San Francisco's Misfit Cabaret: The lovers, the dreamers, the misfits

SAN FRANCISCO -- An audience of longtime fans and newcomers fill the seats at San Francisco's Alcazar Theater eagerly awaiting the start of Misfit Cabaret's newest show, "Summer Camp." As usual, they never know exactly what they are going to see.

"Live music, drag, burlesque, aerial, puppets--just all kinds of crazy stuff," said Misfit Cabaret Co-Founder Kat Robichaud.

"The cabaret experience just encompasses every style and every art form you can think of," said regular attendee Chris Holland.

"It's the Muppet version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show," said longtime fan Seymour.

"Misfit Cabaret is a musical, comedy, variety show," said Robichaud.

Misfit Cabaret was founded by Kat Robichaud and Jordan Nathan in a tiny speakeasy in the SOMA district of San Francisco.

Over time, their unique and energetic shows became cult favorites.

"It's funny, sexy, campy, just all-around fun," audience member Freedom Baerheim says.

"It has a lot of humor," Suz Antink adds.

Misfit Cabaret produces quarterly shows in San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Each of their shows uses comedy and music to pay homage to pop culture and cinema.

"I'm a cinephile. I'm a pop culture fanatic. It makes me so excited to center our shows around fandom. We'll reference 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' 'Edward Scissorhands,' 'Die Hard.'"

Some of those references appear in original songs written by Robichaud for every show.

"I love writing music based on famous characters in pop culture," said Robichaud. "I have this 15-minute number about the Star Wars Holiday Special. If you've ever seen it, it's terrible, but it's also amazing."

For founders Robichaud and Nathan, their greatest reward comes from amazing and entertaining their audience with an unforgettable, feel-good experience.

"I want everyone to walk away and think for those two hours I didn't think about anything else in the world," Nathan says.

"We want people to feel like they've discovered something they can be a part of," said Robichaud.

"It was just the greatest experience of our lives, so of course, from now we are not going to miss a single show," said Holland.

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