CyndiBurlesquePress - The Official Website for

Weekend Miser
http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/theater/strippers-with-a-plot-audra-mcdonald-and-sharon-vanetten.html?_r=0
Strippers With a Plot
By MARGAUX LASKEY
Published: January 12, 2012
Gyms are packed with people who resolved to get fit in
the new year, and while we’re all for getting healthy,
nothing depresses us more than watching a roomful of
hungry New Yorkers fight over free weights and climb
Stairmasters to nowhere. The Miser is on vacation this
week, living it up in the hedonist’s paradise of New
Orleans, so we think it’s safe to assume that she’d
prefer to kick back with a martini and a dish of salted
peanuts and watch women of all shapes and sizes get
their (and their audience’s) heart rates up the oldfashioned way: with stripping and high drama.
Maria Teresa DeJesus Alvarez
Cyndi Freeman, 47, a comedian and actress, was
always intrigued by the idea of performing burlesque
Cyndi Freeman, a k a Cherry Pitz, right (with Lil Miss
but was intimidated by the idea of dancing around au
Lixx and Adam “the First Real Man”), is reviving her
naturel in front of strangers. In 2002 she had a breast
“Hotsy Totsy Burlesque” show.
cancer scare and subsequently tested positive for a
BRCA genetic mutation, which significantly increases the chance of developing breast and other cancers. It
was then that she decided that it was time to give her fantasy a whirl.
“I wanted to celebrate my body while it was healthy,” she said. And in burlesque, she added: “Every body is
beautiful. Every shape, every size, every age. No one’s going to tell me I’m too old.”
She took classes and within a year she was performing in burlesque shows in New York as Cherry Pitz. In
2007 she met Joseph Naftali, a k a Joe the Shark, and together they created “Hotsy Totsy Burlesque,” a
scripted, high-camp soap opera with comic-book and sci-fi twists that features a rotating cast and a different
story every show. After taking a yearlong break, they’re restarting the monthly series on Tuesday.
“The thing I’ve noticed is that if the audience is drawn in to a drama, they have a heightened experience,”
Ms. Freeman said. “They are ‘right there’ for the entire show.”
Worry not. While this may not be your typical burlesque show, there’s nothing highbrow about it. There are
still plenty of spinning tassels and G-strings.
In this week’s episode, which features, among others, Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey, an “awardwinning acrobatic burlesque superduo,” the women are holding a fund-raiser in the basement of the Home
for Wayward Girls and Fallen Women to get a housemate out of jail. Martha Steward, a homemaking guru
and their current patron, makes an appearance.
(8 p.m., every third Tuesday of the month; RBar, 218 Bowery, between Prince and Spring Streets, Lower
East Side; hotsytotsyburlesque.com; $10.)
July 24 2012
'Game of Thrones,' 'Mad Men,' and 'Doctor Who'
spoofed in burlesque show
by Maane Khatchatourian
http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/07/24/game-o f-thrones-mad-men-and-doctor-who-spoofed-in-burlesqueshow/
Your favorite TV shows just got
hotter: Game of Thrones, Mad
Men, and Doctor Who have been
given a makeunder by a New York
City burlesque troupe.
Hotsy Totsy Burlesqueʼs rotating
cast hosts themed performances
every third Tuesday of the month.
Last weekʼs tribute show to Game
of Thrones pushed the TV showʼs
R-rated envelope further with booze,
blood, fire, and flesh (lots and lots
of bare flesh). In the burlesque act,
host Cyndi Freeman (AKA Cherry
Image Credit Stephanie Kieth
Pitz) drank a toxic alcoholic
concoction that landed her in the
hospital. GoT played in her mind
during her unconscious state and she channeled the character Tyrion Lannister during her risqué
performance. Khal Drogo, Cersei Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, and Sansa Stark were some of the other
characters brought to life by Hotsy Totsyʼs fire-breathing, sword-wielding, belly dancing cast of women.
Joseph Naftali (AKA Joe the Shark), the showʼs co-producer and talent coordinator, said the shows are often
in the form of sketch comedies that pay homage to old-school Saturday Night Live skits (with nudity). The
acts donʼt always celebrate pop culture, but the groupʼs most popular performances have had TV or film
themes. Event-goers often come dressed in costume and recite their favorite show tag-lines in unison with
the performers.
“Itʼs an easier marketing job when youʼre referring to something that everybody knows,” Naftali said. “Itʼs like
putting a star in your movie. There are people who show up for the star alone.”
The key to their success is to stay faithful to the original material, he said.
In Juneʼs Mad Men show, Naftali cast 400-pound, 6-foot-4, handlebar-moustached actor Peter Aguero
(dressed in lingerie) as Betty Draper/Francis, referencing the characterʼs buzzed about weight gain.
“Making fun of something that people love adds another onion layer of fun,” Freeman, the showʼs creator
and co-producer, said. “The hope is that the people in the audience have seen [the show] and they get all
the tiny little jokes.”
