A Little Cabaret with your Cabernet?
Before Zeta and Zellweger “Razzle Dazzled” their way to the Oscars, before McGregor and Kidman had a whirlwind romance at the Moulin Rouge, and before a young Liza told us to “come here the music play”…there was the small, smoke-filled, salacious speakeasies of the American cabaret. Beginning in France in the 1800s, the art of cabaret has seen its rise and fall in a span of time of less than a century. However, could a recent renaissance in dinner theater and the rise in popularity of performance troupes (ahem…Zen Arts), mean a comeback for this forgotten art form?
The origins of the word “cabaret” follow a three-part evolution: from the Middle Dutch cabret, stemming from the Old North French camberette, which is derived from the Latin word camera, meaning chamber or room. In France the word originally referred to any establishment which served alcohol. In the 19th century the definition was expanded to define any restaurant, nightclub, or dining atmosphere in which guests can eat and drink while watching an entertainment program. Since then it has also come to define the style of said entertainment program, which is usually bawdy, satirical, and crass.
Cabaret was a child of La Belle Epoque, a period in Europe from the late 19th century until World War I marked by political stability, optimism, and advances across nearly every industry of man. Some of the highlights of this time include technological advances such as the telephone, electric light, automobile, and motion pictures. Advances in medicine included the establishment of bacteriology, while modern physics got its start thanks to scientists like Einstein and Tesla. In the field of art a style known as Art Nouveau took center stage on both architecture and canvas, signified by its curved lines and natural forms. It was also during this time that champagne was perfected, haute couture fashion began, and a taste for luxury permeated the middle and upper classes. Literature geared towards realism, aiming to represent contemporary life just as it was, while theater geared towards expressionism, a rebellion against the ordinary and humdrum. It is here that cabaret made its grand entrance.
Cabaret started in France in 1881 with the opening of the first cabaret Chat Noir in the Montmartre district of Paris, an area known for its nightlife. It was an instant success and other cabarets soon popped up, the most famous being the Moulin Rouge and the Folies Bergere. What appealed most to patrons was the informal cozy atmosphere cabaret provided; people were free from the societal rules of daily life, able to mingle with others of different classes, meet friends, socialize, and maybe even be a part of the act. No matter what they did during the day, at night in the cabaret there were no rules: people could smoke, drink, curse, and they didn’t need to take off their hats.
Opening in 1889, the same year as the construction of the Eiffel Tower, with its iconic red windmill exterior, the Moulin Rouge (French for…you guessed it…“red windmill”) revolutionized cabaret with the introduction of the French cancan, a dance featuring young women lifting their legs and miniskirts to a quick tempo-ed rhythm. Said to be indecent by some, the cancan brought fame to many dancers, most notably La Goulue (French for “the glutton”) and Jane Avril. As the birthplace of the cancan, the Moulin Rouge became a place for all classes to mix: the rich, the working class, and the starving artists.
Another establishment, the Folies Bergere, opened in 1869 as a music hall, with its heyday lasting from 1890 through to the 1920s. Folies launched the careers of many famous French entertainers such as Maurice Chevalier, Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, and the risqué Josephine Baker, whose erotic semi-nude “danse sauvage” garnered her world fame. Dressed in a mini-skirt made of bananas and pretty much nothing else, Baker played up her African-American heritage for a more exotic look, appealing to the negritude of Parisian society at the time.
Most cabaret shows consisted of comedy, song, and dance performances, in which the performers often perused through the tables and mingled with the audience. Acts were frank, crude, satirical, and lewd…and the people couldn’t get enough of it. Wannabe singers, composers, poets, dancers, and artists flocked to the cabarets for a chance to become a star. The arrangement worked out pretty well: performers could come share their talents and test new material, while audiences enjoyed nonconforming entertainment at a nominal fee of a couple of drinks.
