SANTA’S FUR IS GONNA FLY WITH
MEOW MEOW’S FELINE FESTIVE HOLIDAY
When you hear the words “performance art,” do you envision a motionless Marina Abramović allowing a 10-foot boa constrictor to wrap itself around her head? And when you hear the term “cabaret,” do you think of tired patter, same-old showtunes, and folks who’re trying to jump-start their career? Well, prepare to have your preconceptions, and your mind, blown away by the fabulous Meow Meow, who will appear in her holiday show Feline Festive Holiday at The Wallis in Beverly Hills on Dec. 14 (MM also plays Stanford on Dec. 13).
A rollicking tonic for trying times, Feline Festive will fill you with childhood wonder again, and rekindle the true spirit of the holidays — sparkling good will and joy to the world and all that stuff! Featuring a band of superb musicians, and music ranging from jazzy vintage showbiz to wicked, witty Weimar 1920s tunes, French chansons, and original and contemporary classics and surprises.
I first saw this gorgeous and accomplished singer, dancer, librettist, lyricist, comedienne, and actor from Australia collaborating with Pink Martini’s Thomas Lauderdale for a zany wild original eye-popping indescribable night of, well, Meow Meow and her unique brand of performance art cabaret.
This talented chick is a melding of Joan Collins, Lady Gaga, Lucille Ball, Edith Piaf, and Liza Minnelli on steroids. She is as uncategorizable as she is dazzlingly unpredictable. Before you think you’re watching a Vegas revue crossed with a Weimar-era cabaret, she crushes you in her warm embrace and seduces you into more twists and turns than Alice discovered down the rabbit hole.
This foxy feline consistently personalizes every song, superbly interpreting the lyric, and always singing to us, never at us. Rarely have I seen a performer connect with an audience on such a broad but intimate level. And lest one think of her as basically a comic/campy performer, some of her most powerful and impactful moments occur during her intimate, low-key songs, during which she displays true authenticity and depth.
So, do me a big favor, and DO NOT MISS the glorious world of International Chanteuse and Comedienne Extraordinaire Meow Meow for holiday hilarity and musical mayhem. Let the festive feline wrap you in musical wonder, peals of laughter, and loving audience encounters of the ridiculous and (potentially) too close kind (OK, at one performance at The [formerly] Ace Hotel in DTLA, she literally fell into the audience while never missing a note!) There’s nothing she won’t do to entertain and enthrall her audience. She is one of those unique theatrical events that comes along all too rarely.
photos by Magnus Hastings
Meow Meow: Feline Festive Holiday
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Bram Goldsmith Theater, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills
Saturday, December 14 at 7:30
for tickets ($49-$89), call 310.746.4000 or visit The Wallis
also at Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen Street at Stanford University
Friday, December 13, 2024 at 7:30 PM
for tickets, visit Stanford Live