The show’s highlights included Nasty Canasta riding a giant mustache and Toronto visitor James and the Giant Pasty doing a boylesque number as a frog who turns into Prince, performed to the classic Prince track, “Kiss.” Also on hand were Wasabassco regulars Evelyn Vinyl and Peekaboo Point; stage kitten Amanda Whip; and Trixie Little performed her classic “Banana Strip” routine to an audience made up of more newbies than one would see at a Bell House Wasabassco show.
John Perez, owner and marketing director of Verboten, said that his team acquired the 10,000 square foot former metal shop completely unfinished, “allowing us to design it from the ground up for flow, sightlines, sound quality and flexibility.”
The lighting for Wasabassco’s show left a little to be desired, as burlesque has different lighting requirements than live music or DJs, a fact often overlooked by venue producers. Yet Verboten’s commitment to diversity seems legitimate.
“Now that our nomadic promoter days are over, we aren’t setting up sound and video in a new place every night,” Perez said. “We can focus more on new and exciting productions that we couldn’t before: video projection mapping, better lighting, performers, aerialists, etc.”
Doc Wasabassco said he was looking forward to bringing Wasabassco to a new audience while also introducing a new venue to the troupe’s loyal following. “Williamsburg has changed a lot in the last few years and it feels like we’ve all grown up together,” he told us. “We’re excited to bring more sophisticated and mature events to the neighborhood than you might have seen years ago.”
J.D. Oxblood (@JDOxblood) is the co-founder of Burlesque Beat.
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