Bawdy Spiderlillies like to laugh it off
By KAREN SHADE, 6/10/2006
Destiny Green bastes fellow Spiderlilly dancer Jessica Berney during a performance of the group's "Cannibal" skit. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
The show is inherently risque, but the Spiderlillies want audiences to take away something more from the group's burlesque act.
"It's more comedy than anything else. We're actors. It's a theatrical performance," said Lara Carlyon, who plays Luxxi Cairo. "It's not like a strip club -- (a) dark, dirty atmosphere. We're up there hamming it up and being goofy."
The Spiderlillies, a local act, will present its first performance at the Nightingale Theater on Saturday night.
Founder Cat Poland, who portrays Lily DeVille on stage, said she is more interested in getting a fun performance out of her group than in landing precise dance steps. But she insists on doing some things right.
"There's a lot of work involved, staying on cue, being on time" for rehearsals and performances, Poland said.
The act is adult, bawdy and sexually charged. Some may even call it explicit. Performers start out in full costume but usually end up in lingerie, tattoos and sequined pasties. As the clothes fall, altar egos, such as Delilah Danger and Trixie LaRue, act out scenes in suggestive poses like those of old-style pin-up girls.
They perform to a variety of songs -- everything from Kiss rockers to Eartha Kitt's gutteral purr in "I Want to be Evil" and seemingly forgotten late '60s pop pieces tinged with bossa nova.
Nothing is understated about the act. Often over the top, the group plays with sexual cliches.
"My mom and dad understand that I'm not naked, I'm not a stripper, and I'm not up here shaking my stuff for money or anything," said Ali Pullen, who plays Roxanne Sheridan. "We don't get paid for this. We do it as a hobby."
Pullen said she usually gets teased with harmless jokes from her family over Sunday dinner about her unusual hobby, but she said the fun she has as Roxanne is worth it.
When
10 p.m. Saturday
Where
Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St.
Tickets
$5. For more information, call 583-8487 [As of February 2007, 633-8666].
Note
Show contains strong sexual material.