Sass Boom Bang Burlesque; Women At Work

The Marsbar on Eastlake Ave E is not the last place I’d expect to find a burlesque show, though I was a bit skeptical when I first arrived. The venue is set up for live music, a rough stage, and hand wrapped sound tiles bolted to the walls in one corner, and I’m sure it is a great place to hear a local band play or maybe have an open mic event. As a burlesque venue it leaves something to be desired, still… if the ladies at Sass Boom Bang Burlesque continue to perform there they have a unique opportunity to play with the space.

Last night’s show, Women at Work, the ‘virginal’ performance of SBBB, was set up in cookie cutter presentational form, and in a venue like The Jewelbox, the Re-Bar, or other ‘theatrical’ space this format would have worked. It did not work as well here. The use of a simple dressing screen did little to ‘hide’ the performers, and I think it would have been better to lose it all together and embrace the fact that the audience can see you. Take your moment in the wings and flirt with the audience. The tease begins before you step foot on stage. It begins the moment you can see your target.

In a burlesque revue like this, the emphasis should be on the contributing individuals but remember that the format, the structure is the foundation upon which you build. (One suggestion, line up wise, I would recommend opening with Solange Corbeau… let teacher set the mood.)

As for the individual performers, Sass Boom Bang brings together fresh talent; young women with good ideas, talent and mixed levels of finesse/polish. A few of the acts left me wanting more, a few left me satisfied and one or two truly earned the hoots and hollers that we as burlesque artists strive to evoke.

Lotti Glitterati, whose concept was simple and execution beautiful, was a personal favorite. Lotti should be a poster girl for Indigo Blue’s Twirly Girl line of pasties. I mean it! She had those tassels going like a pro, in more ways than one. I also very much like the nonchalant attitude she had, “yeah I work with heavy machinery, got a problem with that.”

Scarlet O’Hairdye was also particularly strong, and clever. Working off partner, Bolt Action as the overwhelmed, well hung ‘wimp’, Scarlet was a crowd favorite as a boundaries challenged personal trainer. Her use of an exercise ball was particularly well liked.

As a cabaret singer, Olatsa Assin adds variety to the troupe; her sing and strip act blended class and camp. As a burlesque performer she has a strong, almost defiant energy; as a singer she has some definite pipes. Still I would like to see her find “Olatsa’s voice.” Once her persona as the Scintillating Scandinavian really takes shape she will secure her place in the burlesque community.

Host Luke Thighstalker, was clever and concise but will need to ditch the cue cards eventually. His jokes were witty, but would have seemed even wittier had he had them memorized. As a host balancing scripted and adlibbed banter is important (and difficult, believe me I know how tricky it is). Keep going and you will get a feel for filling the time your stage kittens need to clear and set up. Oh and don’t be worried about the time, the show was a bit less than an hour, start to finish, so stretching things out between outros and intros would be good.

As a troupe Sass Boom Bang has a good amount of potential. I think it will take them a couple of shows to really find their stride but for a first production Women at Work is pretty good. The audience (a pretty packed house!) was well entertained, and was forgiving of the few technical issues. If you are free this Saturday night, I think SBBB is worth checking out; and I hope you can get out sometime to support this group of gals.

Sass Boom Bang Burlesque Presents: Women At Work is playing for one more night at The Marsbar. Saturday, July 16th @ 9pm. Cover is $10. http://www.cafevenus.com/i​ndexa.html

Loves!

Fosse Jack