ATLRetro

Stars both of the Burlesque Revival and of classic tease arrive in Atlanta this week for the third annual Southern Fried Burlesque Festival Thurs. March 21-24 at  the Wyndham Atlanta Galleria. Bras off to Syrens of the South Productions, and in particular Katherine “Lashe” Neslund, with assistance from Ursula Undress, who had a dazzling dream to start a festival in Atlanta.As a lover of classic burlesque but appreciative of the creativity that revival performers show, ATLRetro has to say that the big evening shows at the first two SFBFs were among the best in Atlanta. We loved the chance to see some of the nation’s and Southeast’s best, including legends that sizzled stages in the ’60s and ’70s, without traveling to New York, the West Coast or the Burlesque Hall of Fame. Aspiring performers can take classes taught by these talents on topics ranging from costuming to performance to the history of the art form, as well as shop from a host of vendors selling everything from pasties to vintage items.

Just a quick glance at the line-up suggests this year will be just as good performance-wise, if not even better. First, we have to admit that we’re pretty excited to see Portland, Oregon’s Russell Bruner, reigning King of Burlesque, after getting a peek at him during our own Kool Kat Kitty Love‘s first Sultry Sunday of the year back in January. Male exotic dancers may be notoriously boring, but dressed in a pin-stripe seersucker suit, top hat and debonair moustache, let’s just say Russell wasn’t just sexy but sassy–really capturing the spirit of the tease in ways that most male dancers simply don’t. Of course, that underlines the essential difference between burlesque, or in this case “boylesque,” and striptease/exotic dance. Burlesque comes from vaudeville and variety and is all about having fun–which, well, they say gals love a guy with a sense of humor.

Russell Bruner

OK, yeah, that was a lot of getting hot and bothered about Russell. SFBF 2013 also features a bevy of lovely ladies. Friday night’s all-star Free Range Burlesque will be headlined by Miss Exotic World 2010 Roxi D’lite, who also stars in BURLESQUE ASSASSINS, a Canadian comedy/action indie feature film which will have its Atlanta debut at SFBF. Set in a 1950s Burlesque theatre, it stars top burlesque performers from around the world and and follows a trio of sexy super-spies as they seduce their way within killing distance of a trio of villainy hell bent on global Cold War domination. How can one not want to see a movie whose description provocatively teases: “WITNESS the fatal fan dance of Koko La Douce! BEHOLD the brutal boa striptease of Bombshell Belle! SEE Bourbon Sue, a bad girl with a taste for booze, boys and Rock & Roll. Experience the carnage and the cleavage as the enemies of The Burlesque Assassins discover that when it comes to these women, LOOKS CAN KILL!” Catch the trailer here.

Known for having the “mouth of a sailor” and the “voice of an angel,” Cora Vette will be on hand as pageant mistress of ceremonies on Saturday night. She performed for more than one million guests over three years as Tanya in MAMMA MIA! at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. She now runs a burlesque company called Black Box Burlesque and also has a troupe of male burlesque performers called Cora Vette’s Hot Rods. In fact, she may be one of burlesque’s most diverse talents, having also written two burlesque musicals, the critically acclaimed Victorian comic burlesque operetta, LEADVILLE OR BUST! and a pot opera called REEFER MANIA: DENVER’S GONE TO POT.

Cora Vette.

Notorious for her costumes, 2012 Southern Fried Burlesque Queen, Denver’s Orchid Mei, returns. She gracefully combines traditional Chinese dance with influences from classic burlesque femme fatales and has performed with the Dresden Dolls. Also back are last year’s best group, New Orleans’ Slow Burn Burlesque! Atlanta’s own lovely Talloolah Love and Knoxville’s Kisa Von Teasa will be featured performers at the Southern Scorcher showcase, hosted by Minette Magnifique‘s Baroness vonSchmalhausen which also includes Fonda Lingue, Ursula Undress and many more talented performers  from all over the Southeast!

late night Saturday. SFBF’s legends this year are Canada’s Judith Stein and Detroit’s Toni Elling, who will both be performing Friday. And that’s not even counting Atlanta’s New Orleans Jon, who emcees on Friday; all the way from Stockholm, Sweden, Adoria Amoria – if you had any doubt that the revival had reached Scandinavia; Knoxville’s Sweet Little Psycho Kisa Von Teasa, and many more.

Here’s a quick rundown of SFBF daily highlights:

Thursday March 21

SFBF kicks off with a happy hour mixer, which also will double as the monthly meet-up of the Atlanta Burlesque & Cabaret Club from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., then get a sneak peek at burlesque’s future stars at the Just Hatched Newcomers Showcase and watch the Atlanta premiere of BURLESQUE ASSASSINS at 10 pm.

Friday March 22

The festival teases into full gear with classes and vendors during the daytime, the Free Range International Showcase headlined by Roxi D’lite and featuring performances by local and national stars at 9 p.m. and an after-party at 11:30 p.m with music by Till Someone Loses An Eye featuring Kool Kat Aileen Loy and Good Golly Svengali.

Judith Stein.

