Encore! L’Edition Française est Merveilleuse

A review should be useful. A review should tell the reader why her life will be better, richer, and more fulfilled by spending X amount of dollars to for Y hours worth of entertainment or edification. Right?

 

And I try, I really do try, but after last night’s performance of La Danse! Le Burlesque! L’Edition Francaise! at the Triple Door, all I can do is bounce up and down, and squeal.

L’Edition Francaise has everything you want from burlesque–witty pantomime, sexy dancing, fringes, feathers, sequins, the whole glam-fabulous facade–and also throws in the sort of gender-bending that is both traditional in French pantomime and much beloved by Seattle audiences.

Billed as an “amuse-bouche of sexy choreography to whet the appetite and enchant the senses,” the production is divided into trois “scènes” choreographed respectively by Kitten LaRue of The Atomic Bombshells, Olivier Wevers from Whim W’Him, and Lily Verlaine. Ms. Verlaine is the mastermind behind l’Edition Francais, and something of a burlesque star in her own right.

Perhaps even more entertaining than the show itself, though, was the entr’actes: an ongoing skit in which a woman rides a tricycle across the stage to introduce each act, becoming progressively less enthusiastic about her task as the show winds on. Humor is impossible to explain, but it was funny, and learning why is a reason in-and-of itself to catch La Danse! Le Burlesque! L’Edition Francaise! at the Triple Door this weekend.

The show runs through Saturday, May 28th, with two shows per day. Last night’s opening performance was packed, so I suggest buying tickets ahead of time and getting to the venue a little early.