Champagne and Popcorn

A Sweet Mélange from the Ridiculous to the Sublime

 

Hamburger Cat Cabaret

July 1, 2017

Great Star Theatre, 636 Jackson St., Chinatown, San Francisco

At last! After many months of agonizing, teeth-gnashing anguish, I found the perfect fix for my circus jones! I didn't know how much I needed to laugh until I saw this inspired, completely unpretentious, and captivating show!

Leading this cast of feline fanciers is Fleeky Flanco, equilibrist extraordinaire. Whether it’s hand-balancing or klishnig contortion, Fleeky regularly pushes the boundaries of circus technique and theatrics as he challenges himself to exceed his physical limits. With this intimate show he reaches a new depth of audience connection, scoring big with his selection of the perfect song to accompany his barrel act, infusing it with a light-hearted sex appeal, and giving him space to revel in the audience’s enthusiastic response. His genuine surprise made it that much more effective.

 

 

“So You Think You Can Dance” alumnus Darius Drooh, dynamic dancer and storyteller, goes full confessional about an “Ideal” relationship poisoned by Grindr, and displays his formidable physical fluidity while discovering his inner resiliency. Throughout his routine, his dance moves magnify the impact of his story.

 

It used to be true in vaudeville that attempting a solo acrobatic act is impossible.  A notable exception is Lou Wills, Jr., who, in his youth, performed a kick-ass solo acrobatic turn as a jack-in-the-box.  Yuko Hata has created a new way to present a solo acrobatic act, combining old acrobatic tricks with new, slow-motion balletic touches. Yuko can be said to be a female counterpoint to acrobatic dancer extraordinaire Micah Walters, as both Micah and Yuko evince a post-post-modern sensibility. Her incorporation of a tinsica, a move seldom seen today, but with a controlled, slow-motion presentation, makes the trick look contemporary. Yuko also presents an aerial tissu act that displays a meditative, inner-directed style that deeply effective.
 
Stefania Devire’s alternative chanteuse can be smoky and sultry or cool and intimate, depending upon the requirements of her choice of song. She can sing to the entire audience or make it sound like she is singing only to you.  This works well in a cabaret setting. She can play an effective alterna-folk singer with acoustic guitar and then contrast that with a classic cabaret rendition of Roy Orbison’s classic “Only the Lonely.”

Street performers can be marvelous of course but all too often I see a lot of replication of tricks and lines. These lines are lines to increase the amount of money made passing the hat, or to humorously or seriously make the audience believe that what they are about to see is extremely dangerous. I enjoy seeing street performers without predictable or hackneyed or familiar lines. So I was delighted to watch Kevin Armour’s new wave street act. Kevin is solid with his extensive variety of tricks. He is nimble and enjoys toying with his audience, especially the volunteers. His act culminates with him standing on high pedestals, juggling, but unable to reach forward, backward or very far to either side or he would lose his balance. He doesn’t need to artificially amp-up or exaggerate the risk, because it’s palpable. He closes with a crisp power-tumbling run performed with panache and technical brilliance.

 

When I first saw Paul Nathan, he instantly conjured images of all those 1930s movies set during the British Raj, which invariably starred middle-aged aristocrats sitting around in men’s clubs in Rangoon or Bombay and discussing their military exploits in “In-jah!” Paul is a veteran magician who exhibits great timing, and relishes teasing his audience. By transferring his material to the past he makes it appear fresh.  Using sleights of hand, he confuses the audience, delight them once they finally catch on.

 

And yes, there really is a hamburger (eating) cat!

Hamburger Cat Cabaret fulfilled its objective of cleansing the mind of all troublesome logic. You can’t beat that!

 

Photos by Gary Thomsen