Burlesque Is Alive and Well And Playing in New York

You're not just a triple threat, you're a quadruple one: you act, sing, dance, and juggle. Or you do magic. Or maybe you eat fire. Whatever your obscure or specialty talent, the burgeoning neo-burlesque movement wants you.

But what exactly is burlesque? How does it differ from vaudeville and why its sudden renaissance? In general, when people think burlesque, they think strippers, feathers, and the musical Gypsy. My dictionary defines burlesque as "theatrical entertainment of a broadly humorous, often earthy character consisting of short turns, comic skits, and, sometimes, striptease acts."

According to burlesque scholar Andy Davis, "Burlesque was an oral tradition; scenes were passed on without scripts, performers learned the skills and business from watching other artists. Burlesque originally spanned 1900-1930, with its peak being the teens. While vaudeville attempted to duplicate the popular live entertainment of the day—'The Ziegfeld Follies,' 'George White's Scandals,' etc.—and offer it at a lower price, burlesque differentiated itself by adding a large element of sex and low comedy. It came out of men's clubs and was very male as opposed to family oriented. And, of course, strippers known as burlesque dancers were an important part of the bill. They weren't like contemporary strippers; they were funny, glamorous, and sexy, often voluptuous, and boasted gimmicks. They weren't just taking their clothes off; they were offering a real act.

"Burlesque's recent resurgence in popularity is due to a number of factors. It's a fusion of popular entertainments: stand-up and sketch comedy, singers, novelty acts, and, of course, burlesque dancers. It's the natural descendant of '80s performance art, and also part of the PC backlash."

In New York, Mayor Giuliani's crackdown on adult establishments and his infamous 60/40 law (which demands that 60% of every adult business be non-sexual in nature) have clearly paved the way for the burlesque rebellion. Audiences are thirsty for risqué entertainment, and performers want to push the envelope. Many burlesque performers are able to make their living off their acts and perform in a variety of venues both high and lowbrow: everything from The Greatest Bar on Earth to Galapagos to Surf Reality to The Supper Club. Even comic Jackie Mason is planning a return to Broadway in a burlesque variety show, tentatively titled "Scandals," which he vows will "bring back the glory days of burlesque comedy." Outside of NYC, troupes like "The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus" tour the U.S. playing bars and clubs, attempting to create a neo-burlesque circuit reminiscent of burlesque's heyday, when acts played national burlesque theatres.

Back Stage recently spoke with eight NYC-based burlesque/vaudeville entrepreneurs about this renewed cultural phenomenon, their respective shows, and how performers with unique abilities can get involved.

The Va Va Voom Room—Everything but the Kitchen Sink
Kate Valentine, producer/MC of "The Va Va Voom Room," explains: "I wanted to create a show with elements of both vaudeville and burlesque, a variety show with all kinds of performers: comics, singers, burlesque dancers, novelty acts. It actually grew out of my frustration as an actor because I wasn't getting enough opportunities to work."

"Va Va Voom" started out in 1998 in LA. Continues Valentine, "I created a vaguely Marlene Dietrich-esque character named Miss Astrid for myself to host the show because I wanted to do something that was as far away from my type as possible." Valentine moved to New York in 1999 and brought Miss Astrid and "The Va Va Voom Room" with her. "It took about six months to get it together. I started doing it in NYC in early 1999. At that time, I was doing semi-scripted shows for six-week periods. I would utilize performers' preexisting material, and then I would incorporate them into the script. There were big dance numbers; people had to learn dialogue. It was successful and audiences liked it, but I wanted to go back to a cabaret format. We performed at Show World, the old porn palace, for a while. There was something really perverse about it! They have this little performance space—it's cute, but it has this really weird air. Because of the Giuliani 60/40 law, 'Va Va Voom' came in as the family entertainment! Now we're at Fez. I have a roster of over 40 performers and I alternate acts every week. And everyone gets paid!"

