The Cabaret Concert Theatre was a small cellar café/cabaret, located in the Silverlake district of

Central Los Angeles Central Los Angeles is the historical urban region of the city of Los Angeles, containing downtown Los Angeles, and several nearby regions in southwest Los Angeles County, California. Geographic designation by The City of Los Angeles The Los Ang ...

, California. It operated between 1950 and 1961. It was created by dancer Miriam Schiller with the help of a group of young actors and dancers who wanted a place to showcase their talent, the 100-seat theatre became a popular nightspot among television and film producers, talent scouts, agents and celebrities, who came to eat, drink and enjoy a wide variety of sophisticated revues, plays and concerts. The long-running ''

Billy Barnes Revue The ''Billy Barnes Revue'' is a 1959 musical comedy revue with music and lyrics by Billy Barnes and sketches by Bob Rodgers. The revue premiered in Los Angeles in 1959 and went on to be produced both on Broadway and Off Broadway. The show is re ...

'' ran for two years before transferring to the larger Las Palmas Theatre, and subsequently to Broadway. Among the many talents whose careers benefited from being seen at the Cabaret Concert Theatre were

Ann B. Davis Ann Bradford Davis (May 3, 1926 – June 1, 2014) was an American actress. She achieved prominence for her role in the NBC situation comedy ''The Bob Cummings Show'' (1955–1959), for which she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

(who was cast as "Schultzie" in the long-running

Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in d ...

series, '' Love That Bob''),

Jackie Joseph Jackie Joseph (born November 7, 1933) is an American actress and writer. She is best known for her role as Jackie Parker on ''The Doris Day Show'' (1971–1973) and Audrey in ''The Little Shop of Horrors'' (1960), as well as a supporting role ...

("Audrey" in the 1960 version of ''

The Little Shop of Horrors ''The Little Shop of Horrors'' is a 1960 American Comedy horror, horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about a florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood. The ...

''),

Ann Morgan Guilbert Ann Morgan Guilbert (October 16, 1928 – June 14, 2016), sometimes credited as Ann Guilbert, was an American television and film actress and comedian who portrayed a number of roles from the 1950s on, most notably as Millie Helper in 61 episode ...

("Millie Helper" on ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961, to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Productions"Calv ...

''), Joyce Jameson (''

The Steve Allen Show ''The Steve Allen Show'' is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC,

''), Bert Convy (the Broadway productions of ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

'' and ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

'') and Ken Berry (''

F Troop ''F Troop'' is a satirical American television Western sitcom about U.S. soldiers and American Indians in the Wild West during the 1860s. The series originally aired for two seasons on ABC. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965 ...

''). The performers, who received little or no pay for their work, supplemented their income by waiting on tables, taking tickets and other essential activities. Located at 4212

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

, at the intersection with Myra Street. The building was built around 1900. It was used for many years as a studio by D.W. Griffith, and his epic film ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...

'' screened there in 1915. In 1961, the building was converted into an authentic replica of a 16th-century Spanish tavern and renamed El Cid. Still operating today, El Cid continues to present a variety of entertainers, from flamenco dancers and Spanish guitarists to rockabilly singers, burlesque performers and comedians.

References

Theatres in Los Angeles Silver Lake, Los Angeles Sunset Boulevard (Los Angeles) Dance venues in the United States Defunct comedy clubs in the United States Former music venues in California Music venues in Los Angeles Music venues completed in 1950 Theatres completed in 1950 1950 establishments in California 1961 disestablishments in California {{music-venue-stub