Betty Boop usually gets all the attention, but there are some Bobby Boops and Barry Boops out there as well. And the audience loves them.
Prince George is home to a growing burlesque movement, as an extension of the regional burlesque hotbed of Quesnel where the Foxxie Follies troupe is headquartered. Part of that burgeoning momentum is bringing men onto the same stage alongside the women.
The area has some veteran male performers, the troupe is looking for more. So when the Foxxie Follies do their next show there will be some special attention paid to the guys.
Event promoter and Foxxie Follies cast member Sabbra Cadabera (yes, that is a stage name, and yes, for you observant metal music fans, that is a Black Sabbath song title) said the girls in the crew wanted the men to feel welcome "with a show focused on highlighting the beauty of man-butts and beer guts. Tired of the same old thing at male stripper nights? Well come on over to the Artspace for some sexy, funny, and intriguing gentlemen of all ages, shapes, sizes and professions. Come see some beautiful bums."
None of this is new, she said, and the whole point of burlesque calls for this sort of inclusion.
"Boylesque has been around as long as burlesque," said Cadabera. "We as a troupe are really about positivity and all gender identities and all bodies getting respect, so we wanted to focus a bit on that with a masculine show. And we use the word 'masculine' deliberately: yes there will be men but there will also be women who are focusing on their inner manliness."
One of the regular Foxxie Follies emcees is a man who goes by the name Dickie D Light. Juxtaposed to that is the troupe's founder and leader Sasparilla Foxx who has a male alter ego named Harry, and it was Harry she channelled at last year's Gay Pride Parade but Harry was in a dress, making it a rare drag-on-drag moment, just to underscore the irrelevance of gender in most daily functions of life.
One of the men with a lot of stage time already accrued is Mark Rupp, known by his stage name Mr. Elixir. The sparks fly when he comes out for a routine, since he is prone to use power grinders to shower the stage in metallic glitter off metal crotch covers. He also wields a chainsaw, sometimes, because he's a Cariboo Canadian.
Mr. Elixir will be one of the spotlighted performers at the masculinity showcase.
He said his first foray into boylesque was almost accidental, and caused by Sasparilla Foxx who twisted his arm in a respectfully, scantily clad way to come on stage instead of spending all his support time working backstage with props and costumes and brooms.
"Sasparilla is very persistent and persuasive," he said. "I had an interest in being more involved, but I was quite shy and the thought of being in the spotlight would send me into a cold sweat."
He didn't just have stage fright. He had debilitating emotions, but he knew it and saw the chance to grow as a person.
"People tell me all the time that they could never get on stage. I tell them, 'you have no idea where I've come from, I barely talked to other humans until I was 35.' If I can do it, you can," he said. "The thing about battling social anxiety though, is that you always have to push your boundaries. Do the thing that scares you. After about three years on the sidelines, Sass jokingly asked when I was going to do a solo. I replied that I had a vague idea for a lumberjack thing and she immediately scheduled me for choreo. A couple weeks later I was running a chainsaw, onstage, in a G-string. I was a burlesque dancer."
He lives in the woods, he works in the woods, so the lumberjack motif was not just an affectation. For the Artspace show he is unveiling a new character in that same family - a beaver trapper. The cup of innuendo always runneth over when the Foxxie Follies strut their stuff.
"There is a playfulness around gender," said Cadabera.
"You can think of it in terms of sex and sexuality, but when we do it with the Follies it's all just constructs towards a cheeky stage presentation and poking fun at both femininity and masculinity at the same time. Some of these things can be seen as very sexy, or very funny, or even both at the same time. For us, it's about entertainment and empowerment - breaking down walls by building up people."
"I do try to make my acts humorous rather than super-sexualized - throw in a few power tools to lighten things up," said Mr. Elixir. "I think I'd embarrass myself as well as the men in the audience if I went all Magic Mike out there. So far I've had great feedback from both men and women, and no one has wanted to punch me, yet, so I'm doing all right. Although, no one has seen this next act yet."
That chance comes on Jan. 21 at
9:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance, available at Bolli Imports in Pine Centre Mall.
Tickets at the door are $20 while supplies last. This is a 19-plus event with a cash bar among the refreshments.
Those interested in learning more about the Foxxie Follies, especially if you're curious about doing a routine or two yourself, can reach out with a message on the Foxxie Follies page on Facebook.
Perhaps plan for the Introduction To Burlesque workshop being held on Jan. 22 from 5-9 p.m. at Judy Russell's Encha"nement Dance Studio. The Facebook page has that information as well.
