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Burlesque: Back in New York and Taking Off Throughout the Country
 It's still a bit of a secret to some New York theatre-goers, but burlesque dancing, as adapted for the 21st Century, has been making a steady comeback throughout the city. Not to be confused with strip clubs, today's burlesque is being performed fringe style in little theatres and club spaces several times a week. Mixed gender audiences, in a supportive atmosphere, enjoy the creativity and humor of strip-tease artists of all looks and body types.
For an insider's look at the burlesque resurgence, let's hear from Miss Dirty Martini, the reining Miss Exotic World 2004 who performs classic fan dances in the style of Sally Rand:
It always amazes me when people recognize the word burlesque as meaning something other than "Scores" or "Goldfingers" or the peep shows that used to be a fixture on Broadway. Now Broadway has declared that "Burlesque is Back". Fantastic! The more people hear the word, the more people are likely to see my shows or visit the Burlesque Museum, "Exotic World" in Helendale California run by the incomparable Dixie Evans, the Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque who gives tours and talks about what life was like for her in the 1950's when she performed burlesque in NYC. There are burlesque shows happening this and every Saturday night in New York City at the Slipper Room, The VaVavoom Room at Fez and Le Scandal at the Cutting Room. There are shows every Friday night at Coney Island and every Thursday night at Rififi. Not to mention the troupes all over the country who are in environments that aren't as live theater oriented such as Denver, Boston, Seattle, San Diego and Phoenix. The burlesque aesthetic has been explored by many performers in New York even when striptease star headliners were still touring at the end of the era. It has been co-opted by drag queens, rock stars, performance artists, and night club promoters. I even heard one of the celebrities on a rerun of Match Game '78 make a five minute detour on the show to make a joke about Sally Rand and her famous fans. Burlesque is a big part of popular culture. It's been under the radar for sometime, and now that my fellow burlesque performers and I have been featured in articles in The New York Times, Esquire, The Post, Newsweek, The Village Voice, Variety, The Washington Post, etc. etc., I suppose Broadway folks have noticed the fun we are having as well.
As my mother said to me when I started performing burlesque around 1996, "Those women (burlesque performers of her day) were not considered nice girls" They were infamous, appearing in Life Magazine but not someone you'd want as your neighbor. For me, burlesque in the 21st century is a celebration of their beauty, ingenuity, and tenacity in a time that women were not allowed to make as much money as men. Sally Rand toured extensively in the 1930's with a troupe of dancers during the depression, often booking, choreographing, and even building the actual stage. Tirza of Coney Island became a plumber to fix her own Wine Bath so she wouldn't have to pay a Union man to do it for her. These women were tough as well as glamorous.
The influence of Sally Rand and the stripteasers of the 1940's and 50's on today's new burlesque performers is the attitude of making a place for yourself in a world of conformity, in a world of commerce. Each new burlesque performer has a different approach. Some, like me are interested in keeping the history of burlesque alive, while others such as Julie Atlas Muz, Tigger and Lady Ace make new work that involves 5 minute mini dramas with no words. The World Famous *Bob* mixes a little of both, Hollywood Glamour and body politics in a small martini glass. All of these acts happen side by side with eclectic MC's such as Murray Hill, the hardest working middle aged man in show biz, or Miss Astrid who berates and adores her audience. How does one categorize Scotty The Blue Bunny, an 8 foot gay daddy with tattoos in a bunny outfit making jokes, singing songs and doing magic tricks and fire eating all in one show and in stripper heels? That's burlesque...and guess what? It's back.
Visit Miss Dirty Martini at missdirtymartini.com |
