Annie Weinert, 31, has just spent the day powdering doctors’ noses. Life as a freelance makeup artist means that weddings and TV commercials dominate her daily schedule. Come nighttime, however, she’s not just Annie – she’s Red Hot Annie, Chicago’s fiery red-haired temptress who gracefully bumps and grinds for a cheering audience as she strips off one article of clothing at a time.
 |
| Kelly Williams of GTB |
Burlesque, which was first popularized
in New York by Lydia Thompson and the British Blondes in the 1840s,
continues to gain momentum, thanks to a group of women and men who infuse
tradition with a dose of modern humor. From ‘Glee’ to ‘Lord of the Rings’
burlesque shows, no cult favorite is too precious for performers at the Gorilla Tango Burlesque (GTB) troupe who are clearly having fun while poking fun at
beloved icons of pop culture. “We’re not trying to be smutty,” said Kelly
Williams, GTB’s executive producer, marketing and PR director. “We’re trying to
be cheeky, irreverent, entertaining, sexy and fun.”
Despite the growing
burlesque following in Chicago, performances today often take place in front of
smaller audiences in basic black box theatres – a far cry from an era when acts
were held in the city’s majestic theatres. Burlesque was the epitome of glitz
and glamour when nearly everyone in the industry came across club regulars such
as Frank Sinatra and Orson Welles.
 |
| Leslie Zemeckis |
According to Jane Briggeman,
author of ‘Burlesque: A Living History,’ the State-Congress Theatre, the Star
and Garter Theatre and the Rialto were just some of the places where legendary
performers made their mark. “Kitty
Marlowe was a popular performer and the very last exotic dancer to perform on
stage in the final burlesque show at the Town Burlesque Theater in Chicago in 1970,”
explained Briggeman, who’s working on the second edition of her book due for
release in December. “After that performance, the theatre reverted to running
skin flicks; it bore little resemblance to the day when it flourished as a
prominent vaudeville house.”
“It was really sad,”
recalled Doris Kotzan, who’s also known to fans as Bambi Jones. Now 80, the Las
Vegas-based veteran used to dominate the stage at the Gem Follies Theatre in
the 1950s. Burlesque at that time, she said, was already on its way out. When
the popularity of television delivered the final blow, performers scattered to
find jobs at nightclubs, supper clubs, and in some cases, taking up non-showbiz
jobs that required a completely different lifestyle.
“Everybody sweeps burlesque under the rug – it’s like a black eye nobody wants to admit they were associated with,” said Kotzan, laughing. “I was in and out of the burlesque closet constantly. I had to deny it because people look at you funny because right away, they thought you took your clothes off and that’s all you knew how to do.”
“Everybody sweeps burlesque under the rug – it’s like a black eye nobody wants to admit they were associated with,” said Kotzan, laughing. “I was in and out of the burlesque closet constantly. I had to deny it because people look at you funny because right away, they thought you took your clothes off and that’s all you knew how to do.”
Sigrid Spangenberg, whose
stage name was Lillie Marlene, is now retired and living with her husband in South
Carolina. She also recalls the stigma surrounding burlesque during her days in
Chicago. “If you asked some clubs if they had “exotics” booked there, they will
deny it to this day,” she said.
 |
| 'Burlesque: A Living History by Jane Briggeman |
Making a comeback
According
to former performers and members of the Burlesque Historical Society, burlesque
died when theatres and big clubs closed, giving way for other forms of
entertainment. “Every one of them says “Go-Go” killed burlesque,” said
Briggeman.
Go-Go
was eventually replaced by strip clubs in the '70s when strippers and poles became
the main attraction. Ironically, it was
the same technology that spelled the end of burlesque that would bring the art
form back into the public consciousness. TV miniseries such as ‘The Josephine Baker Story’ in 1991 took a curious look at the industry and brought burlesque
back in the spotlight.
Yet, not everyone in the
industry is thrilled with the modern representation of burlesque and the
misconceptions that continue to be perpetuated. When asked about the 2010 movie
‘Burlesque’ (starring Cher and Christina Aguilera, Weinert rolls her eyes. “Oh
god, it’s expected,” she groaned. “Although there was one clever striptease
act, it was mostly a great cabaret movie but I think they just didn’t have that
title left.”
