Behind The Burly Q

I began kicking around the idea of relaunching Simply Burlesque last week once I figured out the mission of my freelance writing business. I've been fascinated with the art form since I was a child, but didn't really become apart of it (if only tangentially as a journalist and historian) until my senior year in college. That year I saw my first live burlesque show at World Cafe Live in Philly. The Peek-A-Boo Revue was the troupe I had the privilege of seeing and they were an amazing throwback to vaudeville and the golden age of burlesque with a slightly modern spin. I hadn't written anything for SB since 2010 and didn't know if I even wanted to as burlesque had taken over my life for a time so much that I didn't focus on anything else!

Then, Sunday night, as if given a sign from above, I stumbled upon the film Behind the Burly Q. It's a dazzling documentary chronicling burlesque acts from the '20s, '30s, and '40s. Watching icons like April March, Dixie Evans, and Tempest Storm sharing their experiences, good and bad, re-lit a spark inside me that had dimmed. I wanted to immerse myself in that world again. The glamour, the talent, the humor, the sex appeal - there's no other form of entertainment that gives you these things.

Behind the Burly Q reminded me of something else that appealed to me about burlesque, something I can really relate to: the men and women involved were people making the best of some not-so-pleasant situations.

• Lily Ann Rose's mom apparently had amnesia and would disappear from home for months at a time, always coming back married and pregnant by a new man. Eventually, the woman would die by overdosing on painkillers. Even more traumatic, Lily Ann was raped at 14 by a cop, who'd also been a long time friend of her family.
• Joni Taylor had three children by the age of 16 that she was raising alone while making her living as a burlesque dancer.
• Actor Alan Alda, son of burlesque comic Robert Alda, recalled how his father tried to make it in Hollywood as an actor, but ultimately failed due in part to his wife's mental health issues and the industry's hesitance to work with burly q performers.
• Dixie Evans and many other burlesque dancers had to work the circus circuit to make ends meet before burlesque came to prominence in the U.S. after vaudeville's decline.

These entertainers weren't cowed by obstacles. They were resilient in a way a lot of people today just aren't. If a girl couldn't make it on Broadway, she made a name for herself on the burlesque stage or as a pinup. That's inspiring.

We could all learn something from these trailblazers.