Most of what I know about the word “Cabaret” comes from a memory: Me, in my babysitter, Mrs. Hathaway’s teal-blue, shag-carpeted living room with a wall-sized photomural of a madrona tree and built-in benches, watching TV as a song, “bye-bye, mein liebe herr” etches itself into my brain. The lady (Liza Minelli) had eyelashes that reminded me of spiders, the emcee bore a striking resemblance to Minelli’s most recent husband, and it would seem, I extrapolated, that a “Cabaret” was a weird sort of dinner club where people made jokes I didn’t understand as music and dancing peppered the environment.



Turns out, that’s pretty much the way artistic director Erik Hanberg’s latest Horatio Theatre production, “Cabaret Night” will go down at The Hub’s events and gallery space next door to its St. Helens restaurant. Hanberg describes the show as “a mix of comedy, dancing and music — traditional cabaret fare” and will, like my memories of the movie, have adult-appropriate “bawdy” humor.



The show itself came out of a conversation Hanberg had with one of the Hub’s owners, Carole Holder, as the two brainstormed a creative use of the space next door to the restaurant. “A cabaret seemed like a really great fit,” recalls Hanberg.



What also fit was working with The Hub and Aaron Jacobs, mastermind of the talent agency Reel Creative, as artistic director for the production.



“I really do like the partnership model … It allows the leverage point for things to happen,” says Hanberg.



The variety of acts include award-winning belly dancer Natalya Landar, Flight of the Conchords-styled comedic singer Adria Moskowitz, comedian and juggler Mark Siano, and baritone opera singer Ben Harris, notable for having brought down the house at Pacific Grill with his stirring version of “Happy Birthday to You.”



“We’ll have lots of opportunities to surprise people with great talent,” Hanberg muses.

This talent will be on display as the audience sits comfortably at “small tables and European-style tables,” which will seat small groups of people together; these people who may — or may not — know each other will dine on “hearty appetizers” included in the $30 ticket price, according to Hanberg.



While Hanberg is hesitant to take credit for the entire production, (“It is a Horatio production, but it’s a well-partnered one,” he insists) he’s pleased that the idea fits in with a modified version of the original vision of his for-profit Tacoma theater company. “I wanted to stage theater that wasn’t traditionally done in Tacoma,” he explains.

About the future of the Horatio Theater he adds, “The focus is on getting things happening, especially those things that are new, unusual and different.”



[The Hub Events & Gallery Space, Cabaret Night, May 14 and 21, 7:30 p.m., $30 (can be purchased through www.thehoratio.com), 213 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.683.4606]