Briggeman is also hesitant
to join the burlesque bandwagon, claiming that the term is being used far too
loosely. “For
me, unless a club creates a full show with comics and scenes, emcees, variety
acts, and even includes a small chorus line, only those clubs that include all
of this, besides the feature dancers, are putting on a (real) burlesque show,”
she stated.
Zemeckis
agrees. “It’s two different art
forms, really,” she said. “We’re more sophisticated in our sense of humor and
our sense of what we (are allowed to) see. There was a time when you couldn’t
see nudity – now it’s everywhere.”
Some adaptations of the new
burlesque movement have left even veterans such as Spangenberg taken aback by
performances, which she describes as “pretty raw.” When asked if she had any
advice for new performers, she said, “Don’t show it all – leave something to
the imagination, it’s always nicer.”
Like
Spangenberg, Kotzan bemoans the amount of tattoo-covered skin shown on stage. “As far as neo goes it’s because they don’t know
(about it) – who’s there to teach them?” she asks. “What about those tattoos?
We wouldn’t dare have a tattoo back
in the day.”
The return of burlesque
Whether the industry will
be able to recapture its former glory is still up for debate. However, the
growing interest in burlesque has been instrumental in helping the community in
other surprising ways.
While researching material
for her book, Briggeman discovered that “everybody wanted to find old friends.”
The result was ‘The Golden Days of Burlesque Historical Society,’ a website
maintained by Briggeman and relatives of veteran performers. “We’re rapidly
losing these legendary performers; they will all be gone before we know it,”
she stated. “With them (will) go their stories and this history – that’s why
these books are so special; it’s part of them.”
As for Kotzan, the release
of her memoir ‘My Journey Burlesque: The Way It Was’ has forced her to step out of the burlesque closet for good. These
days, she does presentations on the history of burlesque, teaches burlesque at
senior centers and performs at conventions where she meets today’s rising stars.
“I like anything that’s keeping burlesque alive, no matter what,” she states.
“These girls look up to us the way we looked up to our trailblazers in our day
such as Rita Hayworth and Yvonne de Carlos.”
Weinert, who also teaches
burlesque classes at Vaudezilla Studios, has seen an influx of students
interested to learn about the craft. “I always tell my students that it’s a
very creative striptease,” explained Weinert. “It’s very female-centric so it’s
a lot about what women find sexy.” She also states that unlike the gentlemen’s
club atmosphere of original burlesque, today’s diverse audiences include women and
members of the city’s gay community. “It’s awesome and they’re really
outgoing,” she said. “It’s a pretty young crowd, too.”
In the meantime, Weinert
and her troupe, Vaudezilla, are in the midst of rehearsals for the upcoming
December 3 performance of “TRIM! An Xmas Burlesque Craptacular” – Weinert is
set to appear as Frosty the Snowman.
Across the city at Gorilla
Tango Theatre, the GTB group will continue
to don Super Mario and Luigi costumes for their hugely successful weekly
performance of “Boobs and Goombas: A Super Mario Burlesque.” The show, which
parodies the 1985 video game hit, has already been extended due to popular
demand. While Williams admits that the show is a loose interpretation of
burlesque, its appeal is quite simple.
“I think what we do is
successful because it is silly, campy
and fun,” she explained. “People love a good time – even more so with boobs.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
- 'Boobs and Goombas: A Super Mario Bros Burlesque' showing on Fridays and Saturday at 11pm at Gorilla Tango Theater, 1919 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, tickets $20, (773) 598-4549, www.gorillatango.com
- 'TRIM! An Xmas Burlesque Craptacular' showing on Saturday, December 3 10:30pm at Stage 773, 1225 W Belmont Avenue, Chicago, tickets $18, http://vaudezilla.com/xmas.htm
- 'Behind the Burly Q' screening on Sunday, February 12, 1:30 p.m., Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60614, (312) 642-4600, www.chicagohistory.org
- 'Burlesque: A Living History' (second edition) by Jane Briggeman, to be released December 2011.
The Great Bambi Jones from Rylee Jean Ebsen on Vimeo.
No comments:
Post a Comment