A Good End to the Day

Dear Constant Reader,

Please vote for The Boston Babydolls as “Best Theatre Group” on The Boston A-List. We’re currently in 5th place!

I have a confession to make. I am not a night owl. Late nights are part and parcel of being a showgirl. Second confession: this contradiction sometimes makes me cranky. I was cranky last night.

Rehearsal had run long, then we need to pack and load out all the costumes and props for the DrinkOne benefit tonight. I also had to make a couple of trips up the stairs with big heavy bottles of water for the studio — it’s getting hot and the last thing I want is dehydrated B.A.B.E. students.

It was already well past my bedtime when we arrived back at Stately Babydoll Manor, but I still had to pack all my personal gear for the show, fix a plume on my fan, and perform my usual bedtime and night-before-show rituals. And tomorrow was going to be a long day which will include teaching chair dance and then rushing to the show.

Scratch called me to come to his office and look at something. I fear I was less than charitable in my response. I finished packing and went to see what was so important.

This.

And my cranky mood completely evaporated.

M2

Published in: on 6 June 2013 at 1:54 pm  Leave a Comment  

Getting Ready

Dear Constant Reader,

I have begun the Fit & Flair dress!

First step, I bought some fabric:
Fabric and pattern
(and also a zipper, but that’s hardly exciting, so not in the photo). It’s a crisp cotton print. I think the floral design is kind of 50’s.

Then I washed the fabric as hot as possible and dried it the same. I always abuse my washable fabrics and then baby the resulting garments. I pulled the fabric out of the dryer while it was still slightly damp. This makes ironing easier, which was done while watching some old X-Files episodes.

Next step is cutting, which I always hate. And it’s going to be a little challenging. The bodice of the dress is cut in one with the dolman sleeves, therefore it’s too wide to cut on the fold of normal width fabric, so there’s a seam down the center front. I’ll need to match the pattern as much as possible to keep from calling attention to that seam. Although I don’t think I’m going to worry about it on the skirt — there are 7 panels and that’s just too much work. Maybe the front & side front panels, but unlikely.

This is all complicated by the discovery that the fabric has a couple of slashes in it. Not enough that I’m taking it back to the fabric store and complaining. But that’s mostly because I’m lazy and it’s quite a drive. I’m going to have to lay out around them, which will be fun with such full skirt panels. Fortunately, I got extra fabric.

Tomorrow I think I’ll give you a peek at my sewing room.

M2

Published in: on 28 May 2013 at 11:42 am  Leave a Comment  
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A Little Tired

Dear Constant Reader,


Please vote for The Boston Babydolls every day!

My last couple of missives were rather time consuming to put together, so today you get a short one.

I’ve heard a rumor that voting is only open for another week or so, so go vote, vote, vote (The Phoenix wants you to vote *every day*!). You know we’re the best, so let everyone know it. And then we’ll have a big Victory Party!

And if that approach didn’t work, allow me to play on your sympathies: I got some bad news about one of our projects yesterday and I’m coming down with a cold. You vote would cheer me up immensely.

Lastly, I’ll try bribery. Here’s a photo of me fan dancing at the 2012 Victory Party to “Jezebel”, sung by Miss Imani with Stella & Alissa backing her up. Photo by John L. Bilotti.
mina-victory-2012

M2

Published in: on 28 February 2013 at 9:58 am  Leave a Comment  
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Snippets on a Sunday

Dear Constant Reader,


Please vote for The Boston Babydolls every day!

Busy day today. We’re off to a corporate gig in Rhode Island shortly where we’ll be staging two performances of a classic revue, mostly featuring The July Project. Then back to Babydoll HQ for rehearsal.

Next Saturday is the last performance of The Bod of Avon. Last chance to see a show that’s been called “gorgeous”, “beautiful”, “brilliant”, “sexy and hilarious”.

Today is Stella’s birthday! Wish her a happy one! (stella@bostonbabydolls.com) Diamonds, long-stemmed roses, and Italian lingerie would also be happily accepted. Or you could just vote for us. That would make her happy too.

And here’s your reward for voting:

dd-victory-2012_49299264478_o
Devora Darling performing at the 2012 Victory Party to The Unluckiest Band with Alissa Coates singing. Photo by John L. Bilotti.

M2

Published in: on 17 February 2013 at 8:40 am  Leave a Comment  
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Victory Could Be Yours

Dear Constant Reader,


Please vote for The Boston Babydolls every day!

You may be asking yourself, O Constant Reader, “What’s in it for me? Sure, it’s true that the Boston Babydolls are far & away the best burlesque troupe in Boston, but why should I have to click my mouse a couple of times every day for them? What do I get out of it?”

Not only do you get the warm & fuzzy satisfaction of doing the right thing, you get the gratitude of several scantily-clad women. AND you get invited to an awesome victory party.

That’s right, if we win, we’ll throw another fabulous party, free to our supporters. In years past we’ve had free food, great music, prizes, performances by special guests, and of course, The Boston Babydolls, accompanied by a live band.

You can read about our 2011 Victory Party as experienced by Dig columnist Bar Havoc.

And, just to get you coming back here and voting, I’ll be occasionally posting pictures from our parties. Here, for example, is Evie Sphinx, when she was just a baby Babydoll, dancing to “Purple Wail” as performed by The Bone Masters. (Photo from Time Out Boston)

evie_0511ttdbabydollsphoenix05

M2

Published in: on 16 February 2013 at 9:10 am  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip!

