THEATRE

"...Through the alley, back from hell, when you hear that steeple bell..."

The Wrathskellar is just off a fog-bound lane in Queen Victoria's London or down a flight of stairs that Mack the Knife might have tread. In the dim limelight, a chanteuse sings forlornly of a lost love, while a diva plots revenge for some imagined slight. Hearts, promises, and crockery are broken with abandon and secrets are hidden just below the surface.

The Wrathskellar is an evening of revenge, jealousy, greed, betrayal, lust, and murder... all to your favorite tunes.

The Boston Babydolls' dark burlesque returns in its most ambitious incarnation. In 2009, The Wrathskellar was first staged at The Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown. Last year, we transformed The Cambridge YMCA's theatre into our underworld tavern with the addition of cabaret seating, wait staff, and more. Last year, for the first time, patrons could truly enter The Wrathskellar, as we built our tavern in a storefront in East Cambridge. This year we literally go underground as we take over and transform The Davis Square Theatre for the month of October.

A departure from The Boston Babydolls usual mix of bubbly fun and retro glamour, The Wrathskellar is a moody whirlpool of sinister dirges, predatory laments, and torch songs in a minor key. Instead of big band and swing, the soundtrack for The Wrathskellar features atmospheric and evocative works from Utë Lemper, The Squirrel Nut Zippers, Tom Waits, and Leonard Cohen.The show opens Friday, October 5 at The Davis Square Theatre (below 255 Elm St., Somerville MA). Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets or by calling (800) 838-3006