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SHOW REVIEWS & REPORTS from the Burlesque Scene
The “Bourbon & Burlesque” Experience
Reporting from the Contemporary Arts Center, June 18, 2011
by NolaChick, Associate Reporter
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photo by Frank Stansbury
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It’s a mid-summer night of glitz, glamour and cocktails for the annual "Bourbon & Burlesque" fundraiser at the Contemporary Arts Center, here in New Orleans, produced by Bethany Lemanski. Burlesque from six local troupes is featured, as well as bourbon and food, supplied by New Orleans' own Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House, along with a smorgasboard of treats from local sponsors. People are bedazzled by three unique prize package raffles, each custom built from prestigious sponsors for all occasions: swinging bachelors, girls’ night  out or art-loving families.
 How do you put a night like this into words? Well, you start with the word "spectacular" and go upward from there. Having never been to this event before, but having heard great things about it, I am definitely excited. When I arrived at the CAC, I was impressed by the way everything was organized.
First of all, there seem to be food and drinks everywhere, on both the first and second floors. You can sample Bourbon drinks, such as the New Orleans classic Sazerac, as well as specialty cocktails named after burlesque legends, Gypsy Rose Lee, Tempest Storm, Sally Rand and more. The food selection is amazing and includes red bean hummus, corn and crawfish bisque, delicious Bourbon caramel chocolates, and my personal favorite, the Blueberry BBQ pulled pork with cornbread and creole coleslaw. I'm sure there is no one at the CAC who won't get their fill.
 We are also getting our fill of Burlesque with signature acts performed by local troupes Fleur de Tease, Crescent City Cupcakes, Dames D'Lish, Rev. Spooky LeStrange and Her Billion Dollar Baby Dolls, Storyville Starlettes and Slow Burn Burlesque. There was also a fashion show featuring lingerie by House of Lounge. Sasha Masakowski accompanied by James Westfall, as well as Ann Howe provided musical entertainment.
 Fleur de Tease took us on a trip to Brazil with their exotic and inspired performance. Crescent City Cupcakes hitchhiked back into town with a cute "hanky panky" act featuring members Sparrow D'Lux and Beccus Maximus. Dames D’Lish brought modern burlesque to the stage, as they performed to the Christina Aguilera song of the same name. Rev. Spooky did her best to "save" her Billion Dollar Baby Dolls from "evils" of burlesque, but in the end, she turned t o the "dark side" of the showgirl. If you couldn't make it to the Ringling Brothers circus last weekend, Storyville Starlettes were more than happy to bring the circus to you, with Ringmaster Madame Mystere, the lion taming act complete with a clown. Last but not least, Slow Burn Burlesque brought their "Pillow Talk" act to the CAC celebration, choreographed by Slow Burn's own Roxie le Rouge, with Nona Narcisse and Moxie Sazerac rounding things out. The burlesque troupes performed three hourly shows for the patrons. Each featured a different  Master of Ceremonies including Chris Lane of Fleur de Tease and Ben Wisdom of Slow Burn.
The acts aren't contained just to CAC's Freeport-McMoran Theater. Sarah the Bobcat has the crowd hypnotized with her gravity defying aerial trapeze act on the ramp that separates the first and second  floors of the CAC. Angela Eve delighted us all with a very special performance in the CAC atrium. Eve, the Image Collective and her art partner Anastasios Ketsios have created a life-sized shadow box made entirely of found objects and collected artifacts from New Orleans’ past. Music was composed by Karl DeMolay.
Special thanks to CAC’s Lindsay Ross for inviting Burlesque Scene to cover their spectacular event. All in all, it is an amazing night that is raising money in support of an amazing organization, the CAC.
I already can't wait to do it over again next year...
In addition to being a feature reporter for Burlesque Scene,
NolaChick is a very sought after retro and pinup model living in New Orleans.
She can be found at nolachick.net. Learn more about the Contemporary Arts Center at CACNO.org.
View our photo gallery from “Bourbon & Burlesque” here
PAST REVIEWS
Bust Out Burlesque
with Special Guest Michelle L’amour at House of Blues, December 17, 2010
by Wade Heaton, Staff Writer
“When I got the assignment to review this show, I thought it would be easy....”
I was really impressed and saw immediately why this show got picked for Travel Channel’s Top Ten for 2010. I began writing and quickly found I was using those lame old, same-ole, same-ole clichés: “sexy, classy, sassy, fabulous, glamorous, perfection.” So I decided to do something else. Where did my mind go while all that scintillating female flesh was flashing splendidly before my eyes?
Praline DuPree’s sweet energy opened the show with a sassy, sexy wake-up call. Her gorgeous praline-hued shapely body was as welcome as cafe au lait but with a a powdered sugar enticement: “Pay attention, peasants”, a star is shaking it here, such demure sweetness, sensually smooth and stylish. Miss Praline set a high standard for what was to follow. I thought, if this is the opening, what can top this? What did come next did not disappoint.
