Bootleg Burlesque, Top Shelf Burlesque at Recession Proof Prices

Last night at Happy Ending Urban Mercantile, a store front repurposed for the evening as a performance venue, hosted a theatrical throwback to burlesque’s fringe origins in Seattle. The show, Bootleg Burlesque, produced by Solange Corbeau and Flirty Sanchez, paid homage to prohibition era entertainment and depression era values … doing taboo things on the cheap.

There were two rules that every performer had to follow. 1) They could not spend more than $50 on a costume (which is a feat to be sure!) and 2) any pieces they repurposed or borrowed could have never been used as part of a burlesque act before. So this group of artists stretched the limits of their creativity to create acts that were both visually entertaining AND inexpensively fashioned, and despite these limitations they all succeeded.

The venue itself presented both challenges opportunity. The size of the performance space was a hindrance, and more than once I was afraid a performer was going to crash into one of the nearby pieces of furniture or the audience. Being space conscious myself, it was not a venue I would have felt comfortable performing in, for the sheer fact that from the wall to the audiences’ noses I wouldn’t be able to extend my 6’4” wingspan (damn lanky limbs). As for the audience, I was fortunate to have a good seat and even I lost sight of the performers from time to time. If the producers are going to continue producing here they will need to either reformat the staging or lower the ticket price. The front row had a $15 view, but most everyone else ended up just a little cheated.

That being said if the producers reconsider the staging (perhaps consider doing a floor show in the round?) the space offers some amazing opportunities that almost make up for the disadvantages.

Last night Bootleg Burlesque allowed Seattle burlesque performers to break the last major taboos of our performance community. In an alcohol free venue the legality surrounding nudity is loosened and the removal of a pasty becomes the final reveal that Seattle audiences have yet to experience. I am glad that most of the performers retained their nipple coverings, because it made the couple of times where nipple was bared all the more powerful and sexy.

The cast of performers never failed to impress.

Hostess Diva Le Deviant was in her element in this intimate space, and wearing little save $50 (seriously she had $20s for pasties and a pair of $5s as a merkin!) she titillated the audience with her unique blend of elegance, class and over-sexed bawdy humor. Diva darling, you are a Tigress among future-Cougars.

Musical artist Sara Dippity serenaded us during the pre-show and intermission with some beautifully sung, sultry jazz pieces. It is hard work to entertain an antsy audience during their break, and it can be thankless but Sara took it all in stride and I very much appreciated her performances.

Polly Wood opened the show with her blend of classic bump and grind, silver-screen inspired storylines and musical theatre camp. I love it when a burlesque act tells a clear story and Polly is one of the best storytellers in the art form.

Harriet Scary followed Polly. Harriet is what happens when you take a performance artist, lock them in a dark room and starve it. Than after a couple of weeks you unleash it into a flock of captive audience members. I mean this as both a compliment to the artist and a warning to any future audiences that get to experience this off kilter trany-wreck.

The next performer was new to me, but I will have to say that he can join the trio of plushy-pals on my bed anytime. Gosh I could snuggle with Teddy Bare for hours. Teddy’s act was short, sweet and funny, and he had a mastery of comic self-consciousness that few artists can affect with any level of truthfulness. I hope to see more of him in the future.

Solange Corbeau entertained us with her love of whiskey (which is a real and very romantic thing… I’ve heard her discuss this passion before), in a solid piece of moonshiner comedy.  Her opening was the funniest thing of the night, I love it when a performer can make me laugh by doing 'nothing.'

Another performer new to me was the first act closer, Fanny Tragic. With my brief experience of this performer I feel confident in saying that Fanny is the love child Lucille Ball and the Clown from It. There was a little too much time between the first and second parts of her act but the audience seemed to be entertained enough to allow it, so I will too.

The second act was opened one of my favorite camp-artists, Lady Tatas. Tatas performed her Dimestore Diamond act with finesse and flare. Her costume was also the most creatively crafted, using trash bags, beads and other mundane objects to create a rather dazzling show girl ensemble. Lovely.

Watching Madisun Avenue perform is like watching the collision of a group of gossamer clad coryphées in slow motion. She is graceful, limber and mesmerizing. Her three part act structure is also refreshing allowing the audience to bask in her presence for longer than a single song.

Olatsa Assin packs a lot of attitude into her petite frame and her number last night embraced that attitude. I would have liked the act to go for a little longer, because two minutes of Olatsa just isn’t enough. I haven’t seen anyone tie a tie in a reverse strip yet. Hint. Hint.

Flirty Sanchez embraced the repressed energy of Prohibition Era and the drive and passion of the coinciding Suffrage movement in an act done to spoken word poetry. It was fascinating and I couldn’t help but compare Flirty to Catherine Hepburn as her regal presence captivated me. Normally such an act, that is one without a strong musical anchor, would have lost the audience pretty quickly but Flirty commanded them and they obeyed. Brava.

Randi Rascal was the final performer of the night, and her performance will have a lasting impression on me. Like Flirty, Randi used minimalistic movement to convey her message. But while Flirty’s motivation was to simply express the truth, Randi’s was to actively dominate her audience and that she did well. Randi’s reveal of a single bare nipple was terribly sexy, but it was the appearance of a whiskey flask hidden somewhere upon her nearly naked person that brought the house down. She pulled WHAT our or her WHAT? Seriously yo, that was some sexy sh!t.

Last night the performers brought game to a playing field that was far from ideal and they rocked it. I’d like to applaud each of you, and look forward to seeing more of this kind of awesomeness in the future.

Loves!

Fosse Jack