‘Haunted’ Tries to Revive an Old Format

Songs, poetry, shadow play, satire and drama: It’s not a combination that immediately comes to mind when one thinks of cabaret. In fact, cabaret means so many things to so many people--ranging from nightclub singing to pornographic Web sites on the Internet--that its original, late 19th century format has become a virtual anachronism.

And that’s a shame, because the format, with its colorful mosaic of short, dramatic musical and literary acts, is--as a string quartet is to symphony--a distilled, reduced-to-its-essentials rendering of a larger creative vision.

“Haunted Cabaret,” in three performances at the Atlas Supper Club last week, made a valiant effort to revive the 19th century cabaret image. Focused on the celebrations of Halloween, All Saints Day and Dia de los Muertos, it included poetry by Paul Verlaine and the Count of Lautreamont, songs by Patsy Cline, Van Morrison and Kurt Weill, a selection from Giancarlo Menotti’s opera “The Medium,” shadow plays, dances and a variety of original songs and skits.

The performance of producer Lili Barsha, in a shadow play based on a Heiner Muller poem, was an attractive use of a medium not particularly familiar to 1990s audiences. Her choreography for “Witch Dance” and her pointed rendition of “Pirate Jenny” from “Threepenny Opera” were equally impressive.

Among the other performers, Anthony Abate was especially effective as the devil emcee, and Christina Linhardt made a valiant reading of the difficult Menotti aria. Jeffrey Bean was an astonishingly believable Bone Dancer, Bob Mark and Ted Harvey delivered mildly humorous original songs and Nick Ariondo’s accordion specialty on “Ritual Fire Dance” was a kitsch masterpiece.

There were far too many loose ends in the show, and far too much self-indulgence reminiscent of the chaotic happenings and action pieces of the ‘60s. Still, the goal of reviving, restoring and contemporizing 19th century cabaret is worth pursuing.

With some careful editing, a smaller cast and new dramatic pacing, the reduction of the cast to a smaller and more versatile ensemble and the establishment of quicker, more timely dramatic pacing, Barsha may well achieve her goal. The production, with the same title but new non-Halloween material, continues on Saturday nights at Fais Do Do.

* “Haunted Cabaret,” Fais Do Do, 5257 W. Adams Blvd., Saturdays, 8 p.m. Indefinitely. (213) 954-8080. 1 hour, 30 minutes.