French Kissing in the USA
Bastille Day has become an adopted holiday not unlike Mardi Gras or St. Patrick’s Day- only bad manners are replaced with sophisticated sensory stimulation. Who better to cross-pollinate French style and sensualism than the incomparable Lily Verlaine, whose brand new installment of “Nightcap” hits The Triple Door this Wednesday (July 14) with “L’Edition Francaise”.
Joined by Kitten La Rue (The Atomic Bombshells) and Olivier Wevers (Whim W’him) the trio will present three new works inspired by their inner Francophiles. Lily Verlaine, one of Seattle’s most cerebral and cultivated performers, brings ballet/burlesque to her portion of the evening- a treatment of Serge Gainsbourg’s 1971 concept album Histoire de Melody Nelson. Pulling substance from Gainsbourg’s heavy-handed Lolita-esque tragic seduction is a departure for Verlaine, whose work shies away from the infantile. Verlaine draws on her own girlish coming of age flirtations and puts a personal spin on an oft-told erotic fantasy.
Kitten La Rue, fresh from last week’s steamy “Nightfall in New Orleans” performances, channels the deceptively naïve leading ladies of the 60’s French pop phenomenon known as “yé-yé”. Brigitte Bardot, France Gall, and Francoise Hardy were sex kittens in their own right; La Rue will undoubtedly do them justice. Olivier Wevers brings his flair for choreography to the music of Hugues Le Bars and features Paris Original (always a show stealer, even when en pointe doing pick-up for Stripped Screw) and Kylie Shea, both skilled dancers new to the burlesque stage.
Adverts for the show feature a different take on Gainsbourg’s original cover photo, reimagined by Christopher Nelson, Verlaine, and La Rue:
Lily Verlaine (Birkin) and Kitten La Rue (Bardot) photo by Christopher Nelson
Jane Birkin as original Histoire de Melody Nelson cover star
Nightcap at The Triple Door: L’Edition Francaise
July 14, 2010: 7pm (17+) and 10pm (21+)
$20
For tickets, go here
Burlesque Seattle Press 