Yes, we cancan do cabaret

Life may not be a nonstop cabaret, old chum.

But if you do sometimes long to find a Whoopee! spot, where the drinks are cold and the entertainment's hot, you're in luck.

At the moment, the Seattle nightlife scene is sprouting quite a few such intimate hangouts, trendy alternatives to standard concert halls and playhouses.

Before we clue you in on some of them, let's take a moment to define "cabaret," mes amis.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term cabaret (derived from the French) originally meant "a shop selling wine." It is now more broadly defined as a nightclub, or "a restaurant serving liquor and providing entertainment (as by singers or dancers)."

For our purposes, let's stretch that a bit, to include local boites or cozy theaters with separate tables, where food may or may not be part of the festivities, and where comedy, nouvelle burlesque and even politcal satire could be on the menu.

In romantic lore, cabaret has reached its glittery/tawdry heights in various epochs: in Paris during the 1890s (the setting for the film "Moulin Rouge"), Berlin in the 1920s and early '30s (the setting for the Broadway musical "Cabaret") and Manhattan in the 1940s and '50s (when the Copacabana packed 'em in).

Seattle may not have plush rooms that rival the Copa or the famed Crazy Horse in Paris, but in trying times, the appetite for nostalgia is keen. And numerous hot spots have emerged here that cater to patrons seeking live, lightly risqué amusements in close quarters — amusements that tend to evoke showbiz eras of the past.

A happy 21st-century wrinkle: Thanks to our smoking ban, one can visit such venues without fear of suffocation.

We fanned out to sample cabaret at a variety of Seattle niteries. If anything catches your fancy, you may want to attend soon, as some shows have limited runs:

Columbia City Cabaret

On a recent Friday, women with attitude ruled the stage at the Columbia City Cabaret — which offers a fun, sexy variety show, despite a few ultra-raunchy moments.

Tamara the Trapeze Lady, a blond vixen, hosted the show — whose lineup changes each week. Sauntering onto the floor in a red gown over red-laced black boots, her high breathy voice and over-the-top persona suited the charming Columbia City Theatre, which was once a vaudeville house.

The intimate brick-lined venue featured a stage framed by red velvet drapes. Couples and friends crowded around candle-lit tables, sipping cocktails and chuckling aloud while the ladies danced, flew through the air or stripped down to sparkly pasties and snug panties.

The best acts of the night: the energetic music of all-female band Femme Brulee; the cute and sassy domestically dressed Lucky Penny with her pouffy, vivacious cancan; and the buxom Trixie Lane, whose eyes grinned while she slithered out of her black velvet gown with pure abandon.

But it's definitely not PG-13 at this cabaret, with Tamara's sometimes-ribald jokes, a see-through plastic outfit she later wore and Babette LaFave's overexposed surprise.

Columbia City Cabaret, 9 p.m. Fridays, open run. Columbia City Theatre, 4916 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle; $15 (206-723-0088).

— Judy Chia Hui Hsu

Teatro ZinZanni

The most elaborate, long-running cabaret Mecca in town is this crowd-pleasing One Reel enterprise, now entering its fifth season.

To keep things fresh inside the ritzy antique Belgian cabaret tent that contains it, Teatro ZinZanni changes its lineup of acts and dinner menu (supervised by noted chef Tom Douglas) every few months. But one can always expect a full evening of top-notch clowning and circus acts (often by alumni of Cirque du Soleil), plus turns by a torch singer and an opera diva and a tasty, several-course meal.

The show begins as you take your seat and tuck into your appetizer. The current edition, "Original Recipe," features drag actor extraordinaire Kevin Kent in an array of new get-ups and audience-interactive routines, the delightful foot juggling of Les Castors, pop singer CeCe Peniston and the balletic Russian trapeze act Duo Artemiev.

Though tickets are pricey, and don't include drinks, this is a swell place to bring out-of-town guests and birthday celebrants. There's nothing else like it, and you're likely to leave well-fed, well-tickled and mighty satisfied.

Note, however, that Teatro ZinZanni's present downtown site is marked for development, and the operation will have to move elsewhere next spring. A One Reel rep says news about the new locations for the Seattle production and its sister show in San Francisco (which is also on the move) is forthcoming.