The night Back Stage attended, "Va Va Voom" featured a wide array of talent. The show opened with an all-male retro dance act titled "Les Boys," segued to a toupee-topped magician, a hula hoop honey, a few divas singing everything from Ellington to Midler, and culminated with burlesque dancer Dirty Martini, who entered covered in balloons and proceeded to strip by popping each balloon with a cigarette. The eclectic nature of "Va Va Voom" 's acts keeps the show fresh. Valentine explains, "It's really more about what I am not looking for. I am interested in a very wide range: specialty performers, something unusual and novel. I'm not really interested in people doing traditional stand-up, no political humor, or anything sexist or racist. I don't want any contemporary-style strippers or mime, but anything else—tap dancers, belly dancers, all kinds of singers. I really want the show to be about fun. I want people to go and see it and be entertained."

The Va Va Voom Room at Fez, under The Time Café, 380 Lafayette St., Saturdays, $15 plus a two-drink minimum, call (212) 533-2680 for time and reservations. To schedule an audition or confirm performance information, visit www.vavavoomroom.com or call (212) 330-9349.

The Blue Angel—Exploring Eroticism for Fun
Ute Hanna, "founder, director, producer—I do everything!" of "The Blue Angel" started her show back in 1994 in a basement on Walker Street. "Some of my performers have been with me since the beginning. Some of my audience has been, too!" Has the show changed much in the last seven years? "We had more freedom when we started out; we were more daring. Due to recent city regulations and restrictions, we now have to be more careful." Hanna is still able to attract a plethora of diverse performers. "I have two belly dancers, a female sword swallower, a torch singer who does fan dances, a trapeze act in stiletto heels, a ninja act—about 20 rotating performers in all."

Like many of the other burlesque producers, Hanna is open to almost anything, as long as it's unique and sexy. "My orientation is eroticism that presents itself in numerous ways. Performers don't necessarily have to get naked (although many do). My goal is to explore the possibilities of erotic entertainment, not just strippers. I feel that American people are shy when it comes to eroticism. I want to make people understand that it's fun and entertaining. I try to bring a bit of European philosophy to the stage." The evening Back Stage attended the show, it was clear that "The Blue Angel" emphasizes sex. Although there were a few singers and a campy magician, the inventive and often explicit strippers were the stars of the show. Not for the easily offended, one stripper came out dressed as a nun, while another did a traditional burlesque fan dance. The most impressive performers of the evening were an adorable naked fire dancer, and a belly dancer who swallowed swords as she shimmied.

Originally from Germany, Hanna holds degrees in both theatre and psychology. She is also a trained cabaret singer, and "The Blue Angel," named for the classic Josef von Sternberg movie that catapulted Marlene Dietrich to stardom, is clearly inspired by her unique background. "I love Dietrich, Weill, anything edgy and authentic. I love comics, unusual skills, everything original."

What does Hanna see as the future of burlesque? "I think the political climate [in NYC] has changed so much—everything is so commercialized. When we started out, we played everywhere: The Tunnel, House of Candles, Coney Island High. All of those spaces are gone or changed. I make my living off of the show, but it's very, very hard. I don't want to be on Broadway, but I do want to keep the show alive."

The Blue Angel at The Cutting Room, 19 West 24th St., Saturdays at 11 pm, $20. To schedule an audition or confirm performance information, visit www.blueangel.com or call (212) 252-5336.

The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus—Juggling Funds and Balls
One of Hanna's early performers is Keith Nelson, co-founder of "The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus." "We've been around as a troupe for six years. I started out as a performer 15 years ago as a clown and juggler. Then I became a fire eater. I picked it up in college." Did you take a course? "No! I once traded a bottle of whiskey with some jugglers who knew how to eat fire, and they taught me how. Their way was actually incorrect, but I figured out the right way by myself. Then I met Stephanie [Monseu, 'Bindlestiff's' other co-founder] while we were both working as waiters, and she begged me to teach her. Soon we were working as a fire-eating team. We started to meet other like-minded performers, so we decided to form 'The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus' and began performing in NYC and touring the U.S. It was the mid-'90s; it was a great time for NYC nightlife and performing—there was 'The Blue Angel,' performance art, lots of decadence. There's still some good stuff around, but, because of Giuliani, the dirtier end has been cleaned up."

With no publicist, no marketing director, and no booking agent, "We do everything ourselves. In the beginning, we called bars, clubs—any place that we thought might book us. Now we have many set venues across the country! We basically bushwhacked our way into creating a new burlesque touring circuit. Most of our performers are self-taught. We don't have any theatre majors, just people who love to perform. We have jugglers, musicians, magicians, a rope spinner, a roller-blading couple, a contortionist, and classic burlesque dancers."

