Blue Angel

The history of cabaret is a fantastic mixed bag said to have gotten its start in the Montmartre district of late-nineteenth-century Paris, specifically when the famous bohemian hangout Le Chat Noir opened its doors to a motley crew of artist types eager to share their talents in a casual environment. Salon discussions, early comedians and cancan dancers rubbed elbows there, as did the likes of Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, Paul Verlaine and August Strindberg; later, the genre underwent a decadent facelift in Weimar-era Germany, morphing into an uncensored style made famous first by Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel and later by Bob Fosse's Cabaret. From there, vaudeville's grown-up cousin caught on in sophisticated New York City and gave countless singers and comedians their starts.

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More About

• Ute Lemper
• Marlene Dietrich
• Nick Cave
• Joni Mitchell
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Ute Lemper, with her high cheekbones and arched Dietrich brows, seems to have been born the perfect torch-bearer for the form, but the German cabaret artist possesses far more than the correct features: Lemper's quite simply a walking encyclopedia of the style, and the volumes keep coming. Drawing inspiration not only from the classic mold — she's portrayed The Blue Angel's Lola, Cabaret's Sally Bowles and Chicago's Velma Kelly on stage, as well as recorded the music of Edith Piaf and Kurt Weill — she has also reinterpreted contemporary songs by Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell and Nick Cave.

The modern-day Queen of Cabaret performs tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 East Iliff Avenue; for tickets, $25 to $65, call 303-871-7720 or go to www.du.edu/newmancenter.
Thu., Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m.