FRIGID Nightcap to Present THE MANDATORY CABARET At Under St. Marks
The event will take place on September 26.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Sep. 22, 2025
The East Village's iconic late-night variety show, FRIGID Nightcap, will return on Friday, September 26th, with an all-new edition: The Mandatory Cabaret.
Authoritarianism thrives on compulsory culture: obedience, conformity, uniformity. The Mandatory Cabaret flips the script-if it's mandatory, then we're mandating queerness, chaos, and radical joy. This satirical, unhinged showcase will transform the aesthetics of modern authoritarianism into glitter, drag, burlesque, clowning, and comedy. Obedience is optional. Fabulousness is mandatory.
Hosted by Nightcap regular Dora Diamond, the evening features a lineup of eclectic and electrifying performers:
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Holli Hemlock (@hollihemlock) - Burlesque with bite: trans femme power in sequins and defiance.
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Sweet Princes (@sweetprincescomedy) - The sweetest little musical freakshow you never knew you needed.
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Colette (@vintagequeencole) - Subversive Americana with a trans twist.
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Pelayo AF (@pelayoaf) - Trad wife parody turned queer fever dream.
This month also marks the debut of FRIGID Nightcap's new Open Stages segment, where emerging artists can apply for a lottery slot to join the lineup and make their late-night debut.
"Authoritarianism wants conformity. We want the opposite," says producer Edward Gibbons-Brown. "The Mandatory Cabaret takes the aesthetics of control and twists them until they unravel-into drag, into satire, into a night that can't be contained."
The Mandatory Cabaret is part of FRIGID New York's ongoing commitment to fostering radical, inclusive performance in the East Village. From drag queens as generals of joy to burlesque obedience drills gone spectacularly off-script, this edition promises to be as unhinged as it is unforgettable.
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