Girl power abounds across the stages of this year’s Capital Fringe Festival. Burlesque, cabaret and variety are being employed by all-women troupes in several shows—some are just for the hell of it. I passed on seeing Burlesque + Belly Laughs, as its description offers a standard burlesque lineup you might catch any night at the Red Palace. The shows reviewed here try all aim use their creative arts as a vehicle to weave a story.
Cabaret XXX: Love the One You’re With
The ladies of Pinky Swear Productions took home last year’s Best Musical Award for Les Femme Fatales. That pedigree, along with a powerful sophomore performance in Cabaret XXX, is bringing more praise and packed houses to the Baldacchino Gypsy Tent for the quartet’s 2012 rock opera. D.C.’s most prominent theater critic, Peter Marks, was even in the house on opening night, garnering a shout out from the ladies and doling out praise to them in his Post review.
First on stage, Allyson Harkey exudes the persona of a belly-exposing, man-eating biker chick. Karen Lange’s sexually frustrated character evokes girl-next-door innocence in a cherry-patterned dress. Toni Rae Brotons is a sultry counterpoint poking fun at Lange. Christina Frank, a newcomer to the troupe, is a dead ringer for Sheryl Crow. Like the pop star, they can all belt a tune and command a stage, especially when teamed up together and backed by a three-piece band. The cabaret reaches its climax, literally, with a group rendition of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” reworked as a paean to self-love with toys—and one lucky volunteer from the audience.
Remaining Performances: July 22, 3 p.m.; July 25, 8:30 p.m.; July 27, 9:45 p.m.
Fort Fringe Baldacchino Gypsy Tent Bar, 607 New York Avenue NW
Wild Night: A Burlesque Adventure
Local variety troupe Tilted Torch combines its fire performance, hula hooping, burlesque, and belly dancing talents to create Wild Night: A Burlesque Adventure. But in an interesting twist, it’s the audience that helps decide the performance’s direction—much like the Choose Your Own Adventure books of our childhood. The show’s description warns that there could be danger, consequences and maybe even death ahead. The stunning Miss Joule ends the evening with a cute and gory number that brings the adventure to its grave fruition—and is not to be missed.
Remaining Performances: July 21, 11:59 p.m.; July 29, 6:30 p.m.
Warehouse, 645 New York Ave NW
Cupcake Cabaret: A Brief History of “Bad” Women
Cupcake Cabaret: A Brief History of “Bad” Women uses a debate about how Sherry Somebody should handle her husband’s infidelity to deliver their simple history lesson. “Bad” is served up in quotation marks to show that the bad women, the pioneers of striptease, weren’t bad at all. Rather, they were independent women, adjusting and innovating within the confines of an early 20th century man’s world to make their own way in life. The history is unfurled through short, earnest monologues each of three dancers deliver to the play’s conflicted housewife—before taking it off to further illustrate their points.
The structure and worthwhile story are there—but Cupcake Cabaret stops short insead of going further with its material. Though listed at 45 minutes, the performance only clocks in at 30, an unfair cost when paying theater-goers are shelling out $17 a pop. (The producers explained that the show’s concept originally included film and visual art in its narrative, but the Shop at Fort Fringe lacked A/V capabilities.) A few additions, such as more dialogue to deliver a more profound message, was easily within reach—and would have made Cupcake Cabaret a sweeter treat to swallow.
Remaining Performances: July 22, 8:30 p.m., July 25, 7:45 p.m.; July 27, 11:00 p.m.; July 29, 6:15 p.m.
Fort Fringe Shop, 607 New York Avenue NW
