The Performance LAB Presents A Punk-Cabaret Musical at BCA, 4/8-4/24

The Performance LAB will launch its inaugural season with a world premier musical, Le Cabaret Grimm - a punk cabaret fairy tale (sans fairies). It runs Thursday through Saturday April 8-24 at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St. in Boston. Based on Tales of The Brothers Grimm, this experimental musical features a live band onstage, masks, large puppets and dance and is infused with a punk sensibility.

Le Cabaret Grimm is the first show produced by The Performance LAB and exemplifies the work of the company. Based on Tales of The Brothers Grimm, it weaves a dark tale of loss, longing and an imaginative journey around the world and beyond. The show combines music and dance with large scale masks and puppets and a live band onstage. "There's a great fringe scene underground in Boston ," says Artistic Director Jason Slavick. "We're bringing it out to the mainstream public."

With a wickedly ironic sensibility, the show incorporates Cabaret, Steam Punk, Burlesque and old fashioned theatricality. The music reflects such influences as Tom Waits, Ska, R&B and the Dresden Dolls. "We're using these fun, contemporary styles to draw in the audience" says Slavick, "but we're combining them with classic tales that have a universal quality and resonate deeply."
Le Cabaret Grimm is written and directed by Jason Slavick, formerly of Boston Theatre Works. Known for his Shakespearean work in such shows as Othello and The Tempest, starring Jonathan Epstein, and Antony & Cleopatra¸ starring Robert Pemberton and Anne Gottlieb , Slavick struck out in a new direction with Heaven & Hell - The Fantastical Temptation of the 7 Deadly Sins, an original musical based on the album by Joe Jackson that was created and produced at The Boston Conservatory in 2007.

Slavick is joined on the show by Cassandra Marsh who composed the original score. Le Cabaret Grimm is choreographed by Michelle Chasse, a faculty member of The Boston Conservatory who previously worked with Slavick on Heaven & Hell. Original masks have been created by Eric Bornstein of Behind the Mask, another local theatre company. Like Slavick, all three collaborators are Boston-based, following The Performance LAB mission to draw on the unique talents of local artists.

Le Cabaret Grimm was originally created by Slavick and Marsh in a 2008 workshop and then was reconceived with the present cast. The actors include Austin Auh, Rachel Bertone, Becki Dennis, Jamie Lee, Nick Peciaro, Haley Selmon, Lee Skunes and Ally Tully.

Tickets are on sale at www.BostonTheatreScene.com or by calling 617-933-8600, $20 for students and $35 for adults. Discount promotions are available from The Performance LAB website, through Twitter and Facebook. To preview the music, see a webseries of the show or for more information go to www.performancelaboratory.com.

The Performance LAB is a non-profit theatre company that creates original live performances which move the heart, challenge the mind and feast the senses. The Performance LAB is dedicated to expanding the audience for live performance in Boston , exploring great local talent of all kinds and enriching the Boston community.

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