As for the future of "Bindlestiff?" "It does upset me that the New York theatre world isn't more open to us. We really have a problem with funding. A lot of the theatre grants will not accept circus and variety shows, while folk art grants won't accept vaudeville and burlesque. We currently receive no funding and no grants; we juggle money as well as balls. Due to necessity, we have learned about promotion and marketing." Is there room for new talent? "Everyone in the troupe is a fulltime performer and we are always looking for new acts, people who have a new twist on whatever they are doing, artists who can do both adult-and family-oriented entertainment depending on the venue and audience." "Bindlestiff's" next NYC appearance will be sometime this coming winter, as they are currently touring the U.S. and Canada.

To schedule an audition or confirm performance information, visit www.bindlestiff.org or call (212) 726-1935.

"The Vaudeville Show" at The Supper Club—A Circus Atmosphere
Lionel Casseroux brought his native Parisian sensibility to NYC as the artistic director of The Supper Club. In April, he launched "The Vaudeville Show" to fill what he saw as a void in New York nightlife. "People love live entertainment, that's why variety shows are currently so popular. We target a different market than the downtown shows. We are located in Midtown, boast a huge space, and can hold 400 people. It's the ideal after-theatre show, it lasts about an hour, and afterwards patrons can dance. I want the show to become the rendezvous for the theatre community."

What kinds of performers does Casseroux showcase? "So far I have a contortionist, sword swallower, burlesque dancers, clowns, fire eaters, jugglers, The Rapping Granny from 'Howard Stern,' novelty acts, singers—it's like a circus atmosphere. Our ringmistress is incredible, and it's her first time on stage! She looks like she stepped out of a Fellini film." What does he look for in an act? "Amaze me, just amaze me." The night Back Stage attended, usual suspect Dirty Martini was there doing another inventive dance, along with a plethora of other dancers, singers, and creatures. If you want to check out the show before you audition, bring your paid-up SAG, AFTRA, or AEA card and get in free!

"The Vaudeville Show" at The Supper Club, 240 West 47th St., Fridays at 11:30 pm, $15. To schedule an audition or confirm performance information, visit www.thevaudevilleshow.com or call (212) 921-1940 ext. 14.

The Pontani Sisters—Hitting Every Cliché
Angie Pontani always wanted to be a performer, but "I wanted to be Rita Hayworth, not Winona Ryder." She dropped out of acting school and ended up performing as a burlesque dancer around town. "I danced in clubs doing solo burlesque numbers, but I wasn't happy. So I decided to get my sisters into the act!" "The Pontani Sisters" had all studied dance, so Angie roped her siblings into creating a troupe. "Now we make our living off of performing! We have four permanent weekly gigs, and we also perform at private events. We dance at Marion's and Barmacy and The Greatest Bar on Earth. On Saturdays, we even teach a dance class at Steppin' Out Studios! We get all kinds of students, from 19-year-old college girls to 50-year-old women, even guys!"

How would Pontani describe the act? "Everything we do is fairly traditional, yet completely new. Everything is meticulously choreographed and very burlesque in the sense that our numbers possess an element of mockery. For example, we have a new routine to Elvis' 'Burning Love' and I made us skintight jump suits and headdresses made out of a huge picture of Elvis' head. We try to hit every cliché we possibly can." Does she hire other performers? "As of now, everything we do is just the three of us. I started the act because I wanted us to be our own working entity and not have to rely on someone else to get us work."

To confirm performance information, visit www.pontanisisters.com.

The Slipper Room—It's a Party
Camille and James Habacker are the proprietors of their very own burlesque theatre: The Slipper Room. "My husband James started doing burlesque shows back in 1997, around the time we met," Camille explains. "He really wanted to open up his own club/performance venue, so we found this space down on Orchard Street. We spent most of 1998 converting it and our first Slipper Room party was actually our wedding reception in late 1999!"

The Slipper Room opened to the public in early 2000, and the Habackers slowly started to build a reputation and scene. "At first, we were only open on the weekends. Then, slowly, we started to expand to other nights. We didn't do much promotion, partly because we wanted to experiment and partly because we didn't have any money! We developed a burlesque show called 'Mr. Choade's Upstairs/Downstairs' that James and I both host and book. It's a crazy variety show. In the beginning, our friends would just come by and we would put on these skits and silly costumes. We had pie fights and song and dance numbers. At first, the crowd seemed indifferent; they were like 'wow, this is a really nice room…what are those people doing up there?'

