Morphium Kabarett

 "There’s no one else around these days offering the kind of cabaret that he does so compellingly. Well, maybe Ute Lemper, but that’s it. Smith needs to be seen, and now.” — David Finkle, The Village Voice, NYC

Australian Kim David Smith conjures the glitter, doom, and decadence of 1920’s Berlin with his signature, celebrated cabaret program, “Morphium Kabarett.”

In Smith's piano-based cabaret, the eerie, romantic strains of Mischa Spoliansky’s Morphium Walse precedes an intimate evening of German, French and English repertoire, subtly intertwining Friedrich Hollaender, Kurt Weill, Marlene Dietrich and Edith Piaf, with The Supremes, Kylie Minogue, Madonna and many unexpected others, in a neo-Weimar cabaret fantasia. 

Morphium Kabarett's six-month 2016 residency at Pangea celebrated the whimsy and wickedness of New York City's alt-cabaret scene, with a curated parade of guest-artists, including Joey Arias, Erin Markey, KT Sullivan, opera's Anthony Roth Costanzo, Gay Marshall, Molly Pope, Ali McGregor, and innumerable others. Musically directed by Tracy Stark (“Superb, virtuosic pianist” - New York Post), Morphium Kabarett has garnered enthusiastic praise from The New York Times.

Nominated for a coveted 2015 Helpmann Award for Best Cabaret Performer, Mr. Smith has toured Morphium Kabarett throughout Australia, and performed at New York City's Joe's Pub at the Public Theatre, the Metropolitan Museum, and Café Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie. 

Described by Broadway World 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 that juxtapose authentic musical material with stylistic takes on current popular tunes. His electro-pop albums Nova, Supernova, and cabaret EP, The Tease, are available on iTunes.

Smith enjoyed a 2017 residency at the Provincetown Theatre playing the title role of “Salomé” in Oscar Wilde’s controversial classic, and 2016 saw Kim portray the Emcee in Hunter Foster's production of "Cabaret" at the Cape Playhouse, earning praise for his depiction:

“Boyishly handsome, Smith’s got the perfect voice and androgynous vibe to make him a memorable Emcee. When he appears bare chested in a tuxedo jacket, his muscular legs protruding from shorts, Smith suggests a cross between Marlene Dietrich and David Bowie.” — Loren King, The Boston Globe

His cabaret programmes, Morphium Kabarett, Stargazing (directed by Michael Rader), and Nova Noir have performed regularly in New York City at Café Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie, Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre, Pangea, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, and Bard Spiegeltent at Bard College, while also touring Australia; presented at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, The Festival of Voices, The Brisbane Cabaret Festival, Slide Cabaret Festival, The Ballarat Cabaret Festival, Chapel Off Chapel, the National Gallery of Victoria, and Smith’s cabaret birthplace, the Butterfly Club. 2009 saw Smith presented with the Back Stage Magazine Bistro Award for Special Achievement as an Outstanding Performer (honoured alongside Liza Minnelli and Charles Aznavour).  He was also nominated for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 Manhattan Association of Cabaret (MAC) Awards in the Outstanding Male Vocalist category.  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 music theatre at the Ballarat Arts Academy in Australia (BA, Music Theatre), and resides in New York City. 

For more information about backline, etc. for Morphium Kabarett, please don't hesitate to contact Jeremy Katz at The Katz Company (jk@thekatzcompany.com).

“Smith is a living artwork with a sculpted body and the haughty attitude of a beautiful young man (he’s in his early 30s) acutely aware of his value as a love object. In his playfulness, Mr. Smith is a descendant of his fellow Australian, Peter Allen. He could be described as a younger generation’s “Boy From Oz.”"

Stephen Holden, The New York Times