Special Events

Various Artists

Tiergarten

The Great Hall under the Church of St. Mary
440 Grand Street
New York, NY 10002

Important Info!

CLICK HERE to see a map of the different seating sections

Food & Drinks are included in all tickets (benches & tables)!

Each Table purchase comes with four available seats, as well as a complimentary bottle of champagne! *Please note that we will assign which table you'll be at in each section.*

Please be aware there are no refunds for tickets!

Ticketholders must be 21 years or older.

This is a Free Event!
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the long version

In partnership with Carnegie Hall as part of their Weimar Festival, this immersive, subversive, underground cabaret event takes its name from the Tiergarten—“The Garden of Beasts”—a sprawling central park around which the Third Reich rose to power. The program traces a path backwards in time, exploring historic moments of societal madness through music ranging from Verdi to Kylie Minogue, Dean Martin to Max Richter, William Byrd to Brecht & Weill, with a panoply of performers that includes singers, dancers, actors, shadow puppets, and more.

The magnificent Great Hall beneath a church on the Lower East Side will be transformed into an immersive 1920s Berlin Speakeasy, with period-themed food and drinks, vintage dress, and more.

Tiergarten
is directed by Death of Classical founder and Artistic Director Andrew Ousley, MC’d by the great Kim David Smith, whom The New York Times called "a male Marlene Dietrich," and features music by DoC favorites and “pillars of New York’s Hot Jazz scene” (also according to The New York Times) The Grand Street Stompers.

SOME ADDITIONAL NOTES!

  • ALL DRINKS AND FOOD ARE INCLUDED IN THE TICKET PRICE! We'll have red & white wine, several types of beer, and cider to drink, as well as non-alcoholic cocktails from Curious Elixirs. For nourishment, we'll have a thematically-appropriate buffet of assorted meats, cheeses, breads, fruits, and vegetarian/vegan snacks - don't expect a Michelin Star, but we'll definitely have plenty of victuals to pair with your libations!
  • EACH TABLE INCLUDES FOUR SEATS, PLUS A BOTTLE OF SPARKLING WINE IN THE COST! So bring friends, make friends between now and then, or spread yourself out luxuriantly across four chairs... as you wish!
  • THERE WILL BE A PRE-CONCERT HAPPY HOUR! You should plan to arrive between 7-8PM, so you can get settled in your seats, grab some food and drink, and prepare yourself for the madness ahead...
  • BENCHES ARE GENERAL ADMISSION So arrive on the early side to get the best seats! Tables are organized by section, and we'll determine your location within your section.
  • 1920s ATTIRE IS STRONGLY, EXUBERANTLY ENCOURAGED! You don't HAVE to bust out your finest vest or flapper dress, but the more that you can get into the mood, the more we'll all be transported...
The short version

Join us for a wild evening of music, theater, food, and drink, as we reflect on the gathering clouds that enshrouded the crumbling Weimar Republic, and look ahead with increasing angst upon the fragile balance of the present moment.

Our shows have limited seating and sell out almost immediately. Join our mailing list, and then get your tickets as soon as you receive the email!

Or you can also get special access to tickets by donating here:

The Performers

The Music

Master of Ceremonies

Kim David Smith

The Company of Singers

Aaron Reeder
Ariadne Greif
Amara Granderson
Luke Elmer
Melina Jaharis

Shadow Puppetry

Foreshadow Puppetry

Burlesque

Pearls Daily

Dance & Choreography

Liana Zhen-ai
Dylan Contreras
Calvin Hitchcock (dramaturgy)

The Band

The Grand Street Stompers

Gordon Au - trumpet
Matt Koza - soprano sax, clarinet
Jay Rattman - tenor sax, clarinet
Matt Musselman - trombone
Rob Hecht - violin
Jon Weber - piano
Nick Russo - guitar, banjo
Rob Adkins - upright bass
Andrew Millar - drum set
Arrangements: Gordon Au, Matt Musselman

The Creative Team

Created, Written, and Directed by Andrew Ousley
Lighting Abigail Hoke-Brady
Costumes Everyday Fay and New York Vintage
Set Design Claire Caverly
Production & Stage Management Alexa Rosenberg