"But soon we started to attract the attention of a lot of different performers; they would see the club and get totally jazzed. We have a legitimate stage with a curtain and a dressing room. James and I felt very proprietary about the night, so in mid-2000 we started to informally book people in. Although we are open every evening, Saturday is our big performance night. Our friend, playwright Marc Spitz ('I Wanna Be Adored' and 'Shyness is Nice') started writing shtick for us. We have all kinds of performers: belly dancers, singers, burlesque dancers. We are always looking for new and innovative acts."

The night Back Stage attended, The Habackers hosted the evening in a "Kiki and Herb"-style as a swinging, Vegas couple with their very own nightclub act. Featured acts included lounge singers, strippers, and even some spoken word. In terms of what kinds of acts they look for: "I am open to pretty much anything, since I want every Saturday night to be different. I love stuff that is new and raw and over the top. The only acts that don't work are numbers that the audience really has to concentrate on. It's a party as opposed to a theatre kind of atmosphere, so every number has to have an element of spectacle."

The Slipper Room, 167 Orchard St., Saturdays at 11 pm, $5. To schedule an audition or confirm performance information, visit www.slipperroom.com or call (212) 253-7246.

The American Vaudeville and Burlesque Theaters—A Vegas Attitude
Trav S. D., a.k.a. Travis Stewart, began "The American Vaudeville Theater" back in 1996. "I had been performing comedy since I was 15, and I am also a playwright. I love wordplay, and I had performed with 'The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.' I have produced a number of burlesque shows over the years in various incarnations, depending on the venue. We were housed at Surf Reality from 1997-1999. At that space, audiences adore anything outré; they love performers who go out on a limb. That was the first time I started booking burlesque dancers into my shows."

What happened in 2000? "Vaudeville got expensive to do, both in terms of money and energy. I was constantly changing the line-up. I always tried for maximum diversity. I showcased sketch comedy, singers, dancers, comedians, acrobats, slapstick comedians, even a dog act. I was exhausted, so I took some time off. Then, late last year, I adapted infamous director Ed Wood's film, 'Orgy of the Dead,' for the stage. It's a loose story around an endless parade of bad go-go dancers. I knew that there was a really big pool of burlesque performers around town, so I developed the piece as a variety show. I incorporated performers' pre-existing numbers and the show ran for seven weeks. I featured all kinds of inventive striptease acts, including drag king Sir Real in an X-rated lobster dance, and The World Famous B*O*B stripping to try and catch a cab."

Stewart has now formed "The American Burlesque Theater." " 'American Vaudeville Theater' is going on its own track. I will curate a series of Saturday afternoon programs with top circus talent at The New York Historical Society, while my 'Burlesque Theater' will return to Surf Reality monthly starting in September. I am always open to new acts, not just burlesque dancers and singers, but also stand-up and sketch comedy, dirty comics, anything. We will definitely have a sort of Vegas attitude."

To schedule an audition or confirm performance information, visit www.el.net/mountebanks or call (718) 383-5242.

Pluck a Rose—Sex and Politics Without Limits
With increasing burlesque success, there are always virgins looking to get into the act. Producer Claire Sinclair is set to debut "Pluck a Rose" at a space to be determined sometime in the fall. "I was producing sketch comedy shows; I did the different comedy clubs. Suddenly, I thought, 'Wouldn't it be fun to do a burlesque/sketch comedy/variety show?' I'm interested in sex and politics and not being politically correct and not setting any limits. If you are going to come to my show, be prepared to see anything. Anything and everything! I am taking what happened 70 years ago and updating it for the year 2001."

To schedule an audition or confirm performance information, call (212) 981-8709 or mail videos to Claire Sinclaire, 51 MacDougal St., P.O. Box 186, New York, NY 10012.

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So, if you are tired of being typed out or typecast, the burlesque scene is ready and willing for you to be anything and everything you have always wanted to be. Take your talents, your gimmicks, and your most outrageous and fantastic ideas, and floor 'em at a burlesque revue near you!