Oh, The Glamourous Life!

Dear Constant Reader,

October was a busy month. We had three shows in three different styles, with almost no overlap in acts, which is a *lot* of rehearsing and some lightning fast act creation and teaching. First, the superhero sexiness of Batwoman Burlesque, then the cute and campy horror of It Came from Beneath the Tease, and lastly the dark and disturbing Burlesque Macabre.

We weren’t presenting The Wrathskellar this year (someday, it will reopen!) and we were itching to do something similar. October is the only month we get to go dark on stage. I may look oh-so-elegant and glamorous most of the time, but I LOVE the creepy stuff. The Manor skews more Addams Family than Old Hollywood most of the time. It’s such a treat to break out of our usual aesthetic and use music that wouldn’t ordinarily make the cut.

We had two late night shows at Deacon Giles and I’m pleased to say the first show sold out and the second was even better attended than I expected for an 11PM show on a Friday night. Unfortunately no pictures from the show, but we did get video. And might even let you see it someday…

Big thanks to Hunter for lights and video, English Sarah for working the merch table, and Pirate Jenny for kittening. It was her first time and she did a great job!

Mina Murray: Sex Spider (Gogol Bordello)
This new act was an excuse to bring out The Diva’s Coat, probably my favorite costume that I’ve ever made. Someday (if I get enough Patrons) I’ll tell its story.

Ava Fox: Dead and Lovely (Tom Waites)
Another new act! And the first time someone else in the troupe did a fan dance! Admittedly they were my fans (a gift from Scratch), but they’d been a pile of components for years. Ava did all the assembly herself (and did a much better job than I could have).

Devastasia and Electrix: A Most Unpleasant Way/Dark Eyes (Gordon Bok/Devochka)
Scratch has always loved the first song in this set and envisioned an act to it. Devastasia was the right person to give it eerie reality. And the bird costume she made is amazing. The painting on the mask is so detailed!

Scratch: Magic
I didn’t see this but I know it involved a playing card and a lighter.

Betty Blaize: Farewell Magyar (G-String Orchestra)
A classic! Betty cuts off her costume with a very real knife. She created this act for the very first Wrathskellar and has been performing it ever since. If I remember correctly, the music comes from a band Scratch heard playing on the street in New Orleans.

Mina Murray: Nightmare (Mac Gollehon, et al.)
Earlier this year I created an act with the guidance of Egypt Blaque Knyle to “Whole Lotta Love”, which I adore. However, I have very few opportunities to perform it because of our usual aesthetic. So I took the costume and choreography and adapted it to a more appropriate song. And thus “NightMina” was born…

Devastasia: Moon Over Soho (The Tiger Lilies)
This creepy clown number was created by Stella Diamond and Scratch, but it never got the stage time it deserved. Devastasia brought it back to life in a disturbing way. You can be assured Devastasia was smiling almost as widely as her mask from behind it…

Betty Blaize: Me and My Shadow (Peggy Lee — Wrathskellar remix)
Betty, undressing after a show, can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched… In one rehearsal she actually gave herself goosebumps. Scratch engineered this haunting version of the song for The Lost Girl in Wrathskellar Tales.

Scratch: Urban Legend
A terrifying trick with an apple and razor blades. I can never watch it.

Ava Fox, Electrix, Mina Murray: Herr Drosselmeyer’s Doll (Abney Park)
Betty created this for The Wrathskellar in 2011. I was concerned when I was cast because it involves some partner balancing, which I’ve never done before and the original trio involved some very flexible and/or strong people. But I had nothing to be afraid of. The audience on the other hand… there are some quite unsettling moments.

And we bid our creepy cabaret adieu for another year!

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