Mina Mechante, very professional, fiery Red Head, swathed in glittery white, swept all before her. I had to lean over the balcony rail from the “media bench” so I wouldn’t miss any nuance of this new Sally Rand-like Fan Dancing, Sultry Stunner, who kept favoring Stage Left directly beneath me. I thought: “Why is this superstar not the headliner?”
Mina had Sally Rand’s moves down and made them look original, glowing silvery and White Christmas-y, and all set off by her sensational red hair and pink skin. In a print mag, she would have been the centerfold.
Moving from Christmas red to chartreuse green, Foxy Flambeaux, the Absinthe Fairy, bewinged sylph of pleasurable visions flitted onto and about the stage. She’s a true audience pleaser, whose teasing art partakes of the sublime. All manner of visions and possibilities danced in my head (sugarplums and much, much more) as she revealed her mysteries with class and a timing born of natural talent, honed with practiced skill. From the doffing of the green gown, to the last twirl of tassels, she never let her wings rest. I’ve never seen tassel propellers and beating fairy wings at the same time. When Foxy Flambeaux enters, prepare for takeoff to Dreamland.
Then, Perle Noire evoked and summoned the fiery, juicy spirit of Josephine Baker in three palpitating movements: First, “Perle is out to get you,” an in-your-face come-on to Paradise with flashing smile and flashier eyes. Next, “Jospehine Baker’s Banana Dance lives again.” Perle channels Le Baker’s moves, but Le Perle is built as if Josephine inflated herself into a Betty Boop. Now don’t get me wrong, Perle’s voluptuous in all the right places. Those bananas were so happy: my eyes are still jiggling at joyous Josephine revivified in Black Pearly deliciousness. And finally, her finale I would title, “Perle Victorious morphs into Josephine Noire” as she blooms opening into a veritable volcanic altar of lust, offering herself to the Universe. Need I say more?
Visiting headliner from Chicago Michelle Lamour, billed as “the Ass that goes POW!” took a sultry stroll to a haunting saxophone that fairly took my breath away. It is no wonder she touts world titles and wins hearts & headlines wherever she goes. To call her breath-taking is understate the collective inhalations of awe the audience gasped in unison at her every dip, shimmy, and shake. Dark and romantic, with a lightpost as her stage prop – heer act ensured that she’s the woman I want to meet on a dark rainy night.
Wild Cherry, comedian, inheritor of that traditional old burlesque stock favorite, the Talking Woman, had the crowd guffawing at get-outta-mah-face & git-on-wit-cho-own-life gems of real world wisdom she tossed off like old panties, revealing a real heartbeat of sass and class. Advice for younger women, etc. Gemstones with attitude.
Eye-popping singer, the talented entertainer Athena, charmed us all turning sultry Christmas tunes into sexy torch songs - and pleased the eye - all at the same time. Dante (MC & Magician) a sort of lean and lanky Harpo Marx with Johnny Depp’s Benny & Joon do, fronted it all with Matt Bell & the Bust Out Band with Doc on Drums, and all really showed how it’s supposed to be done with a live band, live audience, and live artists recreating Retro Glamour into gloriously reborn Neo Burlesque.
All this reviewer can really say is that this is the most glamorous and finely honed show I’ve yet seen in NOLA. Don’t miss the next one!
- Wade Heaton, Associate Writer, Burlesque Scene Magazine
July 16th (Storyville Starlettes): “Sexy Summer Sampler” at the Shadowbox Theater was a delightful sampler of burlesque humor and visual variety by the long running troupe, Storyville Starlettes. Food items were the theme of each performance, including Zapp’s potato chips, a weinerschnitzel girl, a mini lion tamer, a fire handling artist, and the smooth magic of the always enchanting Mike the Magician (assisted by the delightful silliness of Kitty Kaos). Worthy of mention here is the beautiful Shadowbox theater, a fine venue at 2400 St. Claude Ave. corner of St. Roch under an old retro drugstore sign.
July 9th (Fleur de Tease): Adopt a Unit’s fundraiser “Va-Va Victory” at the Howlin’ Wolf featuring a performance donated by Fleur de Tease was a wonderful show, not just for its performances from Fleur de Tease, who always puts on a Broadway quality show. This benefit was to help send “back home” gifts to our Louisiana boys serving overseas, and was a very worthy fundraiser with a retro WWII theme. Please find out more at http://adoptaunit.org.
June 26th (Slow Burn): Slow Burn Burlesque continues to rock the burlesque scene with their high energy jam-packed shows here in New Orleans. Saturday was no exception as a packed house at the HiHo enjoyed the rollicking music of Debauche. Slow Burn was “on fire” presenting inspired burlesque performances to a rich score of Russian folk music, along with with the robust comedic stylings of their MC, Ben Wisdom.
June 26th (Contemporary Arts Center): Angela Eve and her talented burlesque friends presented an encore performance of “Traveling Elysium Menagerie”, an artistic burlesque theater experience designed around Eve’s photo essay book about lost objects from Hurricane Katrina. It was a surreal mixture of ballet and burlesque, punctuated by the considerable crowd working skills of Chris Lane as the carnival-style ringmaster and MC, and by a trapeze finale by the talented Angela Eve herself. Nona Narcisse was beautiful and stylish, Hot Tamale was as graceful as ever, and in fact all the performers and musicians were as enchanting as a mid summer’s night dream can be.
