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* TheTeam: The four cabaret members, although their roles shift throughout the album. At the start:
** TheFace: Helen, being as she's the cabaret ring-leader and tries to stop the other's disagreements.
** ButtMonkey: Henry seemed to fit this role, with the other characters immediately changing their behavior to humor him and generally viewing him as more pathetic (this seemed to be more Helen's opinion then Han-Mi or Hank's, though)
** TokenGoodTeammate: Hank, being as he seemed to purely the noble, brave character he was in the performance, since he was unable to separate his character from himself as a person. [[spoiler: This turns out to be because he is an AI, and therefore experiences little human emotion.]]
** TokenEvilTeammate: Han-Mi, their PunchClockVillain best friend.
By the end of the album, though, their roles have switched and they have a better team dynamic.
** TheLeader: Helen, considering she's always been their ring-leader and seems more dedicated to keeping the team together.
** TheLancer: Han-Mi, doubling as a LonerTurnedFriend.
** TheSmartGuy: Henry, but it's an InformedAbility as his intelligence is never demonstrated.
** TheBigGuy: Hank, being the most openly skilled in battle and considering his past role as TheSheriff.
** TheFace: Helen, being as she's the cabaret ring-leader and tries to stop the other's disagreements.
** ButtMonkey: Henry seemed to fit this role, with the other characters immediately changing their behavior to humor him and generally viewing him as more pathetic (this seemed to be more Helen's opinion then Han-Mi or Hank's, though)
** TokenGoodTeammate: Hank, being as he seemed to purely the noble, brave character he was in the performance, since he was unable to separate his character from himself as a person. [[spoiler: This turns out to be because he is an AI, and therefore experiences little human emotion.]]
** TokenEvilTeammate: Han-Mi, their PunchClockVillain best friend.
By the end of the album, though, their roles have switched and they have a better team dynamic.
** TheLeader: Helen, considering she's always been their ring-leader and seems more dedicated to keeping the team together.
** TheLancer: Han-Mi, doubling as a LonerTurnedFriend.
** TheSmartGuy: Henry, but it's an InformedAbility as his intelligence is never demonstrated.
** TheBigGuy: Hank, being the most openly skilled in battle and considering his past role as TheSheriff.
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* WeirdWest: It's right there in the title. There are werewolf tribes, alchemists, and demon-spewing hellmouths, for starters.
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* CastFullOfGay: Hank is the token straight in the Cabaret cast. Han Mi is explicitly shown to be bi, Helen as having had a past relationship with a woman, and Henry is shown to be gay in his titular song.
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* FakeMemories: For the cabaret. Played straight with Henry and Hank, and possibility for Helen. Han-Mi is saved due to having no memories at all.
to:
* FakeMemories: For the cabaret. Played straight with Helen and Henry and Hank, and possibility for Helen.were both given false backstories designed to play off of their most deeply rooted traumas so that they would keep the show going. Hank's were invented out of whole cloth [[spoiler:as he is actually an AI set to monitor them who ended up BecomingTheMask]]. Han-Mi is saved due to having no memories at all.
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--> '''Helen''': But don't tell her I said that, or we'll never get to her to keep on script again.
to:
--> '''Helen''': But don't Don't tell her Han I said that, or we'll 'cause she'll never get to her to keep on follow script again.
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* CantHaveSexEver: Henry, technically. His alter ego Hurl has ''lots'' of sex when he comes out, but Henry is never a conscious participant.
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* JekyllAndHyde: Henry has an alter ego of pure id called Hurl that comes out whenever Henry gets sexually aroused.
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* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Helen privately admits to Hank that Han-Mi's idea about flying zombie babies is actually pretty awesome.
--> '''Helen''': But don't tell her I said that, or we'll never get to her to keep on script again.
