“Are you not entertained?! Are you not entertained?!” Famous quote from Russell Crowe’s Gladiator role. Yes, Maximus, yes I was entertained. Friday and Saturday nights here in Richmond are proving to be evenings of live performance amusement. The burlesque community is growing, and Richmond seems to be shimmying with support. I’ve been to a ton of burlesque shows and it’s easy to be critical of this performance medium, but the one key thing in every number is creating that connection between performer and onlooker. Last Friday night’s Androgenesque proved a winning combination of intimacy and laughter, as well as provoking thought on the world of burlesque, boylesque, and dragesque.
“Are you not entertained?! Are you not entertained?!” Famous quote from Russell Crowe’s Gladiator role. Yes, Maximus, yes I was entertained. Friday and Saturday nights here in Richmond are proving to be evenings of live performance amusement. The burlesque community is growing, and Richmond seems to be shimmying with support. I’ve been to a ton of burlesque shows and it’s easy to be critical of this performance medium, but the one key thing in every number is creating that connection between performer and onlooker. Last Friday night’s Androgenesque proved a winning combination of intimacy and laughter, as well as provoking thought on the world of burlesque, boylesque, and dragesque.
As soon as I walked into Gallery 5, I was relieved to see that the huge black spider on the ceiling had disappeared…finally! It felt a little cozier in there than usual. I was happy to see that there was a packed house, and it wasn’t without familiarity. I noticed a few known performers not involved with the show, but there to show support for their fellow comrades. A gentrified and diverse audience seems to be a growing trend at these particular events, and it’s refreshing to see Bob the accountant standing next to Magnus the tattooed punk rocker while Nancy from the PTA sits in the front row.
Burlesque is meant to be humorous. It is meant to be provocative. It is meant to entice an audience for a night of teasing and fun. All these things were accomplished at Androgenesque, a night of gender-bending proportions. Producers Deanna Danger and Kiki Von Kitsch brought a riotous evening of talented performers to the stage, and I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a room with that much personality, but it was electric! And although hostess and performer Esta Bunny had a little frenzied late start, the Richmond drag queen sensation brought it together before you could bring the 90s back with two snaps.
I could sit here and write about everyone’s performances individually, but in all honesty it wouldn’t do it justice. A live show like Androgenesque is one that needs to be experienced in real time. I cannot say how much fun it was to watch Magnolia Jackson Pickett Burnside (Richmond Varietease) start the show with such bravado and honesty, or how hostess Esta Bunny pulled the show together with class and humor and a most momentous finale, or how Levar captivated the audience with his well formed, two-sided gender yogaesque.
How do I register to you Cherrie Canary’s (Voix De Ville Follies) portrait of Rocky Horror’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter? I cannot replicate the roar of laughter caused by watching Candy Pantz show off her boytoy while lip synching “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” gesturing to his quite defined body parts. How can I express to you how charming and absolutely entertaining Baltimore’s Paco Fish (Sticky Buns) was, as he impressed the audience with his adorable turtle act of strategic maneuvers?
How do I tell you that producer Kiki Von Kitsch’s (Voix De Ville Follies) drag king number was just pure sexy machismo? And how…how do I glorify the complete glitterific proclamation of self-love that Miss Deanna Danger (The Amazing Stage Show) portrayed in her picnic act? Hm??
How do I indeed. What I can tell you is how amazingly the whole night was put together, creating an ambience of awareness, love and laughter. I can tell you that the connection between voyeur and participant was light-hearted and playful. I can tell you this was a quality production. I can tell you that it only feels better seeing that much boobage, glitter and booty for a good cause, as all the proceeds from the raffle that night went to the Gay Community Center of Richmond. So, was I entertained? Thoroughly and completely. And I didn’t even feel dirty in the morning.
