Burlesque-a-Pades (Courtesy of The World Famous Pontani Sisters)
By DCist contributing writer Miriam Berg
This Valentine’s Day, D.C. is getting hit with a hot mess of glitter, corsets, and long satin gloves that likely will be pulled off, finger-by-finger, with teeth. Even though one reliable venue is no longer around, the area will see more burlesque shows than ever before between Thursday and Sunday, with eight different venues in the District and one in Alexandria hosting arty stripteases.
On any given week, you’re likely to encounter one or two burlesque performances in D.C. But never nine. This deluge of provocative performances arises from two coinciding catalysts, says Melina Afzal, a former booker at Red Palace, which closed last December. First, it’s Valentine’s Day, which lends itself to sexy shows for couples or groups of friends. Second, it’s just six weeks after the closing of Red Palace, which had served as the main stage for D.C. burlesque shows since it opened as the Palace of Wonders in 2006.
When Red Palace closed, Afzal charged forward to lead a collective of “variety arts” producers who are trying to keep cabaret, vaudeville, sideshow, and burlesque performances going throughout the District.
“That’s why you’re seeing so many different, homegrown shows popping up all over the city,” says Afzal, who is producing shows with the performers she met at Red Palace through the newly minted Palace Productions. It helps that performance troupes are not vying for one stage in Northeast, and that bars in Northwest are game for taking on the loyal followings these shows have built over the years.
But what is burlesque, anyway? It’s the art of the tease, says Kitty Victorian, who gave rise to D.C.’s contemporary burlesque scene in the early 2000s after the “golden age of burlesque” waned in the 1940s. When you go to a neo-burlesque show in D.C., you’re likely to see women come out on stage in character—from 1950s housewife to hungry honey badger—along with a pre-recorded song or live music. These women often ooze confidence as they dance, lipsync, and gingerly strip off their clothing. They might end up in a bustier and panties, or get down to pasties and a g-string. They also represent a potpourri of body types and sexual orientation.
“Burlesque isn’t tacky or seedy. It is the combination of sex, humor, wit and satire,” Victorian says.
In 2002 Victorian started performing burlesque alongside the monthly drag king show at Club Chaos, a gay bar in Dupont Circle that closed in early 2008. By 2006, Victorian had attracted enough ingénues that she started the city’s first neo-burlesque troupe, the DC Gurly Show. (Disclosure: I was involved with the troupe at that time). Victorian’s audience was mostly gay women and some gay men.
Meanwhile, a cabaret-style variety show called the Lobster Boy Burlesque & Vaudeville Revue featured burlesque dancers from Baltimore, New York, and other cities at Chief Ike’s Mambo Room and Warehouse Theater. Lobster Boy, which true to its name starred a grown man in a lobster suit, grew out of Cherry Red Productions, a film and theater company that specialized in very blue shows.
Adventurers among the theater crowd eventually found a home in Palace of Wonders, which was built in 2006 and also became home to the “freaks, circus people, and other individuals on the fringe,” according to Afzal.
As H Street NE developed, the Palace brought in more spectators. When it merged with the rock venue next door, alternative music fans at the bar came to the burlesque shows. By the end of 2012, when the Palace closed, Afzal noticed a much bigger bridge-and-tunnel crowd, with people getting dropped off by limos to make a stop along a pub crawl.
DC Gurly Show in 2012 (Chance Photography)
But the Palace wasn’t the only burlesque game in town. Kitty Victorian’s DC Gurly Show moved to the iconic lesbian bar Phase 1, where it currently has monthly shows. After the Lobster Boy Revue ended, its creators started up variety shows such as Yuri’s Night at the Artisphere and Elvis Birthday Fight Club at the H Street Playhouse. These shows continued to feature burlesque and bring in the theater crowd, but they saw some recent changes in the audience. Namely, bachelorette parties. Lots and lots of bachelorette parties.
“In nearly every show that I’ve done in the last five years, there’s at least one bachelorette party. They are usually drunk and sloppy, but they’re always having a good time,” Glitter says, adding that women may be naturally drawn to burlesque’s joyous sexual expression with a kick of kitch, as well as the opportunity to exhibit the type of raucousness that bachelor parties are known for.
Now that previous Palace troupes are finding new venues, they are drawing in even more new crowds. Like improv junkies at The Pinch, which serves up improvised comedy skits with burlesque numbers. Hipster rock fans at Black Cat. Beer fans at Bier Baron. Cheap beer fans at Big Hunt. And so on.
If you have a taste for some titillation this Valentine’s Day and weekend, check out the following shows. But when you go, remember that it’s OK to show the ecdysiasts how much you like what they’re doing.
“Always hoot and holler,” Victorian said. “Because the more you hoot and holler, maybe more will come off!”
