What is a Cabaret?
We’re sure you have heard the term, but what is a cabaret? Cabaret is pure theater. It includes music, song, dance and drama and is performed on stage in a pub, restaurant, hotel, casino or nightclub. There is often a master of ceremonies who introduces the ensemble of actors and actresses. You just need to sit at a table — merrily drinking and eating — and feasting your eyes, ears and senses on the theater of life!
This entertainment has an underground satirical vibe to it all. Striptease, burlesque and drag art are all advertised as cabaret in the U.S. However, cabaret in its purest form is French underground art.
The Best Places to Experience Cabaret
Here are four of the best places to experience the strange and wonderful world of cabaret.
1. Paris — City of Love and Home of Cabaret
The most romantic place to experience it is Le Moulin Rouge (the Red Mill) in Paris. Here you can experience 100 gorgeous performers dressed to kill in feathers, sequins and rhinestone costumes.
Booking and Prices
Book tickets online through the Paris Insiders Guide. Everything is included: cruise on the River Seine, dinner at the Eiffel Tower, cabaret and champagne at the Moulin Rouge and transportation back to the hotel at the end of the evening.
- Eiffel Tower dinner, Moulin Rouge and glass of champagne: 1 adult (roughly $340 USD).
- Eiffel Tower dinner, Moulin Rouge and half a bottle of champagne: 1 adult (roughly $370 USD).
The Experience
The stories stretch from far-eastern romance to Paris, the city of love. The climax is the can-can dance — a line of women in frilly dresses kicking their legs high in the air — the icon of cabaret.
There is music hall comedy, audience interaction and nerve-tingling acrobatics.
2. New York, New York
The New York scene incorporates local art, music and storytelling. Two of the best cabarets at this moment are Jim Caruso’s Cast Party in Birdland and Broadway Buskers in Times Square.
Booking and Prices
You can book tickets online at Time Out.
- Jim Caruso’s Cast Party: $20 to $30 plus $10 minimum.
- Broadway Buskers: free of charge from August to October.
The Experience
Jim Caruso’s Cast Party is an eclectic blend of cabaret, piano, cocktail bar and social networking. Billy Stritch, musical director of Liza Minnelli and Charles Aznavour, is the pianist.
Broadway Buskers is an unforgettable extravaganza of Broadway composers and performers presenting their latest compositions in a timeless square — Times Square, to be precise!
3. Las Vegas — Sin City
The show is located at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in the center of the Las Vegas strip. Las Vegas is known for the best entertainment.
Booking and Prices
Book tickets online through Viator for $58.54 per person.
The Experience
The Fantasy Adults-Only Show at the Luxor Hotel Las Vegas is a 75-minute roller coaster ride of sensation! Lorena Peril is the lead singer, and trust me when I say you have never heard such a powerful voice before. Here you can see the singers and showgirls of Las Vegas at their most captivating — singing their hearts out and dancing their lives away. These are high-energy performances, so maybe have a little cup of cocoa to calm yourself down after.
4. London Calling
There is the Playhouse Theater and the London Cabaret Club in London, U.K.
Booking and prices
For cabaret at the Playhouse Theater, book online at ATGTicket. Prices start at roughly $40 USD.
For the London Cabaret Club, you can book your tickets through the London Cabaret Club website. Prices start at roughly $70 USD.
The Experience
Cabaret is based on the classic cabaret movie starring Liza Minelli. The movie was based on the 1939 novel "Goodbye to Berlin,” and the musical depicts hedonism and decadence.
The London Cabaret Club has four amazing shows at the moment:
- London Never Dies — starring James Bond.
- Halloween — also starring James Bond.
- Gatsby Christmas — inviting you to party in the scandalous roaring 20s.
- Cabaret — a mixture of soul, pop and physical pleasure.
Need we say more?