Portland needs more cabarets. Specifically, it needs more cabarets like RENEE'S QUEER CABARET. The good news is that we're getting them! This "resistance variety show" hosted by local singer-songwriter Renée Muzquiz made its debut last week at Artists Rep as part of the Risk/Reward Festival. The plan is to turn it into a monthly series -- submissions are now being accepted for the next installment, which takes place on October 20.
I found RENEE'S QUEER CABARET all at once humble, subversive, and delightful. Humble because it felt like sitting around a campfire with a bunch of friends who just decided to take turns singing, telling their stories, cracking jokes, or performing a striptease. Right from the start, we were a community, not just an audience. Subversive because every act challenged gender- and heteronormativity in some way. The show featured incredible variety -- from Nat Jacobs's stand-up about the loneliness of being queer in Southwest Portland, to Serah's personal story of discovering her asexuality, to Lily Le Fauve's Star Wars-themed burlesque. And delightful in the way only a diverse group of talented people coming together to share their art can be.
For me, RENEE'S QUEER CABARET represents everything Portland theatre and queer theatre should be -- fierce, authentic, awesome, and worth MUCH more than the ticket price (which in this case was pay-what-you-will).
Keep up with RENEE'S QUEER CABARET on Facebook, and visit the Risk/Reward website to see what's next for this festival dedicated to pushing boundaries.
Photo credit: Meg Nanna
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