Part burlesque; part erotica; all camp. Those are just some of the many ways to describe the new show from creator, director, choreographer John Paolillo currently running weekly at XL Nightclub. For starters, the cast features many drag and non-drag talents including Luxury Cartax as Sister Goose who brandishes a truly fuzzy gold book full of naughty nursery rhymes that counter the age old tales children have recited for centuries.
Traveling through a vortex of promiscuity and hilarious stereotypes, Cartax introduces the audience to the “true” versions of Humpty Dumpty (the village horny drunk who shits himself), Bo Peep (who lost her sheep while boning Boy Blue), and Three Men in a Tub (cruising a bath house). The performances range from the stylish and burlesque with Miss Muffet, played by the curvy Audry Hamilton, sporting gorgeously tight black and dark purple undergarments to Bo Peep (portrayed by Pixie Aventura) tearing her light blue dress off and molesting audience members who couldn’t get enough of it as the stories got more and more insane. Speaking of needing a strait-jacket; Molly Equality Dykeman made a surprise appearance serving “WTF” realness and recited further dirty bits to haunt your nightmares. (Not sure if that was planned or not but I’ll take her either way.)
I would even say that it’s “trashy” burlesque (in the best of ways) and downright fun to see such tongue-in-cheek acts sharing a stage and thoroughly dragging our childhood memories through a vat of glitter.
Hairy Tales & Rhymes is currently playing at XL Nightclub on Tuesday evenings in July starting at 8pm (give or take for drag time, hon). http://www.xlnightclub.com/nightclub/xl-tuesdays/
