When my editor assigned me this story about Chicago's cabaret-style nightlife, I hesitated. An adult entertainment issue and I get the one non-sexual story? Beside, I'm the last person qualified to write about cabaret. I'd never been to a cabaret nor did I even know what made it different than any other club. The only thing I knew was that Bob Fosse directed a 1972 film called Cabaret starring Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey. And, naturally, I'd never seen the film.

With mild trepidation and an open mind, I took a few friends to 3160, a Lakeview cabaret at 3160 N. Clark Street. I expected something unfamiliar and not to my taste. But I underestimated both myself and cabaret.

Entering the club, it resembles any other upscale bar with a dark wooden bar area to the right. Walking toward the back of the club, there's a wide staircase leading down to a 'chill-out' room and the rest rooms. Situated atop the stairwell is a loft-style area where the shows take place. The cabaret's crimson-hued carpeting and laquer-finished, gleaming black piano distinguishes the performance hub from the remainder of the bar with the subtlety of naturally contrasting colors. Surrounding the performance area are small tables, but there's no real demarcation between the performing area and the audience, which is one of cabaret's defining characteristics: intimacy.

Cabaret is not just one entertainment style. It can be any combination of piano playing, comedy, burlesque, drag, singing, and dancing. The showcase performer on this recent Saturday night, Rudy de la Mor, has been performing cabaret for more than 30 years, and has worked in Las Vegas, Palm Springs, and a host of other cities. He's been performing in Chicago for more than 20 years, starting at the old Gentry downtown.

De la Mor's act combines singing, piano playing, and comedy performed in drag and his energy level remains consistently high through a three hour show with no break. His comedy is bitingly hysterical but offered so sincerely, sweetly and genuinely that it's virtually impossible to feel offended when he picks on everything from ethnicity to religion to dick size.
3160 owner Jim Flint (who also own The Baton) said nobody has ever taken de la Mor's Socratic-method approach to comedy too seriously. According to Flint, "Rudy always lets [the audience] know it's all in fun." However, Flint added, not everyone has de la Mor's ease with an audience. "I have seen other entertainers become rude and confrontational, picking on people that don't want to be picked on."

And once de la Mor asks a patron's name, he remembers it all evening. I counted at least 20 audience members whose names he used over and over, including the six members of my party. Club regulars who'd seen de la Mor perform before knew exactly when to shout simultaneously with de la Mor. When he booms "Aw, shit", all the regulars shout it back in unison.

De la Mor explained prior to the show that cabaret refers to the "vaudeville intimacy of singing and jokes" with one goal: "having a wonderful evening with people." His song repertoire includes standards like "You Made Me Love You", "California, Here I Come", and, naturally, "Cabaret". He camped up each song's performance with a blue sequin dress that he wore for the entire show. Beyond the funny, de la Mor reminisces about 30-plus years of performing and his personal relationships with pop culture icons like Mae West, Doris Day, Martha Raye, and Jimmy Durante.

Though de la Mor's most recent run ended May 2nd, he returns to Chicago frequently. 3160 presents cabaret entertainment nightly (except Mondays) with a diverse line-up that includes "Pop! Goes The Gio" show on Fridays. According to Flint: "We have open mike on Tuesday and one of the best jazz trios around on Wednesdays. We have gay and straight performers and also host a female impersonation group on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, so we are taking in the whole community."

And it shows. The audience the night I was there included gays, straights, men, women, Christians, Jews, and just about every major ethnic group. Or, as de la Mor puts it in eschewing labels: "Straight, gay, fat. I hate those words."

Editor's Note: In addition to 3160 (www.chicago3160.com ), other popular cabaret venues in the city include Davenport's in Wicker Park (www.davenportspianobar.com ), The Baton downtown (www.thebatonshowlounge.com ), and Cornelia's in Lakeview (www.corneliaschicago.com ).