In front of the Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub in Cambridge Feb. 13 a line of people awaited the opening of “The Poetry Brothel: Lupercalia” — an intimate night of burlesque, mysticism and of course, poetry.

It’s called The Poetry Brothel, but it’s not quite what you think. For the first time, the New York-based organization visited Cambridge Friday at the OBERON stage at The American Repertory Theater...