Two Spotlights On One Big BURLESQUE

At long last. In less than a month, Broadway babies in the know will have the surefire showbiz salve of a brand spanking new movie-musical starring Cher and Christina Aguilera to sample - leaving us jubilant, giddy and breathless in its wake. All wrapped up with a pink satin ribbon with a leather and lace bow - it's BURLESQUE. The film also stars Stanley Tucci, Kristen Bell, Alan Cumming, Julianne Hough, Cam Gigandet, Peter Gallagher and Eric Dane and is, without a doubt, sure to be the entertainment event of the year for fans of Broadway and the movie musical genre. When was the last time an original movie musical was attempted on the big screen with two of the biggest stars in music industry history? That - and so much more, as we will soon see - is one step in the complex dance routine of reasons to get the celebration started a little early for the most excitedly awaited event this holiday season - BURLESQUE. Today, we will be taking a look at the story, some songs, the trailer and what exactly makes this tricky musical proposition and composition tick with such fabulous syncopation as we anticipate the world premiere of BURLESQUE in movie theaters nationwide on November 24th, Thanksgiving Day!

Diva Divinity

A bare stage. Black. Suddenly, a lone spotlight pierces the darkness. Soon, another follows. A pause. Anticipation in the air. Then, two world-class leading ladies at last take the stage and... Tear. It. Up.

Two dynamic divas, their bewitching stares enrapturing us with a mere glance or a one-off riff casting a spell to last a lifetime, indoctrinating a whole new legion of fans with just the toss of her hair. Who else besides Cher can do as much with so little? Who but Christina could warble one run and leave us agog? Ladies this fiercely talented command our undivided attention. In BURLESQUE we get not one, but two triple-threat leading ladies. Double your pleasure, double the fun - and triple the excitement for their first film together.

Lights? Christina Aguilera.

Camera? Cher.

Ready? Action!

It's BURLESQUE.

Backstory B (For Burlesque)

A new, original movie musical? Are we really that lucky? Yes. With BURLESQUE, it seems that we are.

Looking back, in the early 00s following the Oscar-winning success of CHICAGO - which took home 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones in '02 - and Baz Lurhmann's MOULIN ROUGE - which took home two the year before - we have seen a lot of movie musicals come down the pike. Some have been smash-hits like HAIRSPRAY, some have been successful enough to keep the genre alive, as in the case of DREAMGIRLS - which also nabbed a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Jennifer Hudson as well as one for sound - and there has even been the odd prestige project (emphasis on odd) like Tim Burton's masterfully macabre re-imaging of the Stephen Sondheim masterpiece SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. Spike Lee filmed PASSING STRANGE in HD live in the theatre at the closing performance and released it in select cities to rave reviews and much acclaim a few years back. There have even been a few really spectacular television musicals here and there, most notably the Showtime production of REEFER MADNESS starring Christian Campbell, Ana Gasteyer, Steven Weber and BURLESQUE cast-members Kristen Bell and Alan Cumming in their first movie musical lead roles. Additionally, two brilliantly visionary and daring directors turned the genre on its head with their innovative jukebox musical takes on the song catalogues of, respectively: The Beatles, in Julie Taymor's ACROSS THE UNIVERSE; and Bob Dylan, in Todd Haynes's I'M NOT THERE. With TV's GLEE ending the 00s on a musical-theatre-awareness high note and leaving America - and the world - anxiously awaiting their next big  Broadway fix at long, long last, the time seems right for a movie-musical a bit unlike anything that has come before, something truly twenty-first century and which speaks to our times, now, today. Something new and different and unique. The universe is ready. The time is right for BURLESQUE.

*(The Trailer)*

Setting The Scene

At first glance, what appears like it could very well be the lovechild of CABARET and CHICAGO - with a little SHOWGIRLS camp thrown in - the trailer for BURLESQUE immediately brings to mind the classic showbiz standards we have come to know and love in small-town-girl-makes-it-big-and-sings-about-it style shows and films - from A STAR IS BORN with Judy Garland or Barbra Streisand, to Bette Midler in THE ROSE, to Madonna in EVITA, to the 2001 HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH and beyond. As far as plot, characters, performance style and even some of the songs (half are old, half are new) are concerned, some of the content of BURLESQUE may be known to moviegoers, but much of what appears as homage to the older viewers may be the first exposure to the meta-movie-musical world of BURLESQUE - and therefore Broadway and Hollywood history, old and new - to newcomers to the genre. What a wondrous welcome into the world BURLESQUE will be!

Settling The Score

We were recently given the first peek of the wonderfully wicked and enticing entertainment of BURLESQUE in the form of the song "Spotlight", a new solo song for Christina Aguilera. "Spotlight" is one of a handful of original songs that have been penned expressly for this film - Cher's material having been written by recording industry veteran Diane Warren - and it hits on all the elements that we have come to love most about Christina Aguilera's rich and expressive vocal instrument: the rasp, the runs, the super-human range and Herculean power. Boosting the barn-burning temperature of this hot bump-and-grinder, the producers have given it a 1940s-by-way-of-2010 aural aura - a contemporary edge - that gives it an added hip-hop bump. A little gritty, a little funky, a little jazzy; a little old, a little new, a little borrowed - and a lot of blue (as in "blue movies"), this song - and the idea of a single spot light cutting through to reveal the glittering diamond there in the dark - is the distillation of all the essential elements of BURLESQUE into one MP3 nut-shell - or digital bowler hat! "You can't keep a good girl down" sings Christina as Allie, and, after hearing this ferocious performance and knowing what Ms. Aguilera is capable of, we would not want to try!