Hotsy Totsyʼs Doctor Who show was so successful last year that Naftali and Freeman plan on giving it a
facelift in September.
“The quote from one of the doctors, ʻwibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff,ʼ was a hit,” Freeman said. “Applause
broke out so loud that we had to pause.”
Future pop culture-themed shows include Octoberʼs ”Cherry Pitz: Vampire Hunter” and parodies of The
Avengers, Wonder Woman, and Star Trek. Past shows centered around Harry Potter, The Jazz Singer, and
Groundhog Day may be revamped as well. The troupe performs in New York Cit y at the Lower East
Side’s R-Bar.
Bleeding Cool Comic Books, Movies and TV News and Rumors
Frazer Brown writes (and photographs) for Bleeding Cool
Sept. 3, 2012
When Rich asked me to review a Cosplay themed burlesque show in New York City, it was of course with a VERY heavy
heart that I agreed! My journalistic integrity FORCED me to comply and sit through three hours of Avengers inspired seminude performance art.
The official blurb for the night was:
Cherry Pitz and Joe the Shark proudly present Hotsy Totsy Burlesque,
New York’s only episodic, monthly burlesque show. Featuring a different
script each month and a rotating cast, Hotsy Totsy is a high camp soap
opera featuring some of the best burlesque talent New York has to offer.
Manchego, Cherry Pitz and Joe the Shark wrote this episode of Hotsy Totsy.
Shortly after arriving at the R bar in downtown New York (which was also
hosting a poker tournament) the show began.
After a brief stint from go-go girl Apathy Angel, we were into the main event,
full title: “What if…Johnny Angel had joined the Avengers?” (Johnny Angel
being the boyfriend of co-host Cherry Pitz and part-time superhero).
Our two hosts for the evening were a frizzy haired Christopher Lloyd-lite
‘Manchego’ and the ‘Pink Widow’ played by the talented and multitasking
Producer/Writer /Performer Cherry Pitz. The plot for the evening involved
Manchego trying to take over the world with some sort of love juice but to
be honest it got lost in the fray as the rest of the evening was so
entertaining.
The producers knew their stuff, as the puns and comic book in-jokes came thick and fast throughout the evening (most of
which would have been lost on the crowd gathered). Hoity-Toity have a history of producing eccentric geek-centric
burlesque tributes, most recently creating a Game of Thrones and Mad Men show, as well as an upcoming Doctor Who
Parody. In fact, Producer Joe the Shark is the burlesque stage name for Joseph Naftali, former publisher/writer of such
comic books as Foodang: Clown with a Gun, The Mighty Mites, and The Dark. The Dark featured art by such comic
greats Mark Bright, Larry Stroman and frequent covers by George Perez.
To further stake their clam in the land of nerd, overheard backstage were some of the burlesque dancers discussing the
merits of seaQuest DSV versus seaQuest 2032. With so many geeks in one place (a word I always use as a term of
endearment) it was a surprise to see so many DC and non-Avengers characters make an appearance in the show. Of
course this is a minor quibble as the show was a blast.
The issue of the DC characters and inaccuracy was addressed at the very
start when a stereotypically large comic book fan stormed the stage to tell the
hosts why they were wrong, pulling out comic books to prove the correct
lineup. He was directly asked if he would rather discuss the merits of comic
books or see naked women? His response? “I just disassembled in my
pants” thus with the comedy bar set to lowbrow for the evening and before
the Scarlet Witch could say “no more clothes” we began.
First up, was ‘Aurora’ as the aforementioned Scarlet Witch, one of the most
impressive costumes of the evening, very accurate in a mid 1990s Matt
Salinger/Capt America kind-of-a-way (but with more cape twirling and nipple
tassels).
Next up was Hazel Honeysuckle as Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. DC Comics The
Penguin (the first cross gender performance of the night but by no means the
last). One minute in I had banished all thoughts of Danny DeVito and
marveled at Miss Honeysuckles prowess with a giant oversized umbrella.
The next character (and first ‘actual’ Avenger) to appear was The Incredible Hulk, or in this case the Incredible Cook,
presenting us with a rage filled culinary lesson (one of the comedic highlights of the evening). The skit concluded with a
backpack-wearing Bruce Banner walking across the stage to the end credit theme from Bixby’s ‘Hulk’.
Cherry Pits was up next as Diana Prince rescuing Major Steve Trevor from the clutches of the evil Cheetah in an
elaborate staged fight that ended with most of the costumes ‘accidentally’ torn off and Wonder Woman triumphant.
The next skit will stay with me a while; if you want an image that will haunt you to your grave then you need to witness the
Red Skull performing Burlesque. ‘First Avenger’ would have been an entirely different movie if Hugo Weaving had tried
this tactic.
The evening ended with a performance from Supergirl, which seemed the most out of place, this skit involved Supergirl
changing into her costume and eventually being forced to “kneel before Zod”.
