Restored and reopened River Oaks Theater in Houston is bringing a monthly burlesque show called Sinimatic.
Posted by
Qale (aka Qale)
Nov 26 '24, 13:43
|
The first show is Saturday paired with the 1953 Technicolor farce "Gentlemen Perfer Blondes."
This film series is the brainchild of Ghoulia Child and Grimm Lynne, professional burlesque dancers who also do bimonthly “Rocky Horror Picture Show” performances at the theater with their troupe, The Sisterhood of Lili St. Cyr. Known for their goth-style burlesque spectacles, Child and Lynne are inviting guest dancers to join them in doing sparkling, show-stopping strip-tease routines before and after the feature presentation.
Sinematic! is starting up right before the release of the upcoming drama “The Last Showgirl,” starring Pamela Anderson and directed by Gia Coppola (Francis’s granddaughter). The former “Baywatch” star/Playboy goddess has been getting raves for her performance as an aging showgirl who plans for her future after a show she’s done for 30 years closes abruptly.
If it’s not off-limits, Child says she’s ready to program “Showgirl,” a film that shows a different side of the showgirl life, for Sinematic! “It is already entirely in my plans, once we get to discussing January programming with River Oaks,” says Child. “Like, [other films are] always just like sparkles, feathers, smiles, or it's very dramatic, like ‘I want to be the star.’ ‘No, I'm gonna be the star.’ I think this more-dramatic take on a star fading will be a little bit of a departure from what we're usually going to do.”
Sinematic! already has the beloved, 1954 holiday musical “White Christmas” (yes, that movie has showgirls) scheduled for December. But one question still remains: when will this series devoted to movies featuring showgirls actually screen that NC-17-rated, so-bad-it’s-exceptional 1995 cult classic “Showgirls”? ”Since we're first getting started, I didn't want to necessarily burn all my big hitters right out the gate,” says Child. “Of course, movies like ‘Showgirls’ and ‘Burlesque’ — I'm going to save for a little later on once we've really got the ball rolling on this… Right now, I'm using some of the classic older movies because their rights are a lot cheaper to show, but are still well beloved.”
With the festivities happening in the theater’s renovated main auditorium (complete with a stage for live acts), the theater is prepared for the ladies to glam it up. "I am looking forward to seeing what Grimm and Ghoulia bring to the upcoming screening,” says River Oaks Theatre artistic director Robert Saucedo. “Audiences are sure to enjoy the combination of a cinema classic with an incredible live show from local burlesque performers. Grimm and Ghoulia always bring a great deal of energy and attention to details to their shows."
According to Child, Houston is starting to run low on burlesque spaces. So, she’s glad the theater is giving her and her fellow showgirls a chance to shine. Now, all she needs is an appreciative audience.
“Supporting weird fringe art like this is how you get to keep having weird fringe art,” she says. “Literally, all of your favorite artists have started as smaller weirdos like us. So, it is your civic duty to come out and support an artist, be it me or anyone. Go out this month, buy tickets to a show, buy tickets to any River Oaks show. Because again, we almost lost that theater because people weren't showing up. So, if you want to keep these interesting parts of Houston that keep it interesting, you have to come out and support them.”
|