--> '''Helen''': But don't tell her I said that, or we'll never get to her to keep on script again.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Hank and Helen both have one, but Helen's is worse as it may be real [[spoiler: while Hank's was part of his fake memories which he believes to be true]]
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* DarkAndTroubledPast: Hank and Helen both have one, but Helen's is worse as it may be real [[spoiler: while Hank's was part of his fake memories which he believes to be true]]
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* DarkAndTroubledPast: Hank and Helen both have one, but Helen's is worse as it may be real DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler: while Hank's was part Despite Hank being TheHero of his fake memories which he believes to be true]]their cabaret and Helen being the narrator for whom the show is named, Han-Mi is the real protagonist of the trilogy. It starts here when she is the one who first notices that she doesn't remember anything outside the cabaret.]]
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** This is also Hank's role in the show. His backstory is that he fell in love with a werewolf girl when he was young, who died helping him fight a gang of bandits only to discover after killing their leader that said bandit leader was his father.
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* VillainessesWantHeroes: Most of the ShowWithinAShow performances seem to end with the Queen of Crime kidnapping The Sheriff for this exact reason.
* VillainProtagonist: Sort of. Han-Mi is the main character, and she has the role of the villain in the cabaret's shows, but the point of the album is that ONLY the character she portrays is the villain, and she herself is a good-hearted person trying to do the right thing.
* VillainProtagonist: Sort of. Han-Mi is the main character, and she has the role of the villain in the cabaret's shows, but the point of the album is that ONLY the character she portrays is the villain, and she herself is a good-hearted person trying to do the right thing.
to:
* VillainessesWantHeroes: Most of the ShowWithinAShow performances seem to end with the Queen of Crime kidnapping The Sheriff for this exact reason.
reason. [[spoiler:This is later revealed to be an echo of her relationship with Helen when they were Gabriella Gadfly(Helen) and the villainous Jade(Han-Mi).]]
* VillainProtagonist: Sort of. Han-Mi is the main character, and she has the role of the villain in the cabaret's shows, but the point of the album is that ONLY the character she portrays is the villain, and she herself is a good-hearted person trying to do the right thing.
* VillainProtagonist: Sort of. Han-Mi is the main character, and she has the role of the villain in the cabaret's shows, but the point of the album is that ONLY the character she portrays is the villain, and she herself is a good-hearted person trying to do the right thing.
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And in Hank's version:
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** And in Hank's version:
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Miss Helen's Weird West Cabaret is an hour-long 2016 ConceptAlbum by Paul Shapera, and the first in The Ballad Of Lost Hollow trilogy.
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Miss Helen's Weird West Cabaret is an hour-long 2016 ConceptAlbum by Paul Shapera, Music/PaulShapera, and the first in The Ballad Of Lost Hollow trilogy.
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Miss Helen's Weird West Cabaret is an hour-long 2016 ConceptAlbum by Paul Shapera, and the first in The Ballad Of Lost Hollow trilogy.
A {{Parody}} on those [[TheWestern western films]] and also a (PlayedWith) ShowWithinAShow, it takes place in a saloon in the fictional town of [[AdventureTown Lost Hollow]], where [[TheFantasticTropeOfWonderousTitles Miss Helen's Once Pace From Disgraced Cabaret]] preforms shows with a MissKitty narrator that feature a BrainsAndBrawn duo of [[TheSheriff a sheriff]] and [[TheSmartGuy his alchemist deputy]] as they try to stop [[DragonLady the 'dragon lady' villainess]] from her schemes to destroy Lost Hollow.
''However'', outside of the show, [[OnlySaneMan Han-Mi]], who portrays the villainess, is not pleased with her role or the cabaret's shows, and frequently tries to change them and make them higher quality, much to the displeasure of the cabaret's narrator, Helen. But trouble starts when the cabaret members realize they can't remember what life is like off-stage, and eventually realize that the cabaret is basically a simulation.
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!!Tropes:
* AdventureTown: Lost Hollow seems to be this.
* AffectionateNickname: The other cabaret members, namely Helen, calling Han-Mi 'Han'
* AlliterativeName: '''H'''elen, '''H'''an-Mi, '''H'''ank, and '''H'''enry. See MeaningfulName
* AllKnowingSingingNarrator: Helen's cabaret character. She also narrates certain sections of the album, although very little.
* BigSisterInstinct: It's never said whose older, but Helen has this for Shira, her long-lost sister.