June 25th (Dames D’Lish): The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party was not a show per se, but since there was one group performance, it gives us an opportunity to comment. The Dames are what we would classify as Neo Burlesque, although coining the new term “Cabaret Burlesque” may fit them best. The first thing that strikes me about the Dames is their glamour factor. These are some very beautiful sexy girls dressed in very colorful and eye-catching outfits. Their dance style is fast and modern and very impressive. It was certainly a sample of great things to come from this new troupe. Couple their very talented performance with their warmth and hospitality, and I would wholeheartedly agree that their name, Dames D’Lish, suits them very well.
June 24th (Open House/Sin Lilies Burlescapades): Cartoon and Comic Book character night was a beautiful and very entertaining show. Surrounded by blue light and the whirring of fans to keep everyone cool, Izzy and the Kestronics played a high energy set. Izzy stepped in to MC. Highlights include Cherry Bombshell as Jessica Rabbit sang a sensuous version of “Why Don’t You Do Right?”, Lana Allure came out fighting as Robin from Batman, Jessa DeNuit showed us a very sexy Leela from Futurama, Candy Apple’s crowd rousing version of Wilma Flintstone made us all want to go prehistoric, Rev. Spooky LeStrange’s mysterious Star Wars and Dorian Faust’s sexy Betty Boop rounded out a very fun and colorful show. “Case solved” by Tulip Kiss for a well-acted and very seductive interpretation of Carmen Santiago that we hope we’ll see snooping around onstage again.
June 14th (Contemporary Arts Center): “Bourbon and Burlesque” proves that New Orleans loves burlesque. It was a full house with lots to see Saturday night at the prestigious annual CAC event. Congratulations to Angela Eve and her beautiful “Elysium” show, Slow Burn, Billion Dollar Baby Dolls, Fleur de Tease and all the sponsors.
June 6th (Fleur de Tease): The talents of Trixie Minx, Bella Blue, Madame Mystere, Lily Summers, Natasha Fiore packed the house at One Eyed Jacks, the audience including celebrities Tim Robbins and an actor from HBO’s Treme. We were amazed by a beautiful synchronized trapeze duo. Veve the Escape Artist defied all bondage attempts, Magic Mike mystified us and MC Chris Lane’s irreverent humor tied it all together. This show, the season finale, means we have to wait until September for more Fleur de Tease. Thank goodness there are other troupes and shows!
June 5th (Bustout Burlesque): Lola Van Ella and Sammich the Tramp came in from St. Louis for the Bustout Show at the House of Blues. Lola sings and performs as the quintessential 50’s girl next door. Her finale included her cake frosting act in which she frosted herself. What a sweet treat! Sammich the Tramp mimed her way through a clever pantomime. Athena sang her heart out as always, and the beauty of Foxy Flambeau and Praline Dupree seduced us. It was a full house culminating in a very satisfied audience.
May 15th (Billion Dollar Baby Dolls): Star Wars was such a fun theme! DC and the Band were strong as usual, and the performers really got into their parts. Han Solo, Jabba the Hut, Darth Vader, R2 D2, all shined. Sugar Lee as Princess Leia sang a sexy Happy Birthday song to Jeff, Burlesque Scene’s Editor, and to DC from the band. Whipped cream antics topped off the packed show! Bravo to Reverend Spooky and the Troupe!
 May 13th (OpenHouse Music Presents: Sin Lilies Burlescapades and Special Guests Bella Blue, Lady Ginger Licious and Rev. Spooky LeStrange): Prince songs naturally go with burlesque, or so these inspired performers amply proved. All the girls put on a performance every bit as dangerous as the “Artist Formerly Named Prince” himself. Congratulations to Zac Kushner of OpenHouse Music New Orleans for his promotion skills.
May 9th (Fleur de Tease): What a fantastic Mother’s Day Burlesque show! What mother wouldn’t be proud of Fleur de Tease? Wild Cherry dancing to Pink Floyd’s “What Do You Want from Me?” was priceless, funny and a testament to her burlesque skills! Never seen Roxie le Rouge look as gorgeous as she did debuting her lime green ballerina outfit! Trixie, Bella, Lily and Madame Mystere were all exquisite in their dancing. Oops and Sarah really clowned it up. Master of Ceremonies, Chris Lane, had the audience at “Hello”.
May 2nd (Bustout Burlesque): Love le Chat Noir as a new venue. Athena sang her heart out, as usual. The audience participation was fun. The entire cast really shined.
May 1st (Fleur de Tease): You continue to perform with Broadway level talent! The surreal carnivale of music and costume of Bingo! combines for a “must see” event!
April 9th (Storyville Starlettes): Our compliments for a very entertaining "Last Bunny Standing" show last nite at the All-ways. "Funny, sexy, magical, and full of surprises!"
April 5th (Fleur de Tease): Congratulations! Your show was way more fun than Tim Burton’s “Alice”. You really brought down the house and consistently offer premium burlesque performances.
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