Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Sexy, potent burlesque and cabaret on 46th Street: NEW YORK, NEW YORK and SPEAKEASY TIMES SQUARE

• By drediman
• July 27, 2021
• No Comments

This past weekend, I reveled in two highly entertaining burlesque/cabaret shows on 46th Street. Here are my thoughts on them.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Sony Hall

Every Friday night at the atmospheric Sony Hall for a few months now, legendary New York nightlife producer Susanne Bartsch has been putting on quite the show/party in the form of New York, New York (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Those of you who have been to one of Ms. Bartsch’s events know how outrageous and unpredictable they can be. That’s what makes them so seductive and thrilling. Despite their unruliness, attending these bacchanalian, sex positive revelries can make one feel utterly alive and in the moment. Many have attempted to recreate the anything goes experience of the New York downtown club scene’s 1980s heyday or the storied, decadent Berlin nightlife of the Weimar Republic. Ms. Bartsch’s sprawling events come closest, I think, taking burlesque and cabaret to their kinky extreme. Hosted by that lovable lounge lizard of a drag king Murray Hill, the night features a number of icons of New York nightlife, like Joey Arias, Amanda Lepore, and Perle Noire. And then there’s the queen bee Ms. Bartsch herself – as Euro fabulous as ever – who participates in the vaudeville-meets-performance art proceedings with wicked glee and irreverence. True to form, New York, New York unravels after the show into a dance party that twerks into the wee hours of the night.

SPEAKEASY: TIMES SQUARE
Bond 45

Just a few feet down 46th Street from Sony Hall is Bond 45, a popular theater district Italian restaurant and hang out. Down in the venue’s bowels, another potent burlesque show is currently lighting up the Great White Way, Speakeasy: Times Square (RECOMMENDED), which is more Broadway and less freewheelingly “downtown” – but just as much of a good time – as New York, New York. Unlike Ms. Bartsch’s show a couple of doors down, Speakeasy is tightly scripted and directed – just like a well oiled Broadway production, which is unsurprising given the musical theater-heavy resumes of its creative time and performers. Even if the individual acts are less audaciously jaw-dropping as its neighbor’s, the hardworking, scantily-clad cast have complete command of the playing space, immersing audiences with plenty of winking eye contact and suggestive flirtation. One of the exciting aspects of the experience is the audience’s close proximity to the performers, who literally slink about and dance up a storm just inches away from spectators. The price of admission also includes a suite of exotic cocktails (as well as a meat and cheese platter) that are served over the course of the evening, further immersing audiences in the intoxicating world of cabaret and burlesque. The tantalizing experience sends you into the night seeking more adventures as if it were the Roaring ’20s (which it is).