** She seems to have this for Han-Mi, her HeteroSexualLifePartner, as well.
* BrainsAndBrawn: Henry's the brains to Hank's brawn.
* BrilliantButLazy: Han-Mi shows traits of being this. The only part that subverts it is that she's a StepfordSnarker so most of her laziness seems to be part of an act.
* CannotTellFictionFromReality: With the exception of Han-Mi, the whole cabaret is a victim to this.
* CircusOfFear: Carnival of fear. Apparently, one lurks around Lost Hollow kidnapping people at sanity's break. It took Helen's mother and sister, which is why she started the cabaret in the first place and refuses to end it. Now, [[spoiler: Han-Mi is starting to think she belongs there]]
* {{Cliffhanger}}: It's resolved in Lost Hollow Act 2, though.
* TheCynic: Han-Mi, but it's justified.
* DeadpanSnarker: Han-Mi.
-->'''Han-Mi:''' Ah yes, the tired dragon lady trope again. Come see Han-Mi, the lazy, racist caricature from a small-minded, ignorant ass hat of a writer.'''
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Hank and Helen both have one, but Helen's is worse as it may be real [[spoiler: while Hank's was part of his fake memories which he believes to be true]]
* DragonLady: Han-Mi's role in the cabaret shows, much to her annoyance.
* ElevenOClockNumber: "The Beginning Of The End" is a classic example of this trope.
* EvilGenius: She's not evil, but Han-Mi is a PunchClockVillain genius
* FakeMemories: For the cabaret. Played straight with Henry and Hank, and possibility for Helen. Han-Mi is saved due to having no memories at all.
* FreudianTrio: Helen is TheMcCoy to Han-Mi's [[TheSpock Spock]] and Henry and Hank's [[TheKirk Kirk]]
* FriendshipSong: Arguably all the songs where Helen and Han-Mi are singing are this; there's other stuff going on but it's really more focused on their friendship.
* GoodAllAlong: Han-Mi. Being evil is part of her role in the show but not herself as a person, despite her not remembering life off-stage.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Han-Mi lives by this, and Helen believes the opposite.
* HeartbrokenBadass: Han-Mi for most of the album, being as she loves Hank and he thinks she's pure evil. [[StepfordSnarker She hides it well, though.]]
* IdentityAmnesia: The whole cabaret. Henry and Hank both have fake memories, Helen has memories that may or may not be fake, and poor Han-Mi remembers nothing at all.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Han-Mi truly isn't evil, just lonely.
* InformedAbility: Henry's intelligence. While he has the role of TheSmartGuy in the cabaret shows, his true intelligence is never demonstrated.
* InSeriesNickname: The gang calls Han-Mi "Han".
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Depending on how you see it, Han-Mi could count as this.
* TheLancer: Han-Mi, to Helen's [[TheLeader Leader.]]
* LongLostRelative: Helen's sister Shira
* LyricalDissonance: The peppy melody for the song 'Han-Mi' is very ironic considering that it's a borderline HeroicBSOD. The reason for this is that the idea is that [[FourthWallObserver Han-Mi]] was supposed to be singing a Villain Song but changed the theme.
* LyricSwap: In 'Finale', their are several lyrics swaps from earlier songs in the album.
** Most notably, Hank sings Han-Mi's lyrics from her song of the same name, but not quite. In Han-Mi's version:
-->'''Han-Mi:''' How do I make it stop? Just make it halt. I think my mind's not well. Is it all my fault?
And in Hank's version:
--> '''Hank:''' Just make it stop, just make it halt. I think my mind's not well.
--> '''Han-Mi:''' Hank, it's not your fault.
* MeaningfulName: WordOfGod says the reason all the cabaret members names begin with 'h' is because 'h' is the eighth letter in the alphabet and a sideways eight makes the infinity symbol, to emphasize how the cast is forced to just do the cabaret shows again and again and are never able to stop.
* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: Han-Mi, who has the role of the 'Queen of Crime' in the cabaret shows, is considered a villain by Hank even though she's just a normal person because he, like Henry, believes the performances are real life.