"Original Recipe" plays Wednesdays-Sundays in an open-ended run at Teatro ZinZanni, 2301 Sixth Ave., Seattle; $99-$115 (206-802-0015 or http://dreams.zinzanni.org/).

— Misha Berson

"Rewind 1987"

Long before "Rewind 1987" overtakes the small stage of The Last Supper Club, it slyly begins on the dance floor, at the bar and around tables where nonplussed members of the audience sit, waiting for some kind of orthodox show to get under way.

Actors costumed like extras in one of John Hughes' 1980s teen comedies ("Pretty In Pink") mill about the room, getting into arguments, goofing on authority figures, drooping from the burden of adolescent angst.

Suddenly one realizes that the entire club is the setting for Southern Dam High School's 1987 Homecoming Dance. Stand around cluelessly, and one is likely to get pulled by a character to the floor to shimmy to old hits by Wham and Michael Jackson.

But do not fear: There is an actual show. Various students — cheerleaders, jocks, nerds, rockers, rebels — present their cases for being voted homecoming king and queen. And before the night is over, hearts are broken and reputations are made.

The process is a tad long, but the cast's energy (particularly during a dance set to "Footloose") is infectious and fun. (Note: A full bar is available, but no dinner.)

"Rewind 1987" runs Saturdays through Sept. 30 at The Last Supper Club, 124 S. Washington St., Seattle; $29-$39 (888-573-9463 or www.rewind1987.com).

— Tom Keogh

Can Can

Strolling by the shabby older building on Pike and First Avenue that houses Can Can, you'd never guess what awaits.

Step down into this newish club by the Pike Place Market (in digs that had a long tenure as a jazz venue — the Patti Summers Lounge), and you'll find a crowded little joint that's really jumpin' — or was on a recent Friday evening, anyway.

On that occasion, the small, subterranean bar and showplace was crammed with revelers in their 20s — drinking, flirting, toasting birthdays, carrying on in pre-wedding stag and bachelorette parties.

Patrons also seemed happy to get in on the house act, when waitresses who double as dancers invited them onstage to kick a leg and swish a flouncy skirt around.

Though its name, décor and chorus lines refer to fin de siècle Gay Paree, most of the clientele dressed down in jeans and tees. And the place often hosts retro burlesque acts, on a stage about the size of a modest walk-in closet.

The current Seattle burlesque craze is showcased in performances by Tableau Vivant, The Heavenly Spies, the Atomic Bombshells and other troupes resurrecting this not-so-lost art — which, by the by, is more teasing than tawdry.

A full bar and a short menu of Mediterranean appetizers and entrees are available, and a house band holds forth along with impresario and emcee Christoph Snell. (Be aware: The club is all-ages until 10 p.m., when food service ends.)

The Can Can, 94 Pike St., Seattle, is open from 4:30 p.m. on, Tuesdays-Sundays. $5-$15 cover charge for some acts. Valet parking available (Performance schedule and reservations: 206-652-0832; www.thecancan.com or www.myspace.com/cancanseattle).

— Misha Berson

Thumper's

On the tiny stage of the gay-friendly Capitol Hill club Thumper's, entertaining tenors Samuel Pettit and Aaron Shanks serenaded the audience with familiar tunes during "Me & My Shadow" on a recent Sunday, leaving those in the half-filled dining room smiling.

In this current show at the homey neighborhood club where the acts change regularly, Pettit was the flashy attention-getter, with his punchy voice, suggestive jokes and overdramatic ways — reminding audience members that they were in a gay bar, after all.

Handsome Aaron Shanks played the straight man, whose buttoned-down, clean-shaven looks were a contrast to Pettit's 5 o'clock shadow, sideburns and untucked flannel shirt. Pianist Mara Ostrand accompanied them, her notes clear and unobtrusive.

The jazzy singers made a good team on standard tunes like "Mack the Knife" and "New York, New York." Their voices melded well in the duets, and they relied on their strengths — Shanks' almost-flawless melodic voice and Pettit's showy one — during the solos.

Food and drinks are served in this full-service restaurant and bar, which is open daily.

"Me and My Shadow" finishes its run at 8 p.m. tonight. "100s of Beautiful Songs & 3 Ugly Ones" opens Sept. 12. Thumper's is at 1500 E Madison St., Seattle; $10 ( Info on upcoming acts at 206-328-3800).

— Judy Chia Hui Hsu