View: Cabaret of Curiosities
Updated: 1 day ago
A tantalizing adult cabaret that fights above its weight shows you how it's done.
An Immersive Scene Los Angeles View
I love a show that surprises me. There was little doubt when attending Cabaret of Curiosities in North Hollywood, that I’d be seeing solid dancing, attractive performers, and some seasonal scares and adult laughs associated with an 18+ Halloween-themed dance affair.
What I didn’t necessarily expect – and here’s that surprise part for you spoiler avoiders – was such high-quality and surprisingly elevated showmanship and storytelling all in one tasty package. The sold-out audience on opening night apparently knew something I didn’t: Cabaret of Curiosities not only reveals a fair amount of it, but it also kicks a lot of ass!
Funny, sassy, sexy, inventive, funnier, smart, mysterious, okay, really, really funny are just a handful of superlatives for a show that might get lost as must-see entertainment by advertising itself as a cabaret in a busy season with a lot of competition, but one thing’s for sure: this solid production deserves a big audience, because it delivers big results.
The dancing, as expected, is great. Choreography by show creator Brittany DeWeese and the performers, is clever and inventive — everything from athletic, neo-burlesque/tease, modern, classic (but satired here), to hoofer tap. This ain’t “42nd Street” tap, though, it’s NoHo style, as in scantily clad, comedic performance-art tap…and there might even be some toilet papered involved. Just saying. The numbers come fast and furious, and they succeed in creating a wide palette of movement styles sure to have something for everyone…unless you’re looking for a waltz. Oh, wait, there is a waltz, albeit one with a headless dance partner. It is Halloween after all. And if you’re a fan of the underappreciated bannister school of dance, you’ll see it executed here at its bravest and cheekiest.
Director DeWeese has put together a winning combination here. A saucy mix of seductive moves, quality illusions, and lots of broad humor — most of it, though certainly not all, in the form of Boo, the Ghostess with the Mostess (Emily Norcia), a one-woman comedic wrecking machine that had our audience in stitches for about fifty of the show’s sixty minutes. Her lovably ditzy ghost-with-a-dream persona is the perfect chaperone to take you through a fun spooky-season show like this. She’s wearing all white, but she’s so naughty red.
The show’s structure is simple. It’s blackout bits here, most of which land big and the one or two that don’t are still better than half the cabaret fare in town. You want steamy dance? Look no further than the red chiffon number (with a dancer who brings it big time, while also being her own lighting designer). Or maybe you want your moves with comedy. Look no further than the day-at-the-beach routine, where an ill-timed swim in the ocean goes from broad guffaws to call for the lifeguard….okay, make that the coroner. Another hilarious routine, headlined by DeWeese herself, is a perfect parody of cheerleading routines and the current sideline overuse of “Thunderstruck,” employed here in a way that will have you thanking the dark skies above.
Then there are the illusions: two quality performance-art pieces that will leave you awed while you’re trying to figure them out, an aerial-ish contortion act that goes way beyond the foot over a shoulder bit, and the showstopper headless dance routine, that garnered a long post-show discussion about “how the hell did they do it?” The director would only commit to it involving the theatre ghost. Good enough for me.
Okay, let’s just say it: the dancers — DeWeese, Gabby Pariseau, Ariana Rodriguez, Fierce Felix, and Hetehya Russo — are uber-talented and absolutely easy on the eyes, the throughline is spot on, and this revue amounts to a lot more than its cheeky poster suggests. Of the fifteen or so routines, our favorites were the headless waltz, the stay-out-of-the-ocean romp — the latter showcasing Felix’s comedy chops — the cheerleaders-shouldn’t-dance-in-a-storm riot, the not-soon-to-be-forgotten bannister-polishing act, and the never-to-be-forgotten under-the-chiffon dance with Rodriguez. There are also some hidden gems, too, if you look for them — a top one being the depiction of the pain dancers feel offstage that they rise above the moment they hit the stage with grace and smiles. Nice touch.
Tech elements are accorded more attention than usual here, so shout out to Issac Tipton Snyder for leveling up the lights and sound. A well-performed show with bad sound or lighting is always a challenge for both cast and audience. Just the opposite here.
And what am I leaving out? Oh, right…the writing! I don’t know this to be a future fact, but if Norcia’s writing and acting is any indication, a one-woman show is in the stars. As the ghost with a dream of moving upward toward the light, she delivers her plucky character and a lot of great lines with unwavering charm, and after seeing the act I couldn’t wait to look up the writer. It was her.
What Immersive Scene Los Angeles most enjoyed about this show is that it reminded us of what a quality cabaret should be. It’s a serious venture for sure but it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s dance that doesn’t limit itself to one or two styles, and ultimately it’s great storytelling that understands that whatever the form of entertainment, for a show to stick, even a revue if you will, there has to be a story. Cabaret of Curiosities tells a nice one. Both my guest and I felt pretty much the same thing on exiting… now that is how you do it.
Creator DeWeese and her talented team have kept this annual event going and growing for seven years, and each time out they build an entirely new show and narrative. There are only eight more shows (over four nights) left in the current run, so if you’re seeking some high-caliber adult fun, get out and support Cabaret of Curiosities, but don’t sit in the front row or take a key unless you want to be in it too.
at the Whitmore Lindley Theatre Center
11006 Magnolia Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 91601 (North Hollywood)
October 10, 17, 24, and 30
shows at 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Tickets: $28.00-55.00
18+ show
Afternote: Keep those phones off! Cabaret of Curiosities does something else here that I found really creative. After the standard pre-show talk we always receive at theatre in 2026, about putting the phones away (thank you, Brittany), DeWeese includes in her messaging that it’s important to just be present for the experience. With phones off, you can be. Of course, some of it might appear to be about protecting the product — in this case a fair amount of skin — but even that goes by the wayside in the end, when DeWeese at curtain call invites everyone in attendance to power up their phones and film away. For the next five minutes the cast does a super entertaining speed-through of the entire production you just witnessed. Awesome end!
note: all photos except 2026 cast-cards are from previous year's show.
