Witchfest at the Historic Alhecama Theatre

by Robert F Adams

A ghoulish spectacular was held at the historic Alhecama Theatre on Saturday, November 1. Organized by Teresa Kuskey and Rick Oshay, the event, La Boheme Presents: A Happy Halloween Dead Dance and Cabaret Show, welcomed spooked visitors to the front courtyard to mingle among costumed guests. The witchy crowd was able to pose in their outlandish costumes for photos by event photographer Veronica Slavin and sample the delights served by Big Joe’s Tacos and sip wines from the Brander Vineyard.

Once inside the gothically decorated theater, the frightening variety show launched an eerie spectacular series of set pieces. Teresa Kuskey, outfitted as the Addams Family’s Morticia was surrounded by Master of Ceremonies John Palminteri and other performers filling out the family’s scary ranks including Gomez, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Wednesday, and even Cousin It, portrayed by a bewigged Maitland Ward. The costumed audience was delighted with stage antics and performances by Tiffany Story playing Frau Blücher from the Young Frankenstein musical, BellaDonna doing a lip-sync version of a Day of the Dead tune with a skeleton backdrop, the baritone Byron Mayes singing an exquisite rendition of “Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera, a salsa dance from the trio of the Laura Garcia Dance Studio, a dance duet from Cyndi Chilcott and Ruslan Maliev, and a solo dance from Miss World Belly Dancer herself, Nilay Engin, among other special performances.

In between the key moments, the rapt goblins in the audience were spellbound with witch broom dances, a chorus line of lookalike Wednesdays, bewigged interludes, and a costume contest, with David Pintard winning as the raucous elf Buddy, who had a remarkable resemblance to Will Ferrell. Other shenanigans included music by DJ Joey, a post-show set from the Cover Alls Band and the amazing projections from tech wizard Jeremy Cable. A nightmare to remember, this show was remarkable in a wide display of devilish originality to wrap up the Halloween season in Santa Barbara.