RSS 2.0 FeedOctober 26, 2011, Theatre , Dance
Spooky meets sexy
The buxom beauties of Burlesque Downtown Underground entertained a surprisingly large audience for a Thursday night at the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre with the troupe's annual Halloween show, Scared Sexy.
Dedicated to the worldwide revival of the art of the tease, Burlesque Downtown Underground (BDU) continually tops itself with every show. Recently extolled as the highest attendance and revenue producer for the 2011 Fringe Festival, the cast of the neo-burlesque troupe are all full-time performers representing professional theatres and dance companies throughout the Kansas City area. Given the freedom to conceive, choreograph, and design their individual routines, the performers see BDU as a true creative outlet.
Celebrating four years of performing for Kansas City audiences, their annual Halloween show, Scared Sexy, is a seasonal favorite. Borrowing from the various holiday clichés of witches, ghosts, and zombies, the performers tantalized the receptive crowd. Madame, the witty artistic director of BDU, was the emcee for the evening, offering irreverent commentary between each number, courteously instructing the “virgins” in the audience how to participate in the show, and adding extra bits of camp for good measure.
The performers provided their own distinct interpretation of the Halloween theme; a grotesque witch morphed into the luscious Ivory Wilde, a graceful Vic Sin summoned an ethereal ghost, and Foxy Von Trap stunned as a corpse within her coffin. Standouts were Foxy Roxy as Ursula, from The Little Mermaid, as she belted “Poor Unfortunate Souls” corseted—no small feat—with purple satin tentacles dragging behind her. Lunair D’Etoile made it to the stage just in time, as she’s concurrently performing in Evil Dead the Musical, to provide a hilarious, yet strangely sexy, performance of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” A new addition to BDU, Isabella Belle, closed the show with a naughty Faustian proposition that had most of the audience volunteering their souls to Belle’s Devil. The effervescent Madame, strayed away from the obviously dead, cursed, or supernatural characters, channeling a real dead person, Marie Antoinette. Inspired by Sofia Coppola’s film, Madame shimmied and shook to the 80’s pop soundtrack.
Burlesque Downtown Underground created an evening of fake blood, scary dolls, and the dancing dead, becoming one of the most lascivious ways to celebrate the Halloween season.
REVIEW
Burlesque Downtown Underground
Scared Sexy
October 20–22, 2011 (Reviewed October 20)
Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre
3614 Main St, Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit http://www.kcburlesque.com/
Top Photo: Madame as Marie Antoinette in Burlesque Downtown Underground's Scared Sexy (Photo by Steve Thompson)
Film, Theatre Contributor
Calli Parker studied film production and English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. After working on various projects in Kansas City, she relocated to Los Angeles where she served as a production manager and assistant director on short and feature films. Currently residing in Kansas City, Calli continues to collaborate with the talented filmmakers and artists of the emerging arts community.
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