* NotQuiteTheRightThing: Helen did believe keeping the cabaret running was the right thing to do, although she was incorrect.
* OnlySaneMan: Han-Mi is usually a step ahead of the rest of the cast, being the only one to notice she has no memories off-stage, and to realise that the play may not be real at all.
* OpeningMonologue: Helen gives one at the beginning of the album
* PoliticallyCorrectVillain: Han-Mi is a politically correct PunchClockVillain, who frequently tries to improve the politics of the shows' performances.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: PlayedWith. Helen herself isn't politically incorrect, but the nature of the cabaret shows most certainly are, and she has no interest in changing this.
* PunchClockVillain: Han-Mi is only evil during the cabaret's performances. In reality, she's a nice (albeit cynical), woman who is actually friends with the protagonists.
* RedOniBlueOni: Helen's the blue to Han-Mi's red.
* RudeHeroNiceSidekick: Averted. Han-Mi is the much snarkier [[TheLancer lancer]] to Helen's [[TheLeader leader]]. Best described by, where Helen's a StepfordSmiler, Han-Mi's a StepfordSnarker. See StraightManAndWiseGuy.
* SanitySlippage: According to Helen's memories, which may or may not be accurate, her mother started hearing carnival music and preceded to go insane and disappear, and a few years later the same thing happened to Helen's sister. Now, it's happening to Han-Mi, much to Helen's horror.
* TheSheriff: Hank's cabaret character.
* ShowWithinAShow: A very PlayedWith example. While it technically takes place during one of the cabaret's shows, the four characters do so much messing with the plot that its really more about them themselves--very little actually takes place as part of the show.
* SuddenMusicalEnding: More of a {{Cliffhanger}} ending, but it still applies.
* SurroundedByIdiots: Not idiots, but Han-Mi is surrounded by people who think the cabaret is real
* StepfordSnarker: Han-Mi gives snarky comments and purposefully acts shallow and bratty in order to hide how miserable she is due to being trapped in the cabaret with no memories of the outside world. Doubles as a StepfordSmiler.
* StepfordSmiler: Both Han-Mi and Helen. Han-Mi acting snarky and mischievous to hide her fear of having no memories, and Helen smiles and pretends to love the cabaret when secretly she's only trying to hide from the carnival.
* StraightManAndWiseGuy: They are both female, but Helen's the Straight Man to Han-Mi's Wise Guy.
** Also, Han-Mi is the Wise Guy to Hank's Straight Man once they become a couple
* TheTeam: The four cabaret members, although their roles shift throughout the album. At the start:
** TheFace: Helen, being as she's the cabaret ring-leader and tries to stop the other's disagreements.
** ButtMonkey: Henry seemed to fit this role, with the other characters immediately changing their behavior to humor him and generally viewing him as more pathetic (this seemed to be more Helen's opinion then Han-Mi or Hank's, though)
** TokenGoodTeammate: Hank, being as he seemed to purely the noble, brave character he was in the performance, since he was unable to separate his character from himself as a person. [[spoiler: This turns out to be because he is an AI, and therefore experiences little human emotion.]]
** TokenEvilTeammate: Han-Mi, their PunchClockVillain best friend.
By the end of the album, though, their roles have switched and they have a better team dynamic.
** TheLeader: Helen, considering she's always been their ring-leader and seems more dedicated to keeping the team together.
** TheLancer: Han-Mi, doubling as a LonerTurnedFriend.
** TheSmartGuy: Henry, but it's an InformedAbility as his intelligence is never demonstrated.
** TheBigGuy: Hank, being the most openly skilled in battle and considering his past role as TheSheriff.
* TrappedInTVLand: Trapped in cabaret land.
* TrueCompanions: The cabaret members by the end. Not so much in the beginning, though, except for Helen and Han-Mi.
* UnfortunateImplications: Han-Mi pointing these out (starting with her own role as the evil Asian DragonLady) is a RunningGag.
* VillainessesWantHeroes: Most of the ShowWithinAShow performances seem to end with the Queen of Crime kidnapping The Sheriff for this exact reason.
