La-Ti-Do, as the series is known, moves Monday from the soon-to-shutter Black Fox Lounge to James Hoban’s Irish Restaurant and Bar. The change comes three years after actor Don Michael Mendoza and spoken-word impresario Regie Cabico founded La-Ti-Do and steadily built an ardent following that appreciates both show tunes and slam poetry. While both are proud Asian American artists — and joke about La-Ti-Do being a Filipino venture — there really isn’t comparable cabaret in town.
“We do make sure that people who perform are experienced and have a good handle on what they are going to present to the room. It’s not an open mike.” Mendoza said. Mendoza and Cabico are seeking official partners in 2015. They’ll start by hosting Keegan Theatre, the Dupont Circle troupe that closed its Church Street NW space for a major renovation this season. Each Monday in January, La-Ti-Do will feature Keegan veterans singing around the piano or spinning Irish yarns, and a portion of the $15 cover charges will be donated to the theater’s capital campaign. While the eclectic company maintains ties to dramatists of Ireland, it is also stages a musical every summer and tends to hire the best young non-Equity singers around. Monday’s crowd will be serenaded by a trio calling themselves the Andrew Keegan Sisters, and members of the “Hair” cast will reunite Jan. 29.