About Kim David Smith

Described by BroadwayWorld as the "David Bowie of cabaret," "slyly subversive" by The Wall Street Journal, and labeled the "male Marlene Dietrich" by The New York Times, KIM DAVID SMITH is a Helpmann Award nominated singer and cabaret performer, known for his Weimar-era inspired works juxtaposing authentic musical material with stylistic takes on current popular tunes. His debut live album, “Kim David Smith Live at Joe’s Pub,” was released in July 2020 (for which he received a 2022 Bistro Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Recording”). His cabaret programmes, “Mostly Marlene, “A Wery Weimar Christmas,” “Morphium Kabarett” and “Kim Sings Kylie” have performed regularly in New York City at Café Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie, Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre, Club Cumming, and Pangea. In his native Australia, Smith has been presented at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, the inaugural Sydney Cabaret Festival, The Festival of Voices, The Brisbane Cabaret Festival, The Ballarat Cabaret Festival, Chapel Off Chapel, the National Gallery of Victoria, and Smith’s cabaret birthplace, Melbourne’s Butterfly Club. 2009 saw Smith presented with the Bistro Award for Special Achievement (honored alongside Liza Minnelli and Charles Aznavour). He was also nominated for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, and 2022 Manhattan Association of Cabaret (MAC) Awards in the Outstanding Male Vocalist category, and received the 2023 Singnasium Trailblazer award in recognition of his devotion to the Weimar Kabarett catalogue, and the art form of Cabaret in general. Smith is a recipient of the American Australian Association’s Dame Joan Sutherland Award for aspiring artists (2008), and is a member of the Kabarett Kollektif, a troupe of New York-based artists dedicated to preserving the European cabaret tradition. Mr. Smith studied at the Ballarat Arts Academy in Australia (BA, Music Theatre). Kim's "More Mostly Marlene" will be presented at Joe's Pub, Tuesday, February 6th, to be recorded and released as his second live album.

About Andrew Ousley

Andrew Ousley is a director, producer, impresario and entrepreneur who is committed to creating a better story around Classical Music. His work has been hailed as "transcendent" (Billboard), "emotionally-charged" (Forbes), and "numinous and genre-bending" (The New Yorker), while media have described Ousley himself as everything from a  "bleakly-winking impresario" (The New York Times), to an "evil genius" (Concerto Net), to "crazy-ass and cockeyed, as all great visionaries must be" (The Observer). He was awarded the prestigious Classical:Next "Innovation" Award in 2022, was selected as one of Musical America's Top 30 Professionals of the year, and was awarded an American Prize for Marketing. Andrew has been profiled by The New York Times, CBS Sunday Morning, Forbes, New York 1 News, Fox 5 News, The Week, Creator Magazine, and more. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their glorious cat Gizmo. In his non-existent free time, he also runs Burger Club, and his photographs have been published in the Associated Press, Newsweek, New York Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer and more. He was also once featured in a Pepsi ad campaign...

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The Artists

The Program

INTRO

Vivaldi: La Folia  
Time Warp (from Rocky Horror Picture Show)  

WEIMAR BERLIN

Marlene Dietrich: Ich bin die fesche Lola
Brecht & Weill: Pirate Jenny
Marlene Dietrich: Ruins of Berlin

WORLD WAR I

Vikki Carr: The Silencers
Eric Bogle: And the Band played Waltzing Matilda  

AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Brecht & Weill: Alabama Song
John Dickinson: The Liberty Song
Abel Meeropol: Strange Fruit

PROTESTANT REFORMATION

William Byrd: Mass for 4 Voices - Agnus Dei

SALEM WITCH TRIALS

Cy Coleman/Frank Sinatra: Witchcraft
Verdi: Azucena’s Song ("Stride la vampa" from Il Trovatore)

FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Kurt Weill: The Death of Caesar  
Monteverdi: Pur Ti Miro
Renato Rascel: Arrivederce Roma

33 AD

Eden Ahbez: Nature Boy
Were You There (Traditional Spiritual)
Dinah Washington/Max Richter: This Bitter Earth/On the Nature of Daylight

FINALE

Kurt Weill: Lost in the Stars
Kylie Minogue: All the Lovers