Burlesque News

World's biggest burlesque show by ravishing Dita Von Teese to hit Dallas

She is nothing less than ravishing.

Courtesy photo

The world's biggest burlesque show is touring the U.S. in 2023 and that includes a stop in Dallas: Glamorous burlesque queen Dita Von Teese will bring her Glamonatrix burlesque show to 19 cities across the U.S., kicking off on January 7 in Seattle, and stopping at Dallas' Majestic Theatre on January 20.

According to a release, Dallas will be one of three stops across Texas, also including the Paramount Theatre in Austin on January 22, and the Bayou Music Center in Houston on January 24.

The U.S. tour follows a 41-show overseas tour with stops in London, Monte Carlo, and Vienna.

Tickets go on sale at 10 am Friday, September 16 at Ticketmaster.com. Citi cardmembers have access to presale tickets beginning 11 am September 13 through 10 pm September 15 at www.citientertainment.com.

In addition to starring, Von Teese is also producer and director, and strives to elevate and modernize the typical 1940s typical burlesque show in an inspiring and uplifting way. That includes inclusive and multi-faceted casting, showcasing the talents of male, female, and gender-fluid performers from around the world to create a body-positive, celebratory show.

Hosted by Jonny McGovern ("Hey Qween!", "Go-Go for the Gold"), the Glamonatrix show includes extravagant production numbers from Dita and cast, including revered burlesque performers such as the legendary Dirty Martini, choreographer Alek Palinski, and Zelia Rose, one of the lead performers of Hamilton Australia.

Newcomers include Lana Kai Fox, Tosca Rivola, and Laszlo Major. Dita will be joined in select cities by special guests that include ballroom world champion Umario Diallo partnering Dita in a striptease Latin dance.

Costumes are by Jenny Packham, Mister Pearl, Alexis Mabille, and Catherine D’Lish, plus bespoke fetish footwear by Christian Louboutin, some on display as part of the Louboutin "L'Exhibition(iste)" in Monaco.

The tour dates are as follows:

January 7 – Seattle – Paramount Theatre
January 10 – Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
January 13-15 – San Francisco – Palace of Fine Arts
January 17 – Portland – Keller Auditorium
January 20 – Dallas – Majestic Theatre
January 22 – Austin – Paramount Theatre
January 24 – Houston – Bayou Music Center
January 27 – New Orleans – Orpheum Theatre
January 29 – Atlanta – Tabernacle
February 02 – Washington DC – Warner Theatre
February 4 – Toronto – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
February 7 – Montreal – Theatre Maisonneuve
February 09 – New York – Beacon Theatre
February 11 – Boston – Orpheum Theatre
February 14 – Chicago – Chicago Theatre
February 16 – Detroit – The Fillmore Detroit
February 18 – Louisville – The Louisville Palace
February 22 – El Cajon, California – The Magnolia
February 24 – Riverside, California – Fox Performing Arts Center

Von Teese is credited internationally with reviving burlesque, and setting a new benchmark for this great American art form with a sense of elegance, style and sophistication. She's written two books including New York Times bestseller Your Beauty Mark: The Ultimate Guide to Eccentric Glamour, considered requisite reading for pin-up, burlesque, and fashion fans, and is currently writing a third, Fashioning the Femme Totale. She also can be seen performing her iconic Champagne Glass act in the film Don’t Worry Darling.

concerts

Movie Review

Jessica Chastain drama Dreams stumbles through steamy romance

Photo courtesy of Teorema

Isaac Hernández and Jessica Chastain in Dreams.

The opening scenes of the new drama Dreams are bracing, fictional sequences that call to mind real-life scenarios. In them, a young Mexican man named Fernando (Isaac Hernández) goes through a somewhat harrowing journey from the back of a semi truck in South Texas all the way to San Francisco. It’s a familiar immigrant story that seems to set the stage for a film with something interesting to say.

It turns out, however, that Fernando has not made the long and arduous trek for a job. Instead, it’s to be with Jennifer McCarthy (Jessica Chastain), a rich woman who helps lead a foundation dedicated to multiple things, including funding dance academies. Fernando, a talented dancer, and Jennifer have been in an off-and-on affair for years, with Jennifer wanting to keep their relationship a secret.

Although both are drawn to each other in an inexplicable, lustful way, their bond is tenuous, with each of them dissatisfied for different reasons. Fernando clearly sacrifices much more of himself than Jennifer, who wants for nothing except maybe more affection from her father, Michael (Marshall Bell), and brother, Jake (Rupert Friend).

Writer/director Michel Franco seems to try to inject tension into Fernando and Jennifer’s relationship from the start, an attempt that is only halfway successful. It’s clear from the way they greet each other - not to mention a steamy sex scene shortly thereafter - that they have known each other for a good length of time. Franco is able to get across this familiarity with an economy of scenes, and the intensity of their bond holds for a while.

But as the film progresses and both of them grow disenchanted with their arrangement, Franco starts taking the story in some odd directions. The biggest issue is that it’s never clear at what point in time the story is taking place. Fernando ends up making multiple trips back and forth across the border, with Jennifer doing the same at one point, and Franco’s use of flashbacks muddies the waters, wrong-footing the audience when he should be trying to draw them further into Fernando and Jennifer’s complications.

Revelations in the final act make the story even more confusing, as both main characters start saying and doing harsh things that seem to come out of nowhere. That would be all well and good if Franco actually committed to their changes of heart, but he keeps things wishy-washy for most of the final 15 minutes, resulting in an ending that makes little sense for either character.

Despite the story issues, both Chastain and Hernández give compelling performances. Chastain has been a little under the radar since winning an Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, but she keeps this character interesting longer than it should have been. Hernández has limited credits and appears to have been cast for his dancing ability, but he goes toe-to-toe with Chastain on more than one occasion and acquits himself well.

Dreams had all of the ideas to explore a more in-depth story about the complicated immigration policies between Mexico and the U.S., or how wealthy people take advantage of those less fortunate. But Franco never finds the right footing, settling instead for a titillating and somewhat mystifying relationship story that feels half-baked.

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Dreams is now playing in select theaters.

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