THE HANGOVER REPORT – In her Carnegie Hall debut, frisky cabaret star MEOW MEOW conjures the Weimar Republic

Meow Meow performs “Sequins and Satire, Divas and Disruptors: The Wild Women of the Weimar Republic” at Carnegie Hall (photo by Daniel Barry).

Also this past weekend for one night only, I attended Meow Meow’s anticipated Carnegie Hall debut at the subterranean Zankel Hall. I’ve been following this frisky, subversive cabaret star’s career for a while now, having seen her perform about half a dozen times over the course of the last decade or so. While she’s long made splashes — famously, I might add — at decidedly downtown venues, it’s refreshing to see her now perform for a more mainstream uptown audience.

Elaborately entitled Sequins and Satire, Divas and Disruptors: The Wild Women of the Weimar Republic, the glorified cabaret act conjured and payed tribute to the “wild women” of the storied years between 1919 and 1933 in Germany (think Lotte Lenya, Marlene Dietrich). The evening was a part of Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Precipice — Carnegie Hall’s exploration of the artistic expression that flourished in Germany in the face of economic and political turmoil (the series also included entries from the likes of Ute Lemper and the Vienna Philharmonic). As such, Meow Meow’s performance intersected the playfulness and unpredictability of her cabaret shows with her newfound fascination with the era, including a number authentic renditions of songs of and inspired by the Weimar Republic (I can’t wait to have the opportunity to hear her take on Kurt Weill’s melancholic “Surabaya Johnny” again).

As Meow Meow’s first foray into the wealth of material from the period, Sequins and Satire, Divas and Disruptors decidedly feels like a first dabble. Thankfully, she’s hinted at future installments that collectively could have the potential of being an important and unique reflection of the Weimar Republic. Throughout, the entertainer maintained her cheeky comic sensibility and skittish yet domineering stage persona — traits that wouldn’t have been amiss in a performer during those turbulent yet artistically fertile inter-war years.

RECOMMENDED

MEOW MEOW: SEQUINS AND SATIRE, DIVAS AND DISRUPTORS
Cabaret
Carnegie Hall
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
One night only on Saturday, March 23

Categories: Cabaret, Music, Other Music

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