Theodore Isidore Gottlieb, mostly known as Brother Theodore, was a German-born American actor and comedian known for rambling, stream-of-consciousness monologues which he called "stand-up tragedy". His style is similar to Diseuse or Kabarett, which was popular in Western Germany during the 1920s and 30s's. He was described as "Boris Karloff, surrealist Salvador Dalí, Nijinsky and Red Skelton…simultaneously".

Kabarett is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the cabaret artistique. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. It later inspired creation of Kabarett venues in Germany from 1901, with the creation of Berlin's Überbrettl venue and in Austria with the creation of the Jung-Wiener Theater zum lieben Augustin housed in the Theater an der Wien. By the Weimar era in the mid-1920s it was characterized by political satire and gallows humor. It shared the characteristic atmosphere of intimacy with the French cabaret from which it was imported, but the gallows humor was a distinct German aspect.