Envisioning a cabaret ignites saucy images of scantily clad women and sultry singers in a smoky room filled with raucous laughter and dancing for good reason – the art form of cabaret first began its scandalous journey in Montmartre, France at the peak of La Belle Époque, an era in European history marked by optimism, peace and glamour. Le Chat Noir (The Black Cat) became the undisputed birthplace of modern cabaret and the performance style spread like wildfire across Europe until it was finally imported to the United States in 1911 and enjoyed a subsequent development of ranges and flavors.
Though cabaret remains a celebrated form of entertainment in Europe, its popularity in the United States saw a rapid decline after the rise of live music concerts and television in the 1960’s, effectively muffling the voice of American cabaret to the point where cabaret was often confused for burlesque, vaudevillian theater or even striptease. Cabaret is best described as a tantalizing medley of comedy, song, cultural commentary and dance presented in a relatively intimate space so that the performer can establish a direct relationship with the audience, break the fourth wall and develop a close engagement with the audience.
On February 9th, El Paso will be able to experience the grandeur and glamour of a genuine European cabaret performance by Australian danseuse and singer, Meow Meow, a multi-talented, award winning phenomenon described as a “sequinned sex-bomb waiting to detonate” by the Sydney Central and a “cabaret diva of the highest order” by the New York Post.
Meow Meow is the fabulous French alter-ego of performer Melissa Madden Grey whom boasts widely acclaimed performances at the Sydney Opera House, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Carnegie Hall, London’s SOHO Theater, Le Java in Paris and scores of other theaters and opera houses around the world. Madden Grey graduated from the Western Australia Academy of Preforming Arts and studied Theater in Berlin and previous to her rampant success as Meow Meow, she performed in a multitude of different roles in film, television, opera and musical theater.
What’s interesting about the dualism of this performer is her reluctance to discuss the ‘Melissa’ aspect of her history, staying perpetually in character as the minx Meow Meow, owing her namesake to her multiple personalities, cat-like visage and wide spectrum of vocal styles from ridiculous purring to high-caterwauling.
“Meow Meow grabs the audience like a fistful of putty and molds us into whatever she wants. We are her playthings and she is our mistress,” says Kate Herbert, theater reviewer for Melbourne’s Herald Sun of the performer’s decidedly lustful and intriguing performance. Meow Meow’s avant-garde frivolities span from crowd surfing to self-deprecating humor coupled with a sensational vocal range that The Age newspaper describes as “an extraordinary voice that sounds as though Diamanda Galás drowned in cherry liqueur…”
You can enjoy Meow Meow in all her chanteuse extravagance on Saturday, February 9th at the Magoffin Auditorium located in the UTEP Campus. Showtime is 8:00 PM and tickets can be purchased at the UTEP Ticket Center on 2901 N. Mesa or at the Ticketmaster website.
TXT: Crysti A. Couture
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