* VillainProtagonist: Sort of. Han-Mi is the main character, and she has the role of the villain in the cabaret's shows, but the point of the album is that ONLY the character she portrays is the villain, and she herself is a good-hearted person trying to do the right thing.
* VillainSong: InUniverse, Han-Mi's song 'Han-Mi' was supposed to be this, only she changed it so it's more of a GriefSong bordering on a HeroicBSOD.
* TheVoice: At the end of the album.
* WackyGuy: Han-Mi is a strange example since she doubles as the OnlySaneMan, but she is the first to come up with crazy ideas
* WelcomingSong: InUniverse. The first song in the album is Helen welcoming the audience to the cabaret.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Not as much as some other examples of this trope, but Helen shows traits of this.
-->'''Helen:''' I don't like it when I don't know what to do!
* TheWestern: The whole album is a spoof on these
* WhatTheHellHero: Han-Mi's reaction to Helen on a regular basis.
* WorldGoneMad: How Han-Mi feels, and how the whole cabaret feels at the end.
* YouAreNotAlone: Helen proves this to Han-Mi by stopping the cabaret in order to save her.
* YouLeaveHimAlone: Helen threatens the voiceover with this at the end of the album.
-->'''Helen:''' ''If you want my cast,then understand''
--> ''You'll pry them from my cold dead hands''
A {{Parody}} on those [[TheWestern western films]] and also a (PlayedWith) ShowWithinAShow, it takes place in a saloon in the fictional town of [[AdventureTown Lost Hollow]], where [[TheFantasticTropeOfWonderousTitles Miss Helen's Once Pace From Disgraced Cabaret]] preforms shows with a MissKitty narrator that feature a BrainsAndBrawn duo of [[TheSheriff a sheriff]] and [[TheSmartGuy his alchemist deputy]] as they try to stop [[DragonLady the 'dragon lady' villainess]] from her schemes to destroy Lost Hollow.
''However'', outside of the show, [[OnlySaneMan Han-Mi]], who portrays the villainess, is not pleased with her role or the cabaret's shows, and frequently tries to change them and make them higher quality, much to the displeasure of the cabaret's narrator, Helen. But trouble starts when the cabaret members realize they can't remember what life is like off-stage, and eventually realize that the cabaret is basically a simulation.
------
!!Tropes:
* AdventureTown: Lost Hollow seems to be this.
* AffectionateNickname: The other cabaret members, namely Helen, calling Han-Mi 'Han'
* AlliterativeName: '''H'''elen, '''H'''an-Mi, '''H'''ank, and '''H'''enry. See MeaningfulName
* AllKnowingSingingNarrator: Helen's cabaret character. She also narrates certain sections of the album, although very little.
* BigSisterInstinct: It's never said whose older, but Helen has this for Shira, her long-lost sister.
** She seems to have this for Han-Mi, her HeteroSexualLifePartner, as well.
* BrainsAndBrawn: Henry's the brains to Hank's brawn.
* BrilliantButLazy: Han-Mi shows traits of being this. The only part that subverts it is that she's a StepfordSnarker so most of her laziness seems to be part of an act.
* CannotTellFictionFromReality: With the exception of Han-Mi, the whole cabaret is a victim to this.
* CircusOfFear: Carnival of fear. Apparently, one lurks around Lost Hollow kidnapping people at sanity's break. It took Helen's mother and sister, which is why she started the cabaret in the first place and refuses to end it. Now, [[spoiler: Han-Mi is starting to think she belongs there]]
* {{Cliffhanger}}: It's resolved in Lost Hollow Act 2, though.
* TheCynic: Han-Mi, but it's justified.
* DeadpanSnarker: Han-Mi.
-->'''Han-Mi:''' Ah yes, the tired dragon lady trope again. Come see Han-Mi, the lazy, racist caricature from a small-minded, ignorant ass hat of a writer.'''
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Hank and Helen both have one, but Helen's is worse as it may be real [[spoiler: while Hank's was part of his fake memories which he believes to be true]]
* DragonLady: Han-Mi's role in the cabaret shows, much to her annoyance.
