By Robert Warren You can pull all the stops out ‘till they call the cops out, Grind your behind till you're banned. But you gotta get a gimmick if you wanna get a hand! -- Miss Mazeppa, from the Sondheim/Styne musical Gypsy
“It’s high time we exposed the Hudson Valley to Filthy Gorgeous Burlesque," says Two Boots Hudson Valley owner Phil Hartman. “It's outrageous, equally fun for men and women, and tastes good with pizza!" It’s also a great gimmick. Hartman knows gimmicks: his Two Boots franchise, serving Cajun food and pizza, gets its name from the boot shapes of Louisiana and Italy, the locales from which those cuisines spring. This irresistible hook – along with consistently great food and business savvy – has helped turn one East Village restaurant into a thriving fifteen-location empire. The newest addition does gangbuster business in Red Hook, where Filthy Gorgeous Burlesque, on Friday, Nov. 8th at 9 PM, raises the rafters with bawdy fare not seen in this neck of the woods since the days of the Borscht Belt. New Yorker Hartman, however, is no stranger to burlesque. Although absent from the Red Hook region, the ribaldry made famous by such vamps as April March (above) and Tiffany Carter in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, has enjoyed a nationwide resurgence since the late 90s, especially in Manhattan. In that relatively healthy scene, Hartman and Filthy Gorgeous Burlesque creator, Brooklynite Jen Gapay, enjoy an ongoing partnership. “Jen’s a mover and a shaker – though not on stage – in the burlesque community," he says. “She and I have worked together on a slew of events – the HOWL! Festival, multiple Mardi Gras Balls to benefit the Lower Eastside Girls Club, and a long-running burlesque series at Two Boots Bridgeport."
The genial Gapay, who also created the wildly successful New York Burlesque Festival, is looking forward to this particular event. She says Filthy Gorgeous Burlesque is tailor-made for clientele like Bard students, i.e. Two Boots Hudson Valley’s usual patrons. “It’s more hip than the regular classic burlesque that older couples would appreciate," she says. “In classic burlesque, you have pretty long routines, almost like skits, like fifteen or twenty minutes long. But we’re the short-attention span generation, so each Filthy Gorgeous Burlesque act does about five minutes. Plus, there’ll be magic from host Albert Cadabra. So it’s more like an overview of burlesque, more edgy." (Although modernized, Gapay's crew keeps to the age-old burlesque etiquette of stripping down to pasties and a G-string; no performer is ever completely nude.) Coincidentally, the multi-faceted Cadabra, who bills himself as The Great Deceiver, Master of Illusion and Charm, grew up in nearby Rhinebeck, attended Rhinebeck High School, and graduated from Bard. He has since brought many gasps and laughs to comedy clubs, cabarets, Off-Broadway, and his running gig with Ripley’s Believe It of Not in Times Square, at which he routinely hammers nails into his nostrils and performs magic. “Albert performs in a lot of sideshows," says Gapay. “I thought he’d be really good for the college kids."
The Two Boots Hudson Valley engagement isn’t the first Filthy Gorgeous Burlesque. “It’s usually a Valentine event at the Highline Ballroom in Manhattan," says Gapay. “It’s like a variety show: there's The Maine Attraction [far left], who does a lot of Josephine Baker-style stuff, plus some audience participation. She dances into the crowd, does a headstand in a chair in someone's lap." Gapay laughs. “She's a lot of fun, as close to classic burlesque as this show gets. Then we have Rosie 151 [center], who does a number where she dresses as a cowboy and cracks a whip, then Brewster, a boylesque performer. After that, you get Broadway Brassy [top right], an amazing singer who does a lot of parody songs, makes "'Ain’t Misbehavin’’ extra dirty, and finally Boo Boo Darlin’ [bottom right], the Carol Burnett of Burlesque, who’s a great comedienne." How does Gapay, who moved her successful business Thirsty Girl Productions from Seattle to New York in 2000, account for the burlesque revival of the last fifteen or so years? “People like to say it was because Giuliani closed the sex shops in Times Square," she says, “and that created a need for something. But I think it’s thrived because it wasn't started by a corporation, which made it easier for performers and producers, on a local level, to take control and do their own thing. Performers are really supportive of each other when they're touring. It's a real community." Gapay’s New York Burlesque Festival, in fact, has seen an explosion of interest. It’s become the oldest and most regular burlesque event in the country. “Our first year, we just asked our friends to come," she says. “This past year, we had almost 500 performers apply. We were the first, but now there are festivals in Toronto, Chicago, Dallas, even Iowa City!" Curious? Of course you are. To see what folks from Iowa to Toronto are gaga about, come get an eyeful of tassels, glitter, gams, and gimmicks a-blazin’ at the Filthy Gorgeous Burlesque show at Two Boots Hudson Valley in Red Hook. Filthy Gorgeous BurlesqueFriday, November 8 Doors at 9 p.m., show at 10 p.m. Two Boots Hudson Valley4606 Route 9G, Red Hook, NY $15 advance, $20 at the door (845) 758-0010
