Corsets and Cuties bring belly laughs to burlesque at Fringe.

Double Tree Productions presents Corsets and Cuties a Burlesque Cabaret in the Black Venue (The Venue) at this year’s Orlando International Fringe Festival. I went to one of their earlier shows at 10:30pm to sketch. What Babs and her troupe do is make burlesque fun and classy in equal measure. A three foot long sausage with balls on the male dancer might not be classy, but it is laugh out loud fun. He also did a number to the song Kriptonite in superman pajamas. When he stripped behind his long red cape, the women in the audience went crazy. He did turn around but kept part of the cape covering his midsection at all times just like the drapery in a Michelangelo.

I love the Three Belly dancers who performed a James Bond themed belly dance.  Theirs is a graceful class act. I wanted to catch their graceful gestures but my sketch was already crowded with performers. Their was a magical effect created by the blue footlights that I would have loved to catch. Sometimes I wish my right hand could move a whole lot faster (for sketching).

The number about the history of the brazier featured Babs in a costume that had impossibly large pillowy breasts. Jaimz wore a German Tirolean costume and the routine has to be seen to be believed. I laughed so hard my sides hurt. The big reveal would often happen with a performer’s back to the audience and these performers understand the art of the tease. Performers walked out into the audience and dollar bills would be stuffed into crevices. As the whole troupe took their final bow, a fist full of dollars rained down on the stage. The show is sponsored by Premier Couples Superstore. Every evenings show is different so there are always surprises.

Corsets and Cuties add some spice to the holiday season.

I went to a dress rehearsal or should I say, an undress rehearsal for Corsets and Cuties at Danceworks on Curry Ford Road. Snow was blanketing most of the country while the cast gathered outside the dance studio waiting for an aerobics dance class to end. Each dancer clutched her costumes for the night. Exhaling, I could faintly see my breath. One dancer was really under the weather trying to recover from a cold or flu. Three new dancers had joined the cast. One lamented that all her co-workers were planning to go to the show to see her in her birthday suit.

When the class let out, the Cuties stormed the dressing room. Producer and performer Jaimz Dillman acted as the announcer. She explained that the show consisted of some well rehearsed favorites and some new acts that stayed with the holiday season theme. Blue tarps were duck taped over the front windows as the cast changed. A large group number opened the show and then there were a series of solo performances. Many performers sang as well as danced, confirming that there is some major talent in this show. Feathers and baubles flew to the floor along with clothing.

Some acts were laugh out loud funny, like the Junk in a Box routine. Two cuties sat in their 60s styled negligee and they were seduced by two male admirers holding gift boxes at their hips.  When the girls finally got a look inside, their shocked expressions were priceless. Two huge dildos sat nestled inside. Marisa Ashley Quijano acting as one of the men, thrust her box braced hips so hard that the top popped off to hilarious effect. She also later did a “Blue Christmas” number where she shed her white polar fleece jacket to show off her sexy blue lace outfit.

The Corsets and Cuties show on Saturday November 22nd at The Venue (511 Virginia Drive Orlando FL) is SOLD OUT.  Having experienced the fun and craziness of their rehearsals, I can understand why.