SpielPalast Weekend

3 shows down and 3 to go...and I wish they would never end. It is so hard to box up the experience of the SpielPalast Cabaret - but I wouldn't be me if I didn't try and thusly, I am vlogging it this week! But how to explain all that strange, elusive magic in 4 minutes or less?

Here are tiny tid bits of some of my favorite behind-the-scenes moments which of course, I was not able to capture on camera: Esse taking a catnap on the stage (raised in the theater, that kid can sleep anywhere and through anything!) with the curtains quietly sweeping shut behind her and an audience filing in; sultry Mimi ready to go on stage for Fever with a chair raised defiantly above her head; the pre-show on-stage warm ups with the dancers coated in a blood red light as they spin, kick and wait for the curtain to open; the frantic costume changes as performers haphazardly rip off their clothing, rushing to get ready for the next act; the inevitable breast comparisons that occur when women get naked together; a subdued white-faced Mr Dingalingalinga taking a low-key breather in the stairwell before his next explosive bit on stage; a bewildered, large-skirted Sally puttering around the cabaret girls as they change; Tony looking naked without her wig and gum, preparing for her cardboard wings which need to be safety-pinned to her back; becoming adept at attaching the many different types of garter belts which are constantly being connected to stockings in a hurry by a variety of hands; the buzzing hive surrounding the backstage punch (cheap vodka and cranberry, a deadly combo - I learned first hand); the quiet moments in the wings as performers wait to go on and occupy themselves singing whatever song is being sung on-stage since we all know the lyrics to everything (and can't get them out of our heads - ever).
And my most favorite moment of them all? That moment right before you go on stage as you are sweeping past the side curtains and going from a dark, hushed space to a bright, blinding surreal world with shadowed faces staring up at you. It is like being transported to an alien landscape where rouge-cheeked girls spin in sequined circles, boys wearing eyeliner belt out opera and everything else melts away.
Needless to say, the magic is impossible to capture. But the storyteller/documenter in me wants to at least give it a try.
Thanks to all the really fabulous audiences that have come out to see the cabaret so far and to Molly and Jeff for blogging it! And to Jeff for these pics! And to Bear, Seth, Colin, Scott and John for shooting it Saturday night! And let's not forget the various bars around town who have fed and boozed us every night post-show.

And here is a lovely endorsement from Miss Undead Molly herself who I was SO pleased to meet in person last night post-show!!:

Eva is one of the Spielpalast cast, all of whom are very talented actors, singers, and/or dancers. This is not a bunch of random amateur doofuses who have put on an obtuse burlesque just to have an excuse to run around in pretty underpants. It's a tight show of genuine quality and heart. Funny, mysterious, mythological, bawdy, compelling. My hands were numb from clapping by the end... wonderful, truly.