SUNY-Purchase with a B.F.A. in dance and sometimes does her routines in toeshoes.

The Art of Entertainment

Everything about Le Scandal is upfront and live, including the house band, the New York City Blues Devils, fronted by the gritty howls of lead singer Danny Biondo.

Dunn considers cabaret a folk art, because it's performed in an intimate setting where the success of the show depends on audience participation.

The new cabaret and vaudeville, says Dunn, are not just recreations of 1930s numbers. They have to have a punch and some humor thrown in -- after all, burlesque was originally meant as a parody of Italian opera.

Le Scandal revelers consist mostly of 20- and 30-somethings, but Dunn has seen senior citizens in walkers and parents with teenagers. "Europeans love it," she adds. "There's certainly not a stigma because the show is very theatrically based."

So instead of shelling out a hundred dollars for a ticket to a Broadway show, come to Le Scandal and pay $20 to the mysterious woman at the door, or $55 for the show and a prix fixe dinner prepared by Manhattan's famous Tavern on the Green restaurant.

The People's Theater

James Habacker, co-owner of The Slipper Room in New York City's Lower East Side, calls the venue the people's theater. Habacker studied sculpture at Bennington College before becoming intrigued with performance art.

	Sit Back, and Enjoy the Show

"[Artists] use it [The Slipper Room] as a kind of workshop," says Habacker.

His Victorian Stage features variety-show characters from as far off as Norway, and showgirls whose routines are a little more risque. The crowd is expected to get involved.

"It's what it was like on the Bowery years ago," he says. "Rowdy and fun."

Like Le Scandal, his show has become much more mainstream and accepted. "Years ago people would be like, 'What the heck is this?' And now they are [asking] if there's a show tonight. It's hip enough that people are comfortable," Habacker explains.

After all, even that most famous entertainer William Shakespeare was first met with criticism -- his famous Globe Theatre was considered vulgar and intolerable by the Puritans, who shut it down, along with London's other theaters, in 1642.

So come and check out the show -- you might even catch Habacker and his wife playing an old burnt-out vaudeville couple.

Whether you're seeking a new spin on entertainment or a memorable spot for the next company celebration, do yourself and your co-workers a favor -- let a vaudeville show remind you that life is a cabaret.

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