*(Christina Aguilera - "Spotlight")*

The trifecta of tasty introductory treats offered forth by BURLESQUE was recently made complete with the release of the first full-length performance clip from the film - Christina Aguilera taking on the Etta James soul classic "Something's Gotta Hold Of Me". All alone, singing and dancing along to the jukebox with only a broom and a chair to back her up - barefoot - she conjures movie-musical magic out of thin air. This is not an easy song to sing, and even harder still to do one better than the near irreproachable original - and somehow command the screen at the same time. Christina knocks this number clear out of the park and the stark, unadorned filmmaking style of the song indicates that this movie musical will have some inventive, illusory camerawork for the musical numbers and not fall into the trap of over-adorning shots or over-cutting, as has become so popular these days. The style is not what draws concern, it's the content and in this number Christina makes you feel that essential want - that lingering, passionate desire to break out and make it on your own. It's the essence of the reason we break out in song in life as in musicals on stage or on screen. That's the underlying story of the song and the beat of the heart of BURLESQUE. With songs having emotional content as powerful as this song being used to tell the star-on-the-rise story being told in this film, we know we will have something to latch onto as we are blinded by the sparkles and spangles - and blindsided by the sheer star-power and performative powers on display - as we rocket into the movie musical stratosphere.

*(Christina Aguilera - "Something's Gotta Hold On Me")*

Backstory A (For Antin)

The Pussycat Dolls were originally the work of Robin Antin and this film by his brother and collaborator Steve Antin seems to be a natural extension of the thrilling, titillating and dynamic showmanship that they both have utilized so well in their directing careers so far. BURLESQUE was directed by Steven Antin, and Denise Faye - of CHICAGO and NINE - choreographed the musical numbers. The PCD paw-prints are all over the trailer. It is clear that Antin has a distinct visual sense and style and he knows how to utilize it to the best advantage of his performers and the material. Now, with BURLESQUE, all that's left to be seen is whether or not Steve Antin can tell a compelling story - or at least keep the audience's attention - while also juggling all of that razzle dazzle razzmatazz. After all, that whole characteristically black-leather/pink-satin style all over BURLESQUE first became something of a twenty-first century fashion phenomenon - unquestionably iconic - having its roots in an actual modern-day burlesque house in LA in the mid-to-late 1990s led by Antin. Following the stage incarnation with a host of lip-synching leading ladies like Carmen Electra, PCD then morphed into the ever-changing carousel of the eponymous all-girl pop group that is an undisputed international sensation. This must be mentioned if only because PCD and the Antins have attracted beautiful and rare talent before Cher and Christina, as well: Nicole Scherzinger - lead singer on PCD's biggest hits, such as "Don'tcha" and "Buttons" - recently got tongues wagging over her delectable portrayal of Maureen in Neil Patrick Harris's warmly received staging of RENT at the Hollywood Bowl co-starring Aaron Tveit, Vanessa Hudgens, Traci Thoms and others. The Pussycat Dolls are, truth be told, about style over substance so, with a two-hour film with a cast as good as this and led by three ladies as talented as Cher, Christina and Kristen Bell, fingers are firmly crossed that the spell will last the duration of the evening and the film will have the dramatic chops and the musical magic to move us in more ways than just one. BURLESQUE is a tricky and potentially treacherous tight-rope trope to tip-toe - as is attempting any movie musical in the twenty-first century, as discussed in the beginning - so it's all up to Mr. A and the two C's (Cher and Christina) to make BURLESQUE an A plus affair. Those are the elementary ABCs.

Soul Sisters

We have the classic-meets-contemporary theme coming to the very forefront from the billing on down, beginning with a veritable showbiz legend unlike any other - Cher. If anyone knows the highs and lows of show business, it's Cher, and her presence on this project as a central figure in the drama and music - this is no cameo or featured role - bodes well for the prospect of dramatic cohesiveness to the multi-faceted movie. Although Christina Aguilera has never taken a lead role in a film before, she was one of the absolute best hosts from the music world that Saturday Night Live has had in recent years and this role has been tailor-made to her astonishing abilities. Plus, no one can put over musical moments in quite the spectacular-yet-soulful way that Christina Aguilera and Cher can - they share a certain kind of kinship that way. Showmanship and sensitivity are doled out in equal doses with these two dynamic dynamos on the clock - and on the stage onscreen. Furthermore, what we can clearly hear and see from the clips of the musical numbers in BURLESQUE is flashiness, sassiness, sexiness and pizzazz - and a hearty helping of good old soul to boot. Heart and soul.

A Bite of Broadway, A Mouthful of Movie Musical

A mere bite of a satisfying slice of showbiz pie, in a bracing and biting backstage story told through song, with a healthy dollop of camp and cliché ala mode and a generous sprinkling of heartfelt homage, served up by the top-tier-talents of Hollywood, Broadway and beyond - is enough to incite excitement in any fan of musicals, whether live-in-the-house on Broadway or celluloid in-the-can in California. These BURLESQUE appetizers are certainly sweet, sexy and scorching and whet the appetite for what is soon to be served up on November 24th. After all, the movie musical audience is ravenous for a Thanksgiving feast like this given the lack of any new big-budget tuner the last two years. Lets hope BURLESQUE is the dish we are all positively famished for - solid, spectacular entertainment. From the sights and sounds of this trailer, the songs and performance clips on display and the forthcoming soundtrack as evidence: it looks like BURLESQUE could very well make its target and hit the spot. The spotlight, that is. Times two.

So, expectations are set. As the song "Spotlight" professes, "Get up, get up, / This is not a test... / You gotta give me your best / Get your ass up and show me how you burlesque!"
Do it, ladies. Show us how it's done. We're ready. 3,2,1. Go.

What becomes a legendary leading lady most? BURLESQUE.

Click here to visit the film's official web site.