The Glamour Goddesses

​These days, burlesque is a term as abused as a stripper's feet at the end of a night in clear heels. Oops, that was a bad comparison -- especially because, dammit, despite all the misuse, burlesque is not, in fact, a euphemism for stripping. In its classical form, the term referred to a grown-up variety show full of bawdy humor, music, and any number of miscellaneous acts. Sure, this included the occasional skin-showing female dance, but that was only part of it. Stand-up comedy as we know it sprung partly from the burlesque circuit of the early 20th Century.

Good Theatre, a one-off event this Thursday at Churchill's Pub, aims to resurrect that multidisciplinary spirit under the tag line "adult theater for adult audiences." The evening of performances will be spearheaded by Billie Bee Good and Izzy Rich of the Glamour Goddesses. That's a local burlesque troop that not only hopes to revive the art form's traditions, but also do it with a more colorful and shapely range of performers than other groups.
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​South Beach has a whole weekend devoted to celebrating its Art Deco architecture. But, damn it, the little strip of mainland just across the causeway needs love for its buildings too. The Upper Eastside is pretty much the only place in the world where you can find a concentration of Miami Modernist, or MiMo, buildings.

Dating from the '50s and '60s, the style took the clean lines of popular postwar architecture and then, of course, Miami-fied them by adding brighter colors, squigglier lines, and loopier, more off-kilter forms. To celebrate the funky structures and the burgeoning walkable neighborhood in which they stand, boosters have revived the annual MiMo Madness Festival, which takes place all day Saturday along Biscayne Boulevard from 66th to 72nd Street.
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​Miami has given burlesque a bit of a bad name. So thinks Erika Moon, who has arrived from France to show us a thing or two about how it's done in a "classy, elegant way," she says. Moon is inaugurating the Evolution of Burlesque tonight and Friday at the Colony Theatre, a show that will combine many aspects of the genre, from dancing, acting, and costuming to the more risqué and cabaret -- something we don't get much of around these parts.

"Here, mostly it's the nightclub cabaret style," says the French-born performer, who wears many hats (and feathers) when on stage. That style, she explains, relies heavily on acrobatics at the expense of some of the more subtle forms of burlesque. In this evolutionary show, she'll combine them all.
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All photos by Jipsy.

Ginger Bardot

​When you hear that there's going to be a burlesque show at Churchill's Pub, you might wonder: Who do they think they are, Moulin Rouge? And if you've never been to Churchill's Pub, we highly suggest it for many reasons. Sure, it's not in the best part of town and it looks a little sketch from outside, but it's probably one of the best drinking spots in Miami. Not only does 50% of their staff have accents, but the drinks are cheap (and we mean cheap).

Last night, the pub and Dangerfun Entertainment hosted a variety show called the Millionaire Tramps Vaudeville Debut. The night started out with a semi-burlesque little dance, then quickly changed over to stand-up, which lead to a sketch comedy show. The comedy was very Whose Line Is It Anyway? with bits on "a day in the life of a pimp" or "the principal's office," but much, much dirtier and with a lot more cursing (which is exactly why we loved every sleazy minute of it).
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Photo by Emily Golden

​This Thursday night, a variety show called the Millionaire Tramps Vaudeville Debut lands at Churchill's Pub with Dangerfun!'s handpicked selection of South Florida tramps. Settle in for some stand-up and sketch comedy by Skitsations, slapstick jugglers, bunnies pulled from top hats, and the wiggles and jiggles of Hellion Burlesque.

For previous shows, dancers Hellion, Daisy Harley, Betty Pickle, Lizzy Lighting, and Ginger Bardot have re-created scenes from Eyes Wide Shut and giggly séances from slumber parties -- yes, while wearing only their panties.

We talked with Betty Pickle about Miami-style grotesque burlesque, how she swallows a three-foot balloon, and why there's no such thing as sexuality without grit.
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All photos by Lindsey Snell.

​Living in South Beach -- the world capitol of bad techno music -- it was a pleasant change to head over the causeway to the Vagabond for a night of '50s nostalgia.  At Saturday's Shameless Burlesque's Elvis Tribute, twenty-something hipsters jived on the dancefloor to Fats Domino and hugged their darlings to Johnny Cash. As a callow 21-year-old, it made me pine for the pre-digital era before music had all the life compressed out of it.

After the music died down, the flamboyant host for the evening announced the Shameless Burlesque, featuring Randy "Elvis" Walker in a tribute to the King of Rock-n-Roll. The host wore a dinner jacket with thin lapels and sported a conk hairstyle. He looked like a cross between Chuck Barry and Little Richard.

The first performer to hit the stage was Morgan La Rue, a fiery little pin-up doll who teased the crowd to Elvis's song "Trouble." This petite cutie strutted around the stage, taking off her clothes bit by bit. The audience gasped for more as she posed in pasties, panties, and stockings. More >>

Elvis Aaron Presley goes downtown.

​Put on your pasties and step right up for a never-before-seen performance where vintage, vaudeville burlesque meets the King of Rock and Roll. Tomorrow night, just five days after the 33rd anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, local striptease troupe Shameless Burlesque and Presley imitator Randy "Elvis" Walker will pay horny homage to the most influential rockabilly singer of all time. As Walker says, it's all about reminding the world that Elvis isn't dead and that "his flame of life forever burns in their hearts."

It's now or never. Turn your lonesome night around with The Shameless Burlesque's Elvis Tribute at the Vagabond, where scantily clad ladies will get all shook up to remind you the King lives on. You'll have to bring your own fried banana and peanut butter sandwiches, though.More >>