Bringing Burlesque Back

By Shelly Schweizer

Want to twirl your tassels? Shake your bon-bons? Grab your g-string and pasties and strut your stuff over to the Lucky Dog on July 3 when Scratch, the manager and master of ceremonies of The Boston Babydolls, is hosting “A Taste O’Burlesque.” Amateur and professional burlesque dancers will bid for prizes in a competition hosted by Scratch and members of the Babydolls. The event will also feature special musical guests Johnny Carlevale and his Old Time Trio.

The Boston Babydolls last bumped and grinded their way into Worcester right before New Year’s Eve when they shared the bill with Sasquatch and The Sickabillies at The Lucky Dog. The 12 member troupe was formed three years ago and regularly performs in Boston, although Worcester is fast becoming like a second home.

Burlesque is a mixture of seduction, mystery, comedy and allure that nearly died with the advent of television in the 1950s. The art form was revived a decade ago by dancers, actors, and audiences. MC Scratch attributes the growing popularity of burlesque to a desire to return to a more innocent, glamorous era.

The Boston Babydolls’ performances are true to burlesque’s roots on the vaudeville stage. Their shows not only feature striptease but also a variety of acts: comedy skits, tap dancing and sword juggling. Scratch serves up a liberal dose of corny jokes and saucy banter that drives the show from start to finish.

Adorned with ruby lips, pin curls, cocktail era gowns and vintage style costumes, the Boston Babydolls transport their audience to an era gone by. Yes, they are strippers, but make no mistake: they are ladies. Total nudity is verboten. These voluptuous vixens juxtapose heat with humor, tastefulness with trashiness as they strut and shimmy across the stage, tantalizing and teasing those watching them by slowly removing their clothing, piece by piece, revealing their glittering g-strings and pasties, fringe-covered bras and lacy rumba panties.

The audience’s cat calls and whistles not only demonstrate their approval but their total willingness to be sweetly tormented. Most of the whooping and hollering comes from the ladies in the house, and that’s because an evening with the Boston Babydolls is a revelation of sorts. Each of the women who saunter across the stage is hot ~ and not because she’s necessarily a size two. The Boston Babydolls have the audience eating out of their gloved and bejeweled hands and they’re having a damn good time doing it. Their carefully crafted stage personas reflect a constellation of sexual archetypes: ice queens and innocent ingénues, bad girl biker chicks, Gothic dominas.

Far more than a celebration of characters and body types, the Boston Babydolls are an entertaining and powerful exaltation of the ability of all women to seduce ~ by the curve of the flesh, a suggestive movement or a knowing glance.

The Boston Babydolls offer aspiring burlesque queens dance classes, too. For those too shy to bump and grind in public, the Boston Babydolls have recently published instructional guides through an online publisher, 10 quicksteps.com.

For information on The Boston Babydolls, their upcoming shows, swag and more, visit www.bostonbabydolls.net. And makes sure to catch the lovely ladies at the Dog on July 3.

Top Photo: A. Ritter