Burlesque As It Was at the Black Box Burlesque March 13, 2009

Fridays and Saturdays at 10 pm
18+
$15
Tickets at Ticketswest.com, the Denver Civic Box office or area King Soopers.

For the first time since the 1930’s a theatre is being built specifically to house burlesque, to bring burlesque back while playing homage to the great tradition of burlesque.

Reyna Von Vett of last fall’s acclaimed Leadville or Bust-- a playful romp through 1880’s burlesque and Michelle Baldwin, a.k.a. Vivienne VaVoom, the Mother of Neo-Burlesque in Denver and creator of one of the first neo-burlesque troupes in the U.S., Burlesque As It Was are converting the space recently known as the Black Box Cabaret in the Denver Civic Theatre ( 721 Santa Fe Dr. , Denver ), Von Vett and Baldwin aim to bring burlesque back while playing homage to the great tradition of burlesque that began in the late 1800’s and all but disappeared in the 1960’s.

For the late night, weekend show, Baldwin brings her decade of burlesque experience to an all new cast. A proponent of the classic 1930-1960 style of burlesque (and named “Most Classic” at the 2008 Boston Burlesque Expo), Baldwin has molded a lineup of some of Denver ’s finest actresses into Lili St. Cyr and Gypsy Rose Lee quality ecdysiasts!

Much more tease than strip, Burlesque As It Was features tap dancing, an over-the-top can-can and retro tributes to old burlesque staples like the fan dance, screen dance and the balloon-pop number. Ignoring the question “How many rhinestones are too many rhinestones” Baldwin and Von Vett’s costumes push the glitter and sparkle envelope. A visual extravaganza, hosted by Von Vett’s new character “Cora Vette” -clad mostly in sparkle vinyl, accented by rhinestones and full of bad car jokes (“How do you like my headlights?”).

Official Website: http://www.blackboxburlesque.com