Dear Constant Reader,
Heavy-duty zip ties make good light-weight bones for corsets.
Get Unlucky!
Dear Constant Reader,
It’s Friday the 13th! What better day to tell you about the Boston Babydolls latest show, Unlucky in Love?
Winners of “Best Burlesque” in 2011 from both The Boston Phoenix and The Weekly Dig, The Boston Babydolls always present an evening of smart, innovative burlesque with outstanding production values.
Unlucky in Love tells the story of a hapless writer examining episodes from his own life as he tries to pen a self-help guide to romance. Unfortunately for him (but fortunately for the audience), what he doesn’t know could fill a book. Calamities of the heart have never been so funny or sexy as they are in this burlesque story of love and misfortune. It’s two hours of teasing, pleasing, romance, and magic all accompanied by the excitement of live music, courtesy of The Unluckiest Band in The World and The Amorettes.
This Valentine’s season give your special honey more than a box of chocolate. A performance by New England’s leading burlesque troupe is a saucy gift of love. The line-up includes both veterans of the established troupe and some new members. Regular attendees of Boston Babydolls shows are familiar with Miss Mina, the ‘classy lassie with the sassy chassis’, and Betty Blaize, the six-foot-tall glamorous Amazon who combines burlesque traditions with showgirl aesthetics. Newer members include the classically-trained Devora Darling, the energetic Evie Sphinx, and the newest member of the troupe, the curvaceous Brigitte Bisoux. Each Boston Babydolls has her own special flavor of sassy sweetness on stage.
January 27, 28, 29, February 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 13, 14
Davis Square Theatre
255 Elm St.
Somerville, MA
Tickets: $25-$25 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/211987 or 800-838-3006
Review: Lillian Lorraine
Dear Constant Reader,
I must confess: today’s book is not actually about burlesque. I’m justifying its inclusion here because it’s partially about the Ziegfeld Follies from which many a burlesque show took inspiration and to which a few burlesque performers graduated. You may ask why I’m skipping over the dozens of unreviewed burlesque books on my bookshelf. I received this one from the publisher in exchange for a review and as long as I was reviewing it already, I would kindly share it with you.
Lillian Lorraine: The Life and Times of a Ziegfeld Diva by Nils Hanson (2011).
A trunk full of memorabilia sparked Nils Hanson’s interest in beautiful Lillian Lorraine. The trunk belonged to his mother, Lillian’s companion and confidant, and he remembered meeting the diva once when he was just a boy. He wanted learn more about the star who shone so brightly and now had faded from memory.
As a pretty teenager at the turn of the century, Lillian Lorraine was plucked from the chorus by Florenz Ziegfeld to be one of his Follies stars and his mistress. Her tragic story was sadly not uncommon: early stardom, fast living, messy romances, alcoholism, poverty, death in obscurity. She was so scandalous that the Ziegfeld Club, dedicated to preserving the history of the Follies, removed her from their records.
The book is illustrated with promotional photos of Lillian, covers of sheet music bearing her image, personal snapshots, as well as other Ziegfeld related pictures. It’s filled with personal accounts of those who knew her. The Ziegfeld Club, despite initial reluctance, was helpful in his quest for information and he was able to interview former Follies girls who knew her.
It’s a good resource for fans of the golden age of the Follies and the early days of Hollywood. Lillian Lorraine’s story may be tragic, but there are many inspiring details in the book. And nothing is more inspiring than the research Mr. Hanson did to bring her life back to light.
2011 recap
Dear Constant Reader,
My friend Holly Rebelle of Burlesque Noir (New Mexico) recently blogged about her year past in burlesque and I thought it was a great idea. Let’s see how much I can remember.
January
The Boston Babydolls put on a light revue called Hot Dates with a calendar theme. Highlights for me are introducing my “Champagne on Ice” act and wearing my mink coat in the finale. Betty choreographs it such that at no time did the coat ever touch the ground, but was passed from hand to hand until hung up by the stage kitten.
February
Naked Girls Reading Boston participates in the chapter-wide theme of “Love Stinks!”, sponsored by Great Philosophers Who Failed At Love. We are the only group to have the (clothed) participation of the author.
March
Mr. Cupid’s House of Love brings us a couple of milestones. Evie Sphinx becomes an official troupe member. The sultry songstress Alissa joins us for her first show. I perform an aerial act. Scratch is in our finale, dancing.
April
The Expo! I finally perform my tribute to April March. I’m not sure I have ever been so nervous in my entire performing career, trying to do April’s act in front of her.
Also, the Boston Babydolls win “Best Burlesque” from the Boston Phoenix.
And we perform at the launch party for the new comic Teenage Satan.
