What do you get when you combine the old-world charm and elegance of the Westgate Hotel with a performance by a renowned singer and add in an exquisite 3-course dinner created by a world-class French chef? An all-new Cabaret Soirée dinner show starring Karen Giorgio in the Versailles Ballroom of the Westgate Hotel.
Cabaret shows, which simply put, usually consist of a singer or two sharing the stage with a piano and perhaps a bass, telling stories through song, are making a return to mainstream entertainment. Cabaret has its origins in 19th-century Paris however it's a very contemporary and ever-evolving art form. Karen Giorgio, one of San Diego's favorite entertainers, has been perfecting her style of cabaret for over a dozen years and brings her newest show, The Spirit of Cabaret - It Lives in the Music, to the famed downtown hotel at the invitation of the Westgate management.
From her New York roots and love of Broadway to her vast Sinatra to Sondheim repertoire, Giorgio has delighted audiences worldwide. Whether it's playing the piano and singing favorite show tunes in Sweden, Saipan or Toronto, to name a few international locales, or on stage presenting her own Cabaret shows in Hollywood, Palm Springs or San Diego, Karen is known for engaging her audiences by establishing an immediate rapport, entertaining them with songs and stories, and leaving them wanting more.
Giorgio, who has been presenting cabaret shows in Southern California for the last decade, is well known to San Diego audiences as well as to patrons of the Westgate Hotel. She was a staple performer in the Plaza Bar for many years and returned a year ago to present Karen at the Keys on the second Sunday of each month.
Karen and her co-star Ric Henry, another well-known local performer, will showcase songs by
Cole Porter,
Andrew Lloyd Webber,
Irving Berlin,
Harold Arlen,
Jason Robert Brown, Steven Sondheim, and more as they bring the spirit of cabaret to life. Patrons will enjoy a delicious three-course dinner prepared by the Westgate Hotel's fabulous French chef, Fabrice Hardel, prior to the performance. The setting in the elegant Versailles Ballroom of the classic Westgate Hotel will be reminiscent of European cabarets. Karen's engaging style brings the art of cabaret performance to this intimate dinner theatre setting.
Giorgio and Henry will entertain the audience with both familiar and little known songs interwoven with the stories behind the American songbook. Talented and well-known local musicians Bryan Verhoye on piano, Glen Fisher on bass and Adrienne Nims on sax and flute add to the evening's experience and enhance the cabaret tradition.
Interest in cabaret shows has been resurging. Many of today's most popular performers can be found not only in vast arenas but in intimate venues as well.
Michael Feinstein, who has his own club in San Francisco, is a notable example. Martinis Above Fourth Table + Stage, in the Hillcrest area of San Diego, has been diligently presenting cabaret shows in its intimate space for the last 3 years. Performers at that venue have included Karen Giorgio,
Molly Ringwald,
Cheryl Bentyne,
Janis Siegel, (the last two are members of The Manhattan Transfer), as well as Broadway stars
Sam Harris,
Telly Leung, and
Levi Kreis. Upcoming shows will feature
Erich Bergen from TV's Madam Secretary and the Jersey Boys movie, Jazz legend
Betty Bryant, and Grammy winner Juice Newton and, after a sold-out show in March, Ringwald is returning to Martinis Above Fourth in September.
Andrea Marcovicci, one of the best-known Cabaret performers, said it best, "...An evening of song and stories in an intimate space that shatters the "fourth wall." Part stand-up comic, part balladeer, part evangelist; today's performer often has a theme that unifies the evening, knows a great deal about the music they're singing, and share that information in witty and inventive ways. At its best, cabaret can amuse, entertain, and inform...it can dazzle you, catch you unawares and make you weep... The audience participates in a direct, emotional conversation with the artist..."?
The Westgate Hotel, located at 1055 Second Avenue, is a one-of-a-kind luxury boutique hotel in San Diego and was completed in 1970. It is filled with priceless antiques and appointments one would find in an elegant home. Designed as a re-creation of an anteroom in the Palace of Versailles, the Grand Lobby is noted for its magnificent antiques, Baccarat crystal chandeliers, Flemish and French tapestries and Persian carpets.
Tickets are $89 for the May 30th dinner show event and include tax and gratuity. No-host bar opens at 6:30 PM with the 3-course gourmet dinner starting at 7:00 PM. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit
TheSpiritOfCabaret.com or
www.KarenGiorgio.com. The event is being presented in association with
Sher Krieger Events.