Dear Constant Reader,


Please vote for The Boston Babydolls every day! There’s a little treat below as a thank you…

Chairs are for your butt, not your bag.

When you’re some place with limited seating, like most dressing rooms and back stages, find some other place to put your stuff. Don’t deprive someone else of a place to perch.

The 2nd Montreal International Burlesque Festival 2010 @ Club Soda = YES

chair = NO

Easy to remember!
M2

Published in: on 15 February 2013 at 10:11 am  Leave a Comment  
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The Bod of Avon Opens

Dear Constant Reader,

Here’s your daily reminder to nominate The Boston Babydolls for Best Burlesque. You can vote once per day per email/IP address. Thank you.

Yesterday I told you how we set up the venue for a show. The audience is sitting on chairs or benches, or standing along the bar. There’s a narrow aisle between the seating area and the standing room so the performers can get from the dressing room at the back of the room to the stage and back again. Also, when the stage lights are off, it’s very dark.

Opening night, we’ve just concluded the opening number of Act II (a humorous foursome inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and I am gaily skipping back to the dressing room when — WHAM! something strikes me in the shins and I fall forward. Ginny, directly behind, nearly goes down on top of me.

Someone, desiring a better view, had moved their bench so the end of it was sticking way out into the aisle.

I have a charming bruise right below my right knee and another one slightly further down my shin. I collided so hard with the bench, it took several days for them to come to the surface. Since I am not that sort of girl, I will not regale you with pictures of my injuries. Instead, I will share some photos that were taken at our second preview at Oberon. Have fun figuring out which plays inspired the acts!

All photos by Hans Wendland.

AS561 - 06

King Evie in action!

AS561 - 18

Mina, Queen of the Fae

AS561 - 40

Stella sings of how she hates men

AS561 - 44

Betty and her pyramids

AS562 - 09

Devora causing toil & trouble for Mina and Ginny

AS562 - 29

Brigitte & Butch

M2

Published in: on 5 February 2013 at 9:55 am  Leave a Comment  
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Happy Birthday, Gypsy

Dear Constant Reader,

My apologies, this goes out a day late, but your faithful correspondent was at the dentist yesterday and her entire schedule went keflewie (that’s a technical term) as a result.

A very happy 102* to the greatest Lady of Burlesque, Gypsy Rose Lee!

For your pleasure, here’s a little picture of Gypsy:
gypsy inside
This is the program from her 1949 tour, from The Boston Babydoll Collection. And here’s a photo of her autographing one of those very same programs!
116129866.jpg

And just for fun, here’s Devora Darling, all dressed up for her Gypsy tribute act, “A Stripteaser’s Education” during the Madame Burlesque tour and the photo that inspired the costume.**

devora as gypsy grlsmaller

For more Gypsy goodness, you could read her famous memoir, Gypsy: Memoirs of America’s Most Celebrated Stripper, her novels, The G-String Murders and Mother Finds a Body, or listen to her on the albums Gypsy Rose Lee Remembers Burlesque and That’s Me All Over. Not to mention all the movies inspired by her writings: Gypsy, Lady of Burlesque, and Doll Face.

There’s also her son’s memoir Gypsy and Me: At Home and on the Road With Gypsy Rose Lee (also called My G-String Mother: At Home and Backstage with Gypsy Rose Lee).

And then there is a plethora of other books about her: American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose, Stripping Gypsy: The Life of Gypsy Rose Lee, Gypsy: The Art of the Tease, and Lady of Burlesque: The Career of Gypsy Rose Lee.

Not bad for someone who described herself as “no talent”!

M2

*Probably. Her mother had a fluid relationship with the truth and thought nothing of forging birth certificates to raise or lower her daughters’ ages when the situation arose.

**That’s not actually Gypsy; it’s Burgundy Brixx as Gypsy. Our costumer didn’t look too closely…

Published in: on 10 January 2013 at 1:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Brightening a Gloomy Day

Dear Constant Reader,

The weather is simply dreadful in Babydoll-land: pouring down rain, windy, and cold. At least it’s not snowing. Your faithful correspondent’s feet got soaked on her morning constitutional and that makes her cranky.

To brighten up your (and my) day, I’d like to share a photo from a gig we had earlier this month. Newbury Comics had a Boardwalk Empire-themed holiday party and we were hired to provide a little set-dressing.

Evie, Devora, Betty, and I lounged on the stage under a backdrop of decadent Cleopatra-style fans, as sort of Jazz Age courtesans (but not showing too much skin, as requested by the client). Cigarette girls Stella & Brigitte wandered the crowd, handing out boxes of candy smokes. And Scratch, well, I’m not quite sure what he was doing. Making sure all was well, as usual, I suppose.

Periodically guests would come on stage and have their picture taken with us, courtesy of the roving photographer and his old-school instant camera. At the end of the evening, we all gathered for this shot:

newbury-comics-party-1

It was fun and I’m always happy to have an excuse to wear my ostrich-trimmed robe and marabou mules in public.

M2

Published in: on 27 December 2012 at 10:07 am  Leave a Comment  
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Happy Halloween!

Dear Constant Reader,

A little treat for you from The Wrathskellar!

wrathskellar-2012-hans-wendlandPhoto by Hans Wendland

Published in: on 31 October 2012 at 9:10 am  Leave a Comment  
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