May and June
We throw a victory party for our Best of Boston win from the Phoenix, but mostly we begin preparations for Madame Burlesque: An Evening of Tributes, our most ambitious show at the time. We launch a Kickstarter campaign, build a giant oyster, and have fabulous photos taken. But most importantly, we cast Brigitte Bisoux and Corinne Southern.
July
Madame Burlesque at home and on the road! It’s our first real tour and we have so much fun. 4 states in 4 weeks! Whose idea was it to bring a giant oyster? That thing doesn’t exactly pack small!
August
B.A.B.E. moves! A larger space, just down the hall, opens up in our building and we take it. Scratch spends most of the month turning it from drab industrial space to a lovely dance studio, including a new dance floor and storage room.
September
At long last The Wrathskellar has a home! After months of searching, Scratch finally finds a vacant storefront in which to build our creepy tavern. He and a very small team of talented carpenters along with a lot of very unskilled labor from the Babydolls do the impossible in about two weeks.
October
It’s all The Wrathskellar all the time. We come to see that dirty, chilly space as our second home. Also, the birth of Sunday Socials. We welcome Brigitte Bisoux as an official Boston Babydoll.
November
We win “Best Burlesque” from the Weekly Dig and arrive at their award party in Scratch’s 1956 Packard.
Scratch thinks it’s a good idea to hold the Burlesque Marathon again. Much sleep deprived fun is had by all.
December
Naked Girls Reading presents an epic marathon reading of A Christmas Carol. We had no idea it would take so long…
And what are we up to now? Getting ready for Unlucky in Love. Live music, live singers, partially-clad dancers!
Friday Tip!
Dear Constant Reader,
Checklists are your friend. Make one for each act and use it to pack your costume and props before the show. Then use it again to make sure that you got everything back after your performance.
We’ve all had that moment — that panic when you get to the show and realize part of your costume is still sitting on your bed. Or that sinking feeling when you discover later that you’re short a rhinestoned glove. Checklists can help prevent that heartbreak! You may find yourself crawling under the stage with a flashlight after the show looking for that missing glove, but you’ll go home with it! And you won’t be rushing around begging someone to loan you a g-string either!
Happy New Year!
Dear Constant Reader,
I hope you had a wonderful time ringing in the new year. Our plans were up in the air for a long time. We were going to perform at a night club. No, we weren’t. We were going to make an appearance at a party. No, we weren’t.
At last, clear of performance obligations, The Babydolls (at least the ones in town) decided to have dinner at Lizzy’s, one of our post-show haunts near what used to be The Wrathskellar, before going our separate ways to other entertainments.
Myself, I was Scratch’s guest at “The Merry Wives of Windsor”, playing at the Davis Square Theatre, where we shall soon be presenting “Unlucky in Love”. The play was very funny and quite well done. It was so helpful to see the stage in use.
And then we toasted the new year at Saloon, right down the hall. It’s a wonderful space, all dark wood paneling and a fantastic bar. And the Hamilton Daiquiri is excellent. I’ll have to return when there’s not a DJ playing dance music. The place was made for smokey jazz.
Best part of the evening — I wore my heirloom blush mink coat.
What did you do on New Year’s Eve?
Friday Tip!
Dear Constant Reader,
Fake flowers, like real flowers, are seasonal. The craft shop won’t stock cherry blossoms in the fall or poinsettias in the summer.
Fortunately, on-line shops defy the calendar. It won’t be instant gratification, but it’s better than waiting for the next season to roll around.You can probably get some deals when the seasons do change and the craft store is trying to get rid of their now out-of-date inventory.
Holidays at Babydoll HQ
Dear Constant Reader,
I hope you had/are having a happy winter gift-giving holiday, whichever one(s) you celebrate.
We had a small, early celebration in our studio before Evie disappeared back home for a while. Scratch gave all the Babydolls black & white polka-dotted tote bags, monogrammed in pink (Betty and Brigitte are going to have to get creative to tell theirs apart…). Just the right size for carrying rehearsal gear!
I’ve been longing for some decent lounging attire. Something comfortable, yet still stylish, and my mother delighted me with leopard-print pajamas and satin slippers. Just the thing for relaxing around Stately Babydoll Manor on a winter evening.
Scratch is a terribly hard man to shop for, so I was excited to find something just right for him: Baggy Pants Comedy: Burlesque and the Oral Tradition by Andrew Davis. Hopefully he’ll be willing to write a review. And you might even see some new comedy in upcoming shows.
What was your favorite gift this year?
Friday Tip!
Dear Constant Reader,
A little seasonal tip:
In dry weather, like the winter months, ostrich plumes are prone to static electricity. It’s very entertaining at first to see the feather fronds standing on end like an angry cat’s fur, but it’s not so attractive and quickly gets annoying. A can of Static Guard is a worthwhile investment for the gal who likes feathers.
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 