The Piñata of Perversion, the Disco ball of Danger, the Chandelier of Chi-town, a Vegetable Patch of High-Flying Snatch, Lola Martinet is the last remaining example of the most dangerous technology that 1976 had to offer. Lola’s cold-war-derived talents have served her foray into burlesque where she has appeared once at the New York Burlesque Festival, twice at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, and every night in your dreams.

An origami crane of sequins and pain, Tila von Twirl has been making waves with her recent explosion onto the North American burlesque scene. Though the conditions of her release prevent her from returning to her performance mainstays of turtle/shoe fire-jumping, competitive drinking, and plaid, she delights in the subtle nuances of shakin’ it in front of friends, family, mentors, and strangers. Tila kindly requests that members of the audience refrain from eating walnuts during the performance.

“Teddy Bare has returned from an evening soirée to the stillness of her manor. Walking up the north staircase of her grand foyer, caressed gently by the trembling light of the harvest moon, unaware of the passion awaiting, she slips but one shoulder from her gown as she tenderly strokes the satin lacing of her corset. Though her day comes to a close, her night has only just begun.” Find out if Teddy can uncover the truth behind her family’s fortune. See if she succumbs to the wiles of Armand in the best-selling thriller that the New York Times has called “a modern-day Almagest… so gripping that I read it instead of going to my daughter’s wedding.” Teddy’s Imbroglio, now available in paperback.

Paris Texas breaks a four-year vow of inchastity with her visit to bucolic Chicago for the Nuts ‘N Cherries’ debut. Dubbed the “southern quixote of gallimaufric debauchery” by dazzled-but-still-self-important yankees and “no, not that Paris, the Sexy one” by everyone else, she joins the Nuts ‘N Cherries to remind Chicago that, like good chili or barbeque, good burlesque is almost too hot to eat.

The Nuts ‘N Cherries are pleased to have Ray Gunn on loan from the Uffizi gallery in Florence for a temporary exhibition. Viewers with health problems or a history of heart condition should consult their physician before seeing Mr. Gunn. Called “the greatest work of sculpture of the modern era” Ray has been mistaken for a tripod on several occasions.

 

Equal parts Fred Astaire and Robert Oppenheimer Bazooka Joe is rumored to have been accidentally responsible for the proposal of Chicago’s narrowly-defeated clothing-ban. The seemingly incongruous virginal veteran, Bazooka Joe effortlessly mixes classic with cutting-edge, feather-footed with rock-hard, angelic with sinful, to produce a seamless boulevard to the bounty of boylesque.

Jett Adore, the romancin’, no-pantsin’ Prince of Burlesque, was born and raised on the Isle of Romantica, the Kingdom where he also received his MFA in Free Love from the prestigious Dovekiss University. An internationally beloved icon of glamor, passion, and lusty elegance, he generously endows himself to the world’s most desire-deprived. His latest collection of poems, “I Love You More Than All My Diamond Jewelry Except For A Few One-Of-A Kind Pieces”, And Other Amorous Declarations, has recently been published. Jett dedicates this performance to his late grandmother, the noble queen, who always advised, “If you got nice nasties, you might as well shake ‘em.”

 
Additional Cast

 
Navis Treasure – This elfin sprite (patron saint of adding machines, office workers, and grey felt) is known to folklore as “the lost traveller’s friend”. It is said that anyone finding themselves lost (physically or spiritually) need only speak the name of NavisTreasure three times quick, and the way to finer things will become apparent to them. Or so the story goes. In modern times, Navis Treasure has lately become an object of fascination in psychiatric circles, as an ever-more-prominent feature of benign escapist delusions suffered by chronically under-stimulated patients. So if you get the feeling during the show that Navis Treasure is speaking directly to you, that’s probably because you’re the only one who can see or hear him. Everyone around you is watching the last act of Ibsen’s “Ghosts”. Look again!

 
Mae the Bellydancer, AKA Spiffy Kinns, is the director of the burlesque and variety show, the Knock Knock Hot Spot and the leader of the gothic belly dance troupe, the Black Silk Road. She strives bring you thought provoking and empowering performance pieces through elaborate costuming, banging dance skills, and a little theatrical pizazz. When she’s not mesmerizing audiences with her fingers and hips, you can catch her class at Arabesque Dance in Chicago or get in on a piece of the burlesque fun with one of her custom made burlesque wardrobe pieces from her line, Cheyne Stokes.  Check out www.maethebellydancer.com and www.knockknockhotspot.com for event dates and details.

 
Dharmesh has performed juggling all over the country, and with other groups such as Meirmanov Sports Acro(MSA), the Midnight Circus, the Acrofabulous Circus, the Arts Alliance, and Forms in Motion. He looks forward to teaching juggling at the MSA circus space this year.  He also likes romantic dinners, sunsets, and long walks on the beach.