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Photo courtesy of SAX Lounge
The Pontani Sisters: For the biggest burlesque show around, see the 7th annual Valentine’s Day Burlesque-a-Pades at The Birchmere. The stars of the night, the World Famous Pontani Sisters, are the quintessential pin-up gals. The show features all live music and a dance tour done in the fashion of classic American burlesque. Speaking for her sisters, Angie Pontani tells DCist: “Our show is the perfect Valentine’s day date night, so bring your partner and heck if you don’t have one, come anyway—maybe you will find one at the show! Thursday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m., at The Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria). $29.50.
Burlesque & Belly Laughs: If you’d like some guffaws with your gams, see Burlesque & Belly Laughs: Love Actually Edition. This free show is a series of pee-in-your-pants funny improv comedy shticks, interspersed by tongue-in-cheek burlesque acts. Presented by D.C.’s homegrown Burlesque & Belly Laughs troupe, it’s like “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” but with ta-tas. Thursday, February 14, at 9 p.m. at The Pinch (3548 14th Street NW). Free.
Black Heart Burlesque: Billed as an “anti-Valentine’s show,” Black Heart Burlesque will explore the dark side of Valentine’s Day with a contortionist tribal belly dancer and deadpan comedy. The stars of the show from Black Tassel Boolesque promise to drive a stake right through Valentine’s “little Hallmark heart” with their brand of free-spirited and twisted burlesque. Thursday, February 14, at 9 p.m. at Bier Baron (1523 22nd Street NW). $10 online, $12 door.
SAX Lounge: The downtown D.C. restaurant and nightclub offers nightly cabaret entertainment while you dine, with trained dancers in Moulin Rouge-style costumes with Cirque du Soleil-style moves. The venue will feature a “more provocative” show than usual on Valentine’s Day, co-owner Errol Lawrence tells DCist. Shows run every 10 minutes from 6:30 p.m. until closing. SAX Lounge (734 11th Street NW). Free show with drinks or dinner.
DC Gurly Show: Broadway Burlesque Revue will celebrate the troupe’s eight-year anniversary and feature a special number by founder Kitty Victorian. It’s at the oldest continually operating lesbian bar in the country. Think Sondheim, peacock-feather fans and Olympic-level twirling tassels. “Prepare to be dazzled. We’ve got everything. Live singing, dancing, and lots of boobs,” says Private Tails, the show’s producer. Friday, February 15, at 9 p.m., at Phase 1 (525 8th Street SE). $10.
The Locals Only Burlesque & Variety Show features an all-D.C.-based cast with acts ranging from seductive to grotesque. It is one of a handful of burlesque and variety acts that Palace Productions is putting on at Black Cat two or three times a month on Fridays. Performers include MabJustMab, Charlie Artful, Mourna Handful, Missy Aggravation, and Dainty Dandridge. Friday, February 15, at 8:45 p.m. and 11 p.m. at Black Cat (1811 14th Street NW). $10 online, $12 door.
My Bloody Valentine: A wacky way to treat your Valentine’s Day hangover, My Bloody Valentine features burlesque starlets from D.C., Baltimore, New Orleans and Richmond, as well as a “surprise guest” who is truly that: a random who responded to a Craigslist ad for a live performer. The night’s emcee, Hot Todd Lincoln, says even he doesn’t know what the surprise guest will do. It’s also the first show of its kind at MOCA, a visual art gallery devoted to nude figure art. Friday, February 15, at 8 p.m. at MOCA DC (1054 31st Street NW). $10 online, $12 door.
Staxx Burlesque Revue: Speakeasy Saturdays makes its debut on the Big Hunt basement stage. The show is “more rock-and-roll” than most burlesque shows, says the event’s producer and burlesque performer, Short Staxx. It is one of several shows that moved from the Red Palace to the Dupont Circle bar. Saturday, February 16, at 9 p.m. at The Big Hunt (1345 Connecticut Avenue NW). $10.
Sunday Burlesque Soiree: This post-Valentine’s Day, pre-President’s Day theatrical performance features the glamorous burlesque of GiGi Holliday, who grew up in Southeast and Northeast D.C., and New York’s “Brown Girl Burlesque,” Chicava Honeychild. They—along with dancers who do poi, hooping and fire tricks while they tease—are the first burlesque performers on the Howard Theatre stage in 100 years. The last Howard Theatre “shake dancer” (a term for African American burlesque dancers in the first half of the 20th century) performed with Duke Ellington. Talk show host Charlie Visconage will emcee the soiree, which also includes a sideshow performer and torch singer. Sunday, February 17, at 8 p.m. at Howard Theatre (620 T Street NW). Presented by Palace Productions. $15.
