During December, those who are halfway around the world from their loved ones sometime get the holiday blues. For Brandon Thompson, the event organizer for Sunday’s Christmas Cabaret, he said he misses two things: family and snow.
“Not Snow the rapper, because I see him every night when I close my eyes,” Thompson quipped. “But actual snow on the ground.”
The annual Christmas Cabaret started in 2010 with an idea from the leaders of the Taipei Players, Mandy Roveda and Sarah Fothergill, who wanted to gather together friends, perform holiday-themed skits and donate any money raised to charity. Though Roveda and Fothergill have both left Taiwan, Thompson is carrying on the tradition.
Photo courtesy of Colin Norman
This year’s charity is the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation, a non-profit established to provide counseling, shelter, legal and medical assistance to abused victims and their families.
Whereas cabarets past have featured a slightly tipsy Santa who eventually dies, this year’s program will resemble a Dean Martin holiday variety show, hosted by Alan and Heidi Gallant, with guests dropping by to wish everyone a happy holiday season.
Guests include rock band Adoga, who will lead a sing-along, blues by DC Rapier and comedy from ROC Stand Up and Sweet Danger Improv. The roster also includes the sultry burlesque acts of Miss Kitten N Heat and Miss Honeysuckle Rose, as well as a drag show by the always-bombastic Bouncy Babs.
Thompson says he has preformed at every Christmas Cabaret, and the thing that stands out to him is the excitement in the room at the end of the show.
“Many foreigners don’t get the chance to go home for the holidays, but on this night in particular I feel like I am a part of something special,” Thompson said.
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