Creative Loafing - Show Review by Perry Tannenbaum

Performing Arts Editor
Creative Loafing // Charlotte, NC
Fort Mill Times // Fort Mill, SC

Southeast Regional Correspondent Back Stage BackStage.com
Member, American Theatre Critics Association

Member, Music Critics Association of North America

Published 11.14.07

Imagine our surprise when we got a mildly positive review from the man who hates everything! Oh we promised him a better seat next time!

Cut to Elizabeth Avenue, where the only testifying we saw at Big Mamma’s Burlesque was Tits McGee twitching and squirming out of a bright red choir robe. As the spasmodic ritual climaxed, little was left over McGee’s fetching frame beside a G-string and a pair of pasties.

Nothing else at Mamma D’s was quite that profane. I often found myself longing for more profanation, particularly when the comedy of emcees Johnny Anonymous and Lefty LeBlue grew stale. Or when the cavalcade of strippers yielded a tedium of twirling tassels.

The ambiance at The Visulite doesn’t help Big Mamma achieve her aim of presenting “a celebration of beauty and femininity.” Audience begins queuing up on Elizabeth Avenue an hour before showtime to get the best tables and seats. Savvy move. Latecomers don’t merely get bad seats — they get no seats and must stand. In Visulite’s layered layout, people closest to the stage must stand during the entire show, sitting on the floor or escaping to the bar at intermission.

Above them, a row of tables looks out over a railing, the choicest seats in the house. Half of the crowd stands behind them. The bar area is a level higher — and further away — with stools and cocktails overlooking yet another set of railings. That is where Sue and I finally found stools after standing for about 45 minutes. During intermission, I scouted out the possibility of moving to the front and watching the second hour standing, the way the masses enjoy the Proms in the UK.
Nope. Brits don’t have to contend with the high concentration of smoke that I found near the footlights. We stayed where we were.
That imposes a certain penalty. For we heard lusty cheers when the strippers did their floor work, but we couldn’t see what the noise was all about.

Mamma D was arguably the best thing in the show. Yes, she is big, but we saw her all too seldom last Saturday. D’s amplitude added unforgettable oomph to her rendition of “When You’re Good to Mama.” This wondrous vocal was paired with a performance by Leggs La Rue, best described as an S&M triathlete riding her bicycle upside down. Without the bicycle.
I genuinely savored the seductive artistry of a couple of the women — Miss Kitty’s fevered way with her huge white feather fans, and Taloolah Love’s exotic manipulation of her diaphanous orange-fuchsia wings. The classy plus-sized Vagina Jenkins was nearly as good, a welcome shot of chocolate.
Monkey the Pick Up Artist (on loan from the Wicked Witch of the West — in Waldorf Astoria livery) was a special audience favorite, clearing the stage of props between acts and exuding pure servility. Confidentially, a few of the most outlandish audience members were as much worth gawking at as he.

Orignially published HERE