We had a quick wrap up of the plot that I had half been paying attention to, with Johnny Angel finally arriving to save the
day and defeating the villain Manchego.
There was also an interval raffle with some pretty decent prizes up for grabs including graphic novels, comics
memorabilia, Captain America tassels and a collection of the Joe The Sharks previously published works signed by the
likes of George Perez and others. Unfortunately most people seemed to have forgotten to buy a ticket, which meant all of
the prizes went to one lucky winner in the front row. The pause as we waited for people to come forward was filled by
Cherry Pitz humming the end credits theme from the Incredible Hulk TV series (used earlier) in yet another display of
Hotsy-Totsy’s geek credentials.
So, a fun and entertaining evening if not entirely accurate from a comic book standpoint. Would the inclusion of an Iron
Man or a Miss Marvel or an actual Black Widow improve the evening? Not really it was a fun night, if you have an avid
interest in burlesque, the female form and comic books you can’t go far wrong.
Hotsy-Totsy Burlesque will be presenting their Doctor Who parody show on the 18th September, tickets available from
their website.
The cast (for completists only) Scarlet Witch – Aurora, Wonder Woman/Cherry Pitz – Cherry Pitz, Cheetah – Apathy
Angel, Major Steve Trevor/Johnny Angel – Handsome Brad, Nerd Boy at beginning of the show – Rory Scholl, Penguin –
Hazel Honeysuckle, Supergirl – Creamy Stevens (with the Fresh Prince of Darkness as General Zod), Minnie d’Moocha
'Star Wars' Burlesque Brings Bikini-Clad Leia to Lower East Side
December 19, 2012 9:21am | By Stephanie Keith, DNAinfo
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121219/lower-east-side/stars-wars-burlesque-brings-bikini-clad-leia-lower-eastside
LOWER EAST SIDE — These wookies
can wiggle.
As part of its monthly showcase, Hotsy
Totsy Burlesque drew about 200 guests
to R Bar for its tribute to the sci-fi classic
"Star Wars" — featuring dancers dressed
as characters ranging from Princess Leia
and Han Solo to Darth Vader and
Chewbacca.
Each performer had a different take on
the theme, as Chewbacca performed to
"Wild Thing" while Princess Leia and
Darth Vader did a duet to "Baby it's Cold Outside."
Interspersed with the performances was a screening of the 1978 camp classic "Star Wars
Holiday Special," and raffle prizes included a photo of Bea Arthur from the special, a
"Wookies Cookies" cookbook, and a children's book entitled "Darth Vader and Son."
"We are in the home for fallen girls," exclaimed Hotsy Totsy founder and MC Cherry
Pitz, of her burlesque troupe. "We've fallen, can't get up, and we like it that way."
STAGEBUZZ.COM
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Review - "Doctor Who Returns to
Hotsy Totsy Burlesque"
By Byrne Harrison
http://www.stagebuzz.com/2012/
10/review-doctor-who-returns-tohotsy.html
I love "Doctor Who." I also love
New York's fulsome burlesque
scene. Thanks to Joe the Shark,
Cherry Pitz and the rest of the
crew behind Hotsy Totsy
Burlesque, I had a chance to
enjoy the two together. And
despite the deluge, it was a fun, and very well attended event.
The evening, "Doctor Who Returns to Hotsy Totsy Burlesque," featured some marvelous
performers - Cherry Pitz, Lana Firebird, Lewd Alfred
Douglas,
Little
Motown, Matt
Photo
by Ben
Trivett
Knife, Nasty Canasta, Nelson Lugo, Ruby Solitaire,
Teddy Brad,
Turnaround
Handsome
Cherryand
PitzHandsome
Brad. But I wasn't there just for the excellent burlesque performers, I was there for the
Doctor. And Doctor Who fans were not disappointed. There was a stripping Amy Pond,
TARDIS, and Dalek (Daleks look much better without their protective armor in this
version than they do on "Doctor Who"). There was a Cyberman version of Cherry Pitz
who had to be rescued by Lana Firebird and Little Motown. There was a Weeping Angel
(a male one - don't blink or you're buggered). Best of all, there was a spot on Matt Smith
impersonation by Handsome Brad and some great repartee between him and Cherry Pitz.
This was my first trip to The Home for Wayward Girls and Fallen Women (aka the R Bar
on the Bowery), but not my last. Hotsy Totsy Burlesque has a little something for
everyone, and thanks to the fun themes that Joe the Shark and Cherry Pitz come up with,
you'll have a great time.
Next up is "Cherry Pitz: Vampire Hunter," on Tuesday, October 16th. If the crowd at the
Doctor Who night is any indication, buy a ticket and get there early. The place fills up
fast. Maybe Cherry Pitz will finally figure out who the greatest vampire is - Dracula,
Edward, LeStat, or Angel.