* ElevenOClockNumber: "The Beginning Of The End" is a classic example of this trope.
* EvilGenius: She's not evil, but Han-Mi is a PunchClockVillain genius
* FakeMemories: For the cabaret. Played straight with Henry and Hank, and possibility for Helen. Han-Mi is saved due to having no memories at all.
* FreudianTrio: Helen is TheMcCoy to Han-Mi's [[TheSpock Spock]] and Henry and Hank's [[TheKirk Kirk]]
* FriendshipSong: Arguably all the songs where Helen and Han-Mi are singing are this; there's other stuff going on but it's really more focused on their friendship.
* GoodAllAlong: Han-Mi. Being evil is part of her role in the show but not herself as a person, despite her not remembering life off-stage.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Han-Mi lives by this, and Helen believes the opposite.
* HeartbrokenBadass: Han-Mi for most of the album, being as she loves Hank and he thinks she's pure evil. [[StepfordSnarker She hides it well, though.]]
* IdentityAmnesia: The whole cabaret. Henry and Hank both have fake memories, Helen has memories that may or may not be fake, and poor Han-Mi remembers nothing at all.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Han-Mi truly isn't evil, just lonely.
* InformedAbility: Henry's intelligence. While he has the role of TheSmartGuy in the cabaret shows, his true intelligence is never demonstrated.
* InSeriesNickname: The gang calls Han-Mi "Han".
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Depending on how you see it, Han-Mi could count as this.
* TheLancer: Han-Mi, to Helen's [[TheLeader Leader.]]
* LongLostRelative: Helen's sister Shira
* LyricalDissonance: The peppy melody for the song 'Han-Mi' is very ironic considering that it's a borderline HeroicBSOD. The reason for this is that the idea is that [[FourthWallObserver Han-Mi]] was supposed to be singing a Villain Song but changed the theme.
* LyricSwap: In 'Finale', their are several lyrics swaps from earlier songs in the album.
** Most notably, Hank sings Han-Mi's lyrics from her song of the same name, but not quite. In Han-Mi's version:
-->'''Han-Mi:''' How do I make it stop? Just make it halt. I think my mind's not well. Is it all my fault?
And in Hank's version:
--> '''Hank:''' Just make it stop, just make it halt. I think my mind's not well.
--> '''Han-Mi:''' Hank, it's not your fault.
* MeaningfulName: WordOfGod says the reason all the cabaret members names begin with 'h' is because 'h' is the eighth letter in the alphabet and a sideways eight makes the infinity symbol, to emphasize how the cast is forced to just do the cabaret shows again and again and are never able to stop.
* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: Han-Mi, who has the role of the 'Queen of Crime' in the cabaret shows, is considered a villain by Hank even though she's just a normal person because he, like Henry, believes the performances are real life.
* NotQuiteTheRightThing: Helen did believe keeping the cabaret running was the right thing to do, although she was incorrect.
* OnlySaneMan: Han-Mi is usually a step ahead of the rest of the cast, being the only one to notice she has no memories off-stage, and to realise that the play may not be real at all.
* OpeningMonologue: Helen gives one at the beginning of the album
* PoliticallyCorrectVillain: Han-Mi is a politically correct PunchClockVillain, who frequently tries to improve the politics of the shows' performances.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: PlayedWith. Helen herself isn't politically incorrect, but the nature of the cabaret shows most certainly are, and she has no interest in changing this.
* PunchClockVillain: Han-Mi is only evil during the cabaret's performances. In reality, she's a nice (albeit cynical), woman who is actually friends with the protagonists.
* RedOniBlueOni: Helen's the blue to Han-Mi's red.
* RudeHeroNiceSidekick: Averted. Han-Mi is the much snarkier [[TheLancer lancer]] to Helen's [[TheLeader leader]]. Best described by, where Helen's a StepfordSmiler, Han-Mi's a StepfordSnarker. See StraightManAndWiseGuy.
* SanitySlippage: According to Helen's memories, which may or may not be accurate, her mother started hearing carnival music and preceded to go insane and disappear, and a few years later the same thing happened to Helen's sister. Now, it's happening to Han-Mi, much to Helen's horror.