Saturday March 23

Take classes and shop the vendors’ market during the daytime, then see some of the south’s and nation’s finest compete in the Southern Fried Burlesque Pageant, at 8 p.m. It’s hosted by Cora Vette with farewell performances by last year’s winners Orchid Mei and New Orleans’ Slow Burn Burlesque. Then close out the night with the Southern Scorcher Showcase at 11:30 p.m. featuring Talloolah Love, Kisa Von Teasa, Fonda Lingue, Ursula Undress and many more talented performers  from all over the Southeast!

Sunday March 24

Get your final shopping done and catch up with the performers before they leave town.

To purchase advance tickets and peruse the full class and event schedule with performer bios, visit www.southernfriedburlesquefest.com/. And for the latest updates and extras, be sure to friend SFBF on Facebook and follow on Twitter. 

All photographs are courtesy of Southern Fried Burlesque Festival and the performers pictured.

Orchid Mei, the reigning Southern Fried Burlesque Queen, performs at the 2nd annual festival's Pageant. Photo credit: Kevin McConnell.

By Talloolah Love
Contributing Writer

This past weekend I had the divine pleasure to write an article for ATLRetro on Atlanta’s biggest burlesque event to date, the second annual Southern Fried Burlesque Fest, presented by local honeys Katherine Lashe of Syrens of the South Productions, and Ursula Undress. Not only did I get to review a show, I got to review THE show, the Pageant to crown the next Southern Fried Burlesque Festival Queen! The other exciting addition to this year’s pageant was the advent of the very first Southern Fried King of Burlesque.

What I love about these festivals is the opportunity to attend what feels like class reunions all over the country. You get to see beautiful people, friends and colleagues for an entire glorious weekend. Sometimes I wish the shows began later than advertised, but alas, we all had to hit our seats right on time. No small wonder with the good Bishop involved. David Bishop, known as “The Bishop of Burlesque,” who hails from New York, makes all festivals he is involved with run smooth as silk. He is always a joy to work with and I look for him to be involved in every festival I attend. For two years now, the ladies behind Southern Fried have made David a part of their event. They truly are smart cookies for ensuring that he’s a part of their festivities; he really knows how to make it happen!

As the lights went down, I sat firmly in a seat next to the spotlight, and out came John Carney. I haven’t seen John grace the stage in what feels like years, and it gave me a tingle of nostalgia as he sang his rendition of “The Burlesque Show” (set to THE MUPPET SHOW theme music). Atlanta’s “worst comic in the world” did not disappoint with his bad puns and offbeat humor about his clothes. The judges were announced: Satan’s Angel, Gabriella Maze, Shannon Doah, Perle Noire, Tim Mack and Siren Santina. You can’t get a better panel than that, folks; you just can’t!

Kittie Katrina exchanges a kiss with Stephan, King of the Southern Fried Burlesque Festival. Photo credit: Kevin O'Connell

The whole show was a lot of fun, and John Carney built up a nice sense of suspense for the category and results of who the next Queen would be, without short-changing the rest of the categories. My personal highlights of the show include Donna Touch; I have seen the cat burglar act before, and I thought this was truly the best. She was on fire. Stage Slave Gavin was a very pretty little hoot, and Üla Überbusen brings me to tears with her cat lady number without fail every time!

Next, there was some banter between a very cranky but pink Bourgeois Betty who played with sock puppets while putting John Carney in his place. I am not sure he knew what hit him. Siren Santina did a rousing booty shaker to “I Like Big Butts and I Cannot Lie,” by Richard Cheese, and we all had a great laugh for the experience.

Then, the moment of truth, we got to see Satan’s Angel perform. Never have I seen her so electric as she was that evening! The whole room was positively on fire, along with her pasties, in her signature act. If you’ve never seen Satan’s Angel perform her fire pasties act, the one that made her famous in the world of burlesque, then you’ve no idea what you are missing. She lives up to her name in everything that she does, and we all love her for it.

By the time the Angel’s act was over, we had forgotten we were there for a competition! Here are the final results for the Second Annual Southern Fried Burlesque Festival:

Siren Santina sings a farewell song before passing on her crown. Photo credit: Kevin O'Connell.

Best Group: Slow Burn Burlesque from New Orleans;

Best Duet: Bourgeois Betty and Katarina Von Dutch from Augusta, Georgia;

Best Variety: Safety 3rd from Atlanta

King: Stephan from San Antonio.

Then we had a song from Siren Santina, who was soon to be the former Queen of Southern Fried. I can’t put in writing the name of the song she sang, as it is not exactly all ages friendly, so suffice it to say that it was a gift for all who came out that night, and it was utterly blush-worthy. Now, the final results of the night:

Second runner up: Donna Touch from Chicago

First runner up: Lola Le Soleil from Atlanta

Queen of 2012 Southern Fried Burlesque Festival: Orchid Mei from Denver.

Satan's Angel sets the audience on fire. Photo credit: Kevin O'Connell.

And let’s not forget the Subcategories:

Miss Congeneality: Sunny Midnight

Audience Choice: Stephan

Most Innovative: Orchid Mei

Most Funny: Lola Le Solei

Best Costume: Donna Touch

Most Classic:  Orchid Mei