Dear Constant Reader,
Please vote for The Boston Babydolls every day!
No book review today. I’m currently reading No Applause–Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous and Drinking with Men. At least one of them will be reviewed some time in the future.
As I don’t have much to say on this gloomy Wednesday, I ask you, O Constant Reader, what do you want to hear from me?
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.
Dear Constant Reader,
Please vote for The Boston Babydolls every day!
And the birthday festivities consisted of:
A little time to lounge on the day bed and read a long-hoarded book. (The Wind Through the Keyhole.)
Lunch at Myers + Chang. (It’s my pick for “Best Chinese Restaurant“)
A nearly private screening of A Good Day to Die Hard. (Yes, that was my choice. I like action movies. And Bruce Willis.)
A drink at the Ritz Bar. (I know it’s called the Taj these days, but to Spenser fans, it will always be The Ritz.)
All in all, a lovely day.
Dear Constant Reader,
Please vote for The Boston Babydolls every day!
It’s my birthday today! The perfect gift would be for you to vote for The Boston Babydolls!
Scratch has some surprise planned for me, so I’ll be away from my writing desk for most of the day.
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:
Devora Darling performing at the 2012 Victory Party to The Unluckiest Band with Alissa Coates singing. Photo by John L. Bilotti.
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:
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!
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.**
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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”!
*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…
Dear Constant Reader,
I hope you had a very merry Christmas, if that’s what you celebrate. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed your Chinese food and movie.
Dear Constant Reader,
The Wednesday book review should return soon. I broke down and bought some new (well, actually used) books. Perhaps as early as next week, I’ll have a new review for you. If there are any books you’re dying for me to review, please let me know.
21st Century Burlesque Magazine has an annual list of the Top 50 Burlesque Industry Figures and voting is now open. You can nominate up to 10 people that you think have made an impact on the burlesque world in 2012. These don’t have to be dancers. You can nominate producers, costumers, MCs, stage kittens, photographers, musicians, &c. Personally, I’ve nominated Scratch, among others.
These are the fabulous judges (and myself) for the Main Event at The Great Burlesque Exposition of 2010. Why are they here? To announce that applications to perform at The Great Burlesque Exposition of 2013 are now open! Hope to see you there!
The Boston Babydolls are in rehearsal for our new show The Bod of Avon. Expect to hear more about it here (and maybe there will even be pictures).
Dear Constant Reader,
Occasionally I want to recognize people who I think are fabulous. Today I’d like to present Red to you. She’s known as Redheadedgirl to her fans on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and her followers on Twitter, but if you attended The Wrathskellar, you’ll recognize her as The Box Office Gal.
I’ve know Red for several years, ever since she moved to Boston from Minnesota and sought me out as a mentor. Not in burlesque, but for my knowledge of historic cooking and Roman archaeology (I bet you didn’t know that about me). As a bonus, she got Scratch too. He affectionately refers to her as the teenage daughter he never wanted.
Red got a Master’s degree in criminal justice and spent a long time saying she wasn’t going to be a lawyer because that required going to law school, which everyone knows is a horrible ordeal. Eventually, she caved in and went to law school. It was a grueling 3 years. This spring she graduated and then took the bar exam. To everyone’s delight (and no one’s surprise), she passed it the first time.
Yesterday morning, Scratch and I were honored to attend the ceremony in which she was sworn in as an attorney. Court was opened in Faneuil Hall, presided over by a Justice, and a motion was presented to him to admit the candidates to the bar. It was all very formal. The Clerk even wore morning dress. The shiny new lawyers swore the oldest attorney’s oath in the country and then signed the Roll of Attorneys with their official fake Montblanc pens.
Then I accompanied Red to get her license. When they called her on to the stage as “Attorney [last name]”, she may have muttered sometime profane in shock. One of the speakers during the ceremony had pointed out that they were going to be lawyers for the rest of their lives, but that new title made it real.
And here she is with her spanking new license to practice law. I’m so proud of her for pursuing this goal so determinedly and I know she’ll use her new powers only for good (or at least not to cause too much chaos).
Dear Constant Reader,
Scratch & I went to New York City for Thanksgiving. Previously, he’d said he felt badly about traveling there for a cheerful family feast when so many people in the area were still suffering from the hurricane. So, on Friday we loaded up with supplies at the Home Depot and went to Coney Island USA to volunteer for a few hours.
They were hit pretty badly — the ground floor flooded to impressive levels and a lot was damaged, including almost all their tech gear. They had just gotten a big donation of lighting equipment, which was waiting to be installed. Fortunately, the museum collection was upstairs and out of the flood zone. And the snakes were all removed to safety.
Scratch, being skilled labor, was put to work next door at what had been the ice cream shop, taking down the damaged light fixtures and wiring. He was working right up at ceiling height, which should give you some idea of how far up the water got.
I, being unskilled, got to do a lot of carrying. We had to rearrange the things on the second floor (which included many cases of water) to make room for some items from the first floor. Then we carried those upstairs (it is possible for 2 petite women to carry an industrial popcorn popper up a steep flight of stairs, but I do not recommend the experience, especially if you are the one going backwards) and began cleaning them with disinfectant.
It was hard, dirty work and at the end of the day, there wasn’t even the satisfaction of a job completed, because there is so much more to do. At this point, volunteer labor isn’t so useful; they need professional help and donations.
Saturday, Scratch is producing The 3rd Annual Burlesque Marathon (which you should all attend anyway because it’s superfun). We’ll be doing some fundraising with the proceeds going to help Coney Island. So, come to the marathon and buy some raffle tickets. You’ll see hours of great burlesque *and* be helping the good folks at Coney Island USA. And if you’d like to donate any goodies for the raffle, left me know.
Hopefully yours,
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 