* TheSheriff: Hank's cabaret character.
* ShowWithinAShow: A very PlayedWith example. While it technically takes place during one of the cabaret's shows, the four characters do so much messing with the plot that its really more about them themselves--very little actually takes place as part of the show.
* SuddenMusicalEnding: More of a {{Cliffhanger}} ending, but it still applies.
* SurroundedByIdiots: Not idiots, but Han-Mi is surrounded by people who think the cabaret is real
* StepfordSnarker: Han-Mi gives snarky comments and purposefully acts shallow and bratty in order to hide how miserable she is due to being trapped in the cabaret with no memories of the outside world. Doubles as a StepfordSmiler.
* StepfordSmiler: Both Han-Mi and Helen. Han-Mi acting snarky and mischievous to hide her fear of having no memories, and Helen smiles and pretends to love the cabaret when secretly she's only trying to hide from the carnival.
* StraightManAndWiseGuy: They are both female, but Helen's the Straight Man to Han-Mi's Wise Guy.
** Also, Han-Mi is the Wise Guy to Hank's Straight Man once they become a couple
* TheTeam: The four cabaret members, although their roles shift throughout the album. At the start:
** TheFace: Helen, being as she's the cabaret ring-leader and tries to stop the other's disagreements.
** ButtMonkey: Henry seemed to fit this role, with the other characters immediately changing their behavior to humor him and generally viewing him as more pathetic (this seemed to be more Helen's opinion then Han-Mi or Hank's, though)
** TokenGoodTeammate: Hank, being as he seemed to purely the noble, brave character he was in the performance, since he was unable to separate his character from himself as a person. [[spoiler: This turns out to be because he is an AI, and therefore experiences little human emotion.]]
** TokenEvilTeammate: Han-Mi, their PunchClockVillain best friend.
By the end of the album, though, their roles have switched and they have a better team dynamic.
** TheLeader: Helen, considering she's always been their ring-leader and seems more dedicated to keeping the team together.
** TheLancer: Han-Mi, doubling as a LonerTurnedFriend.
** TheSmartGuy: Henry, but it's an InformedAbility as his intelligence is never demonstrated.
** TheBigGuy: Hank, being the most openly skilled in battle and considering his past role as TheSheriff.
* TrappedInTVLand: Trapped in cabaret land.
* TrueCompanions: The cabaret members by the end. Not so much in the beginning, though, except for Helen and Han-Mi.
* UnfortunateImplications: Han-Mi pointing these out (starting with her own role as the evil Asian DragonLady) is a RunningGag.
* VillainessesWantHeroes: Most of the ShowWithinAShow performances seem to end with the Queen of Crime kidnapping The Sheriff for this exact reason.
* VillainProtagonist: Sort of. Han-Mi is the main character, and she has the role of the villain in the cabaret's shows, but the point of the album is that ONLY the character she portrays is the villain, and she herself is a good-hearted person trying to do the right thing.
* VillainSong: InUniverse, Han-Mi's song 'Han-Mi' was supposed to be this, only she changed it so it's more of a GriefSong bordering on a HeroicBSOD.
* TheVoice: At the end of the album.
* WackyGuy: Han-Mi is a strange example since she doubles as the OnlySaneMan, but she is the first to come up with crazy ideas
* WelcomingSong: InUniverse. The first song in the album is Helen welcoming the audience to the cabaret.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Not as much as some other examples of this trope, but Helen shows traits of this.
-->'''Helen:''' I don't like it when I don't know what to do!
* TheWestern: The whole album is a spoof on these
* WhatTheHellHero: Han-Mi's reaction to Helen on a regular basis.
* WorldGoneMad: How Han-Mi feels, and how the whole cabaret feels at the end.
* YouAreNotAlone: Helen proves this to Han-Mi by stopping the cabaret in order to save her.
* YouLeaveHimAlone: Helen threatens the voiceover with this at the end of the album.
-->'''Helen:''' ''If you want my cast,then understand''
--> ''You'll pry them from my cold dead hands''
