The Dead have Risen Again, and They are Hot

Oct 12, 2012

Last weekend, I was invited to attend a show in Chicago. It was a burlesque show, and it was the first I had ever attended. Burlesque shows, most popular until the 1940’s have made a bit of a comeback outside of Las Vegas. They feature bawdy comedy and striptease by beautiful women.

The show I attended was at the Gorilla Tango Theater (1919 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL). They have different themed shows that are performed every weekend, but the one that I attended was “Boobs of the Dead, A Walking Dead Burlesque”. It is very loosely based on the TV show, with the biggest difference being that all of the parts (including the males) are played by women. There is no actual nudity, the closest you get is a very interesting combination of pasties and tassles. The whole show is geared toward causing laughter, and a lot of whoop’n and hollar’n.

The theater is fairly small and seats about 80 guests with a few more standing on the side. It’s kind of long and narrow so that the seats are packed tight, but every seat provides an excellent view. In fact, since I arrived only ten minutes before the show started I had to sit in the back row with my son (he’s 25) and we had no problem seeing the whole show.

There was beer and I believe wine for purchase at the theater, but as the show only lasts an hour there isn’t much chance for the guests to get snookered and out of hand. The house was full and the crowd was mixed with men and women of all ethnicity’s and ages (no children though, it’s just for adults).

Once the show began, we were treated to scenes that flashed back and forth from a beleaguered CDC representative issuing statements to the public, to our band of heroes valiantly trying to escape the zombie hordes and make their way to the safety of the CDC. People are becoming zombies, but in this version the undead have an irresistible urge to tear off their clothes in a very sexy way.

As things get worse and worse (or better and better, depending upon your viewpoint), the show builds to a hot dancing zombie climax as the heroes finally reach the CDC. There were a lot of laughs and cat calls along the way, and both the crowd and the performers seemed by all appearances to be having a wonderful time. I know that my son and I did.

The script by K Leo was well written, and if I wasn’t laughing out loud I was at least smiling the whole way. There were a lot of humorous references to “The Walking Dead” TV show peppered throughout. I was particularly impressed by the choreography of Erica Reid. It wasn’t a huge stage but they utilized it very well and the dancing was entertaining and flawless. You can tell that the ladies put a lot of work into their performances.

If you are going to be in Chicago some weekend, and you are looking for fun with some sizzle, be sure to check out the Gorilla Tango Theater. “Boobs of the Dead” is running on weekends through October, with a final performance on Halloween night. Tickets are $20.00.

If you are looking to make a night of it, we stopped for dinner and a few drinks before the show. There are a lot of pubs and restaurants in the immediate area. We parked in front of the theater and then walked over to Floyd’s Pub, an Irish pub with a lot of atmosphere that was very easy on the wallet. We both had the “fish and chips with a Stout” Friday night special for only $12.00. The fries were pretty greasy, but the rest was really good.

Now I really want to see Gorilla Tango’s next offering, THE EMPIRE BRINGS SEXY BACK: A STAR WARS BURLESQUE SEQUEL.