When Va Va Vixens, our local burlesque ingénues, put together a show, they always deliver. And their latest show — the seasonal apropos “Va Va Valentine” — is no exception.
Opening the show with a revue of live singers is undoubtedly one of the many highlights. These are voices ordained by devilish angels. And with a nod to the late Etta James, you can’t help but be brought into the headspace of the bygone era that this burlesque show harkens toward.
They find comedy in a loose plotline of a couple trying to reinvigorate their romance with the help of a pixie reminiscent of Puck from Shakespeare’s “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream.” The ongoing plot ties all the real performances of scantily clad women doing extraordinary feats of physical dexterity together.
The most eye-catching numbers happen when our love-lacking couple are dreaming. The dance of sacrificial virgins is poignant — and perhaps a hair naughty. The vampire dance is so wickedly sexy, you forget about the B.S. “Kristen Stewart/Robert Pattinson” sparkly vampires that have invaded pop culture in recent years. And when a young woman does a straightforward striptease to Aaron Neville’s “Tell It Like It Is” — you’ve reached, without question, the most erotic performance of the evening. It’s quiet and intimate. The simplicity of the routine proves that sometimes less is more, an adage that can be taken in many ways here. And it goes to show why there are few things as sexy as a beautiful woman wearing nothing more than a man’s dress shirt.
Overall, this show is more nice than it is naughty compared to previous shows they’ve assembled. It seems slightly less risqué, seeing as you rarely see more than you would on a beach filled with bikini-clad women. But clearly that isn’t the point. The point seems to be more an underlying message of acceptance and celebration of the female form, regardless of body types. And in this pre-fabbed, Xeroxed world of emaciated supermodels, underfed actresses and sinewy pop-stars — a message of self-acceptance is something we should all be able to support with gusto.
Va Va Vixens present ‘Va Va Valentine’
Feb. 17-18
Headliners Music Hall
headlinerslouisville.com
$20; 8 p.m.
