Hungry Hearts Cabaret & Love Advice Show Celebrates 12 years!
Hungry Hearts Cabaret & Love Advice Show started as a dream and has grown into a professional production over the last 12 years.
What started as a gritty, rag-tag bar show has grown into an annual Valentines Day tradition for many Flagstaff residents and visitors. Join us in a walk down memory lane from origin to present; and see some scenes from over the years in celebration of the Hungry Hearts Cabaret Dirty Dozen anniversary.
Artists perform acro balance on stage at The Green Room in 2015, a Flagstaff bar and venue that is now Yucca North.
The creator of Hungry Hearts Cabaret & Love Advice Show (HHC), Joanie Garcia (co-owner of Momentum Aerial) began dreaming of a Valentine’s Day Cabaret years before she launched her inaugural production of Hungry Hearts Cabaret & Love Advice Show. What started as a dream to do a one-night-show has turned into an annual production that over 50 local Flagstaff artists have performed in, and hundreds of audience members have seen.
The production has grown and changed over the years. For many of its earlier years, the weekend of festivities included a flash mob in collaboration with 1 Billion Rising, to end violence against women and girls. HHC has always been a show centered around freedom of expression. Do you remember this?
One Billion Rising Photo Credit: G’s Photos
Hungry Hearts Cabaret took a step up in 2019 when it moved to the Orpheum Theatre for its production one year. Being on a larger stage with better sight lines and a larger capacity helped the show as it was leveling up in its professionalism and artistic caliber. Once the production moved to a larger stage, Grant had her sights set on continuing to build capacity for the production.
In 2019, Hungry Hearts Cabaret began its partnership with SUN Entertainment at NAU. Moving the production to Prochnow Auditorium on NAU’s campus was an absolute game changer. Working with SUN Entertainment meant that NAU students could attend the show free of charge, opening up possibilities for more engagement with college age students. This is still true to this day.
Scenes from HHC in some of its first years at NAU’s Prochnow Auditorium include acrobats Glenn Farley and Inga Young performing an adagio duet, actor Chelsea Karnes performing live performance art, aerialists and Momentum Aerial Instructor Laurel Combs performs a toe hang from a lyra, and the Hungry Hearts Cabaret Love Advice Show featured Dr. Richard Skeen, NAU professor of Sociology who passed in 2024.
“Shows like Hungry Hearts Cabaret aren’t just a one day performance, but a community of people who have created together. It builds trust, artistry and connection, and that’s what I love about it” -Joanie Grant, Founder of Hungry Hearts Cabaret said in an interview.
In recent years, the show has ambitiously expanded to include many professional level performers from around the country. Among the list of notable artists who have performed at the cabaret include professional aerialists Brandon Scott (Le Petit Cirque) and Aaron Koz, as well as former Cirque du Soliel burlesque dancer Agnes Roux. Performers from as far as the New England Center for Circus Arts (Layton Hahs) have graced the stage to perform alongside professional level Arizona -based performers. In 2024, the show brought on Flagstaff based dancer and Momentum Aerial instructor, Elisa Reed, as its artistic director. The show has grown leaps and bounds under her artistic eye.
Hungry Hearts Cabaret Artistic Director, Elisa Reed (2024-Present) performs a lyra duet with Laurel Combs in 2024.
This year, HHC wanted to focus on the incredible talent we have statewide and locally in Flagstaff. This year’s show features some of the productions original cast members and performers who have been performing in the show since its beginning, such as local aerialists and Momentum Aerial Instructors Beth Blake, Heather Elliott and Laurel Combs doing a variety of acts. The show will also feature an aerial duet by Phoenix -based dancer Zephyr Tuipulotu and his aerial partner Justin Brown. If you missed these timeless performances, HHC 2026 is the perfect opportunity to see these wonders! Happy 12 years, Hungry Hearts Cabaret!