“Want to go to a burlesque show with us?”
I know that burlesque is on the comeback and I shouldn’t have been surprised by the invitation. But the fact that this invite came from a 40-something female friend did take me aback just a bit.
“Burlesque?” I questioned.
“Yeah, meet us at 9pm,” came the reply that tactfully ignored the question mark in my Facebook message.
So with a shrug, I agreed and set up a time and place to meet.
It should be obvious by now that I went into all of this with a great deal of ambivalence. I had no expectations. And that probably served me well, because this was an education experience like few I have ever had.
The venue we arrived at was Nurse Bettie, a postage stamp of a place with barely room to move. I have no architectural drawings, but I would be shocked if the establishment was more than 600 square feet. So we’re talking the tiniest of the tiny bars you’ve ever been in. Now imagine, if you will, close to 80 people (more women than men) packed into that space and you’ll get a feel for both the popularity of what we witnessed, as well as the press of bodies we had to wade through in order to be part of it.
After getting a drink and watching the pre-show go-go dancer entertainment, the corner stage was lit up, people were rearranged to optimize viewing (your six foot five inch writer was asked to stand over by the wall so people behind me could see) and our host Calamity Chang (pretty sure that wasn’t her real name) took the stage to instruct us on how to enjoy the evening.
“I don’t want to see any faces like this,” she said, making her face go vacant in that dead stare men get at strip bars. “This is about fun,” she insisted with a bright smile. “I want to hear shouts. I want to hear laughter.”
And with that, the show began with a whole lot of shouting.
This was classic burlesque in all the best ways. Everyone had a choreographed act with a story to tell. The costumes were elaborate, the dances were fun and the classic burlesque elements of feathers and tassels were present everywhere.
But best of all was this really weird sense of female empowerment. The performers were not creations of plastic surgeons. These were women of all different body types from thin to voluptuous. And no one tried to hide flaws. C-section scars, cellulite and tattoos were badges of honor to flaunt.
The audience could not have been more energized either. The ladies in the crowd were particularly vocal, shouting their catcalls and their encouragements with hoots and hollers.
With so much positive excitement in the room, what started off as a half-hearted acquiescence on my part, became one of the most memorable evenings of my life.
There are many burlesque shows to see and experience in the New York area. But if you find yourself in the Lower East Side, I definitely recommend Nurse Bettie as one of your stops. The show’s are Thursday nights and they start at 10p. So don’t be late.
Nurse Bettie
106 Norfolk Street
Lower East Side
New York, NY
917-434-9072
Robert Knorpp is host of The BeanCast Marketing Podcast at thebeancast.com and is President of The Cool Beans Group, a marketing strategy consultancy based in New York City. He likes laughing even more than breathing. You can follow the madness on Twitter at twitter.com/BobKnorpp.
