Dear Constant Reader,
Although I still have a huge pile of books to review, today I’m grabbing the newest addition to my library from the top of the pile.
Brown Skin Showgirls by Leslie Cunningham, 2017.
This slim paperback showcases photographs from Leon Claxton’s Harlem in Havana, a revue with Black and Cuban entertainers that toured with Royal American Shows from 1936 to 1967. Royal American was the carnival with which both Sally Rand and Gypsy Rose Lee toured, and just a few tents away Harlem in Havana also presented striptease as well as Latin and Caribbean dances.
The book is almost entirely photographs with captions, but very little other text other than a short introduction to the history of the show. Some of the stars of the show are highlighted, like The Bates Sisters (including the author’s grandmother), The Cuban Dancing Dolls, and female impersonator Greta “Garbage” Garland. It certainly left me wanting more!
Don’t get me wrong — The photos are absolutely worth the price of admission. Pages and pages of performers on stage (and occasionally off). Performance photos are so much rarer than publicity photos and photos of Black burlesque performers are very scarce. This book is a treasure trove! And you can get a good look at the costumes too.
I was happy to hear that Cunningham is going to expand on the story of Harlem in Havana with the documentary film, Jig Show: Leon Claxton’s Harlem in Havana. It should be out soon (all things depending on the pandemic, of course). I want to learn more about the performers in these tantalizing photographs.
Order your book direct from the author and she’ll sign it for you!
I want to thank Jo Weldon’s NYSB Book Club for arranging for Bebe Bardeaux‘s great interview of Leslie Cunningham about Brown Skin Showgirls, Harlem in Havana, and Jig Show.
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Oh, The Glamourous Life! 
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