What happens when a performance group sets out to be one thing, but up ends everything, and in the process of putting their act on the road, actually discovers they are truly unique in this world?
Well, for members of the Super Happy Funtime Burlesque, one of the country's only live burlesque touring acts, you throw together a party to celebrate before you begins your eighth year of being a groundbreaking act in your field.
If you were scratching your head saying,“ I thought burlesque was everywhere these days," you would be partially correct.
“Every city has a burlesque show these days and it strictly has a vintage-
ey, revival-ish feel, and every girl is trying to look like Lili St. Cyr or Bettie
Page,” says bandleader Corey Eno Ruffin. “They dance to pre-recorded music, there are no skits, and on the whole, the form is treated as a niche… or novelty performance.”
Unlike these other groups that are often the hallmark of burlesque festivals around the country, our SHFB avoid these cliché trappings, instead choosing theatres and bar stages as they take hit the road with their own bus. Their troupe includes a full live band, dancers, sketch comics and even a 350 lb. man tossed in for good measure.
As to the unusual programming of their Christmas show for their tour, Ruffin thinks it makes perfect sense.
“We've been touring nationally for two years now, and it's been limited to
April through October because the logistics of taking our bus out in the winter is really next to an impossible undertaking,” explains Ruffin, “And all the while, some of our best shows have been the Christmas specials as they are always epic and completely scored musicals -- always our most ambitious shows.”
So for their Wealthy Theatre tour kickoff show, look for the best elements of their last four Xmas shows as well as a few new numbers created just for the new tour. It is always a brow-raising experience for us, but also for the others who, once learning of their home base, almost always shout, “You’re from
Grand Rapids? Nu huh!"
Admission: $12 in advance / $15 at the door
More Info