By the 1910s cabaret had made its way all over Europe and even to America. New York City cafés that featured singers started calling themselves cabarets, among the most famous being Delmonico’s and the Palaise Royale. But the American cabaret differed from its European sister in that it was less about satire and more about glamour. That being said, cabarets in America still continued the cabaret tradition of pushing the envelope against the rules of society. American cabarets were definitely not geared towards family, but rather adult fantasy and desire. For the husband and father, they were a place to escape family, work, daily responsibilities, and maybe even meet a prostitute. For the young and single it was the hookup joint, a place to meet that special someone…even if for just one night.
By 1913 Manhattan laws forced cabarets to close by 2 am, becoming the catalyst for the creation of members only clubs that were open until the early morning, America’s first “night clubs.” These establishments also began featuring dance floors so patrons could dance along to the entertainment. And while New York City cabaret focused mainly on jazz singers as entertainment, Chicago cabarets spotlighted big band jazz acts.
With the passing of the Volstead Act and subsequent ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1918, the sale, manufacture, or transportation of alcoholic beverages became illegal. Thus the cabaret was forced to move underground. This new cabaret, known as a speakeasy, was held in basements, backrooms, and underground clubs, and usually required a password to get in. It’s not exactly clear where the name “speakeasy” originated but it is thought to stem from the urging of patrons to speak softly when ordering alcohol at a bar, for fear of getting caught. The speakeasies illegally sold alcohol which was bootlegged by gangsters, who often controlled the speakeasies themselves as well. This is the time when infamous mobsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano made a name for themselves, as well as a fortune, bootlegging and selling contraband beer and liquor to speakeasies across the nation. And although its origins are not exactly known either, it is believed that “bootlegging” is a term that came about during the Civil War, when soldiers hid their alcohol in flasks jammed inside their boots.
Even though alcohol was illegal during the time, cabaret peaked during America’s Roaring Twenties. Needing to appear as legitimate businesses, speakeasies sought out live entertainment acts of mostly female singers, something they found helped increase drink sales. Many torch singers such as Showboat’s Helen Morgan got their start in these speakeasy cabarets.
During this time in post-WWI Europe, cabaret was making a big splash in Berlin, with acts featuring comedic sketches, songs, and even transvestites permeating the city. This Weimar-era cabaret behaved similarly to its French neighbors with its light-hearted political satire, but differed in its emphasis on gallows humor. The Germans were looking for any escape to the harsh realities of their post-war realities, thrown into economic turmoil by excessive reparations. For film references, Bob Fosse’s Cabaret starring Liza Minnelli and Josef von Sternberg’s Blue Angel starring Marlene Dietrich are exaggerated, yet fairly accurate depictions of this Weimar cabaret.
The ratification of the 21st Amendment in 1933 put an end to Prohibition, and the start to the large nightclub with places like the Copacabana and Ciro’s. Although these places were upscale, with tuxedo-clad servers and guests in formal dinner wear, the cabaret was just as raunchy as before. But by the late 1930s a smaller sort of club was becoming more popular in New York and other metropolitans, a type of establishment known as a “supperclub,” so aptly named since law required places that serve alcohol to also provide food. Supperclubs were significantly smaller than their grand nightclub counterparts, with generally seedy and rundown appearances. In fact they were usually low-lit to hide the fact that they were over-packed, smoke-filled, disheveled little rooms. The only thing that really drew patrons in were the performers, many of whom moved on to Broadway and cinema fame.
In fact with the rise of cinema and television, just as with many art forms, cabaret began to see its decline. But it wasn’t until the 1960s that rock n roll music and rock concerts really delivered the last blow. Cabaret only truly survives today in the form of stand-up comedy clubs, drag queen shows, and a few Las Vegas revues.
In recent years however, thanks to films like Chicago and Burlesque, and television programs such as the HBO hit Boardwalk Empire, there appears to be a revival in cabaret and dinner theater. In fact not too long ago the Zen Arts team performed a special engagement for the premiere Boardwalk, and two months ago the Zen crew was at one of LA’s hottest restaurant/nightclub venues Supperclub LA, putting on a frightful and rare Halloween spectacular.
Whether it’s here to stay or fading away, Zen does its part to keep alive the cabaret. To book a Zen performance for your next dinner gala call 855-ZEN-ARTS or email at info@zenartsla.com.
