CABARET RED LIGHT / THE BLAZING CHERRIES GYPSY-FUNK ORCHESTRA CRL ABOUT CABARET RED LIGHT VAUDEVILLE, BURLESQUE & PUPPET THEATER

CO-DIRECTORS: Peter Ganey and Anna Frangiosa RESIDENT BAND: Blazing Cherries Gypsy-Funk Orchestra FOUNDED IN Philadelphia, 2008 LAVISH COSTUMES Cabaret Red Light’s look and feel is the creation of co-director Anna Frangiosa CABARET RED LIGHT (Annie A-Bomb). A ten-year burlesque Cabaret Red Light is a 20+ member troupe of veteran from Philadelphia and producer of Philadelphia’s most talented vaudeville Revival Burlesque, a monthly variety show at performers, mixing original live music, dark the Walking Fish Theater, she is also Head comedy, puppet theatre and burlesque in Mistress at the Philadelphia School of the spirit of the decadent 1920s. Since first Burlesque, and has worked as a costume forming in 2008, they have performed to designer for Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theater sold out audiences at Plays and Players Company and Lantern Theater Company. Theater, L’Etage, Chaplin’s Music Café and Washington D.C.’s Palace of Wonders, and CONTEMPORARY DANCE have been chosen three times by Cabaret Red Light choreographers Christine Philadelphia’s City Paper as Agenda Pick of Fisler and Melissa “Bang-Bang” Forgione the Week. combine abstract and narrative techniques, as well as drawing from styles from the hay day of speakeasy and vaudeville theater. Christine is a dance instructor at The Univer- sity of the Arts. Melissa has performed with a varity of Philadelphia theater groups, includ- ing BRAT Productions and Peek-a-boo Revue.

EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC The Blazing Cherrries Gypsy-Funk Orchestra, Cabaret Red Light’s “anarchist collective” of international jazzmen, violinists, carpetbag- gers and Eurotrash, play a range of musical styles. Layering traditional gypsy ballads over funk rhythms, glam rock and techno- culture, they are currently working on their third studio album, as well as various home- made instruments (one installment in The Peter Ga ney and Anna Frangiosa, co-founders of Experiment featured a piece for musical saw, Cabaret Red Light. Photo by Neal Santos. theramin and midi-glove).

HOW IT STARTED Cabaret Red Light is the invention of Annie A-Bomb and Peter Ganey of The Blazing Cherries, Philadelphia’s “anarchist music collective.” Their influences range from Anita Berber to Frank Zappa, Neue Slowenische Kunst to The Muppet Show. Since 2008, they have brought together the most talented names in the Philadelphia theater and music scenes to create 18 original cabaret musicals. AGITPROP AND BURLESQUE VAUDEVILLE THEATER Boasting of a vast arsenal of props — includ- The Red Light cast of characters includes ing a 20-foot octopus puppet and 70-foot absent-minded devils, white collar criminals, snake, to-scale replica of the Atom Bomb, time-travelers, pirates, vampires and thieves, and enormous nutcracker style “Svedka characters from another time and place who head,” to name a few — Cabaret Red Light commandeer performances in order to has also come to be known for its agitprop- persuade the audience, with sweetest seduc- style musical theater and burlesque. Combin- tions (and sometimes pamphlets), to take ing Brecht’s “epic theater” with traditional part in their perversions. Cabaret Red Light’s vaudeville, Cabaret Red Light has been theatrical performances feature members of known to turn the tables, subjecting partici- Sidetracked Theater, Philly Improv, The pating audience members to a strip search, Rolf Lakaemper playing his home-made Waitsta and other Philadelphia area groups. or frisking them down for their “papers.” “midi glove.” Photo by Michael Schupp. Shoshi Ruth and Kim Cruse in THE SEVEN DEADLY SEAS. Photo by D. Palumbo. March through June, 2010. L’Etage, at Debuted home. his Everywhen calls that mustache pressedwaxedpanamaandlinen futurizing in man a and kinds, inventors, all of devices child ants, clairvoy crazed featuring Progress, of underbelly seething the to journey L’Etage, at wrote and performed Light Red Cabaret sinfulness. of manners the on all of charms inimitable and pleasures little audience the instructs also Flesh the How-ToVeritableof WeaknessesA the on culture, modern-day of excesses the satirizing and Celebrating DEADLYTHE SEVEN SINS andguesttalent.of characters cast revolving a featuring and narrative or cabaret original theme a exploring one each performances, of series three created LightCabaret 2010, Red and 2008 Between SERIAL CABARET h prowl. the the in shadows and the lurks goon squad is always danger on where intrigue and fantasy of world secret a is nd they What bring. will it things wondrous THE what learn on to 2100 year the for o set crew Light touchesRed the of rest the and nal Q Olivia Dr. MACHINE, putting After THE EXPERIMENT Stage atMain Plays andPlayers Theater. the for series the adapted and expanded For more information, please go to h Experiment The

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