Widely regarded as one of the finest burlesque shows in Chicago, the Naughty Little Cabaret is going all out for Valentine’s Day. The show, which features internationally-recognized artists including Eva La Feva and Ray Gunn, will be at The Original Mother’s on Saturday, February 13 at 7pm. I chatted with NLC's charming host and creator Rob “The Pup” Racine about what to expect at this weekend's show.
Naughty Little Cabaret has made a name for itself as some of the best burlesque in the city—how did it all start?
Naughty Little Cabaret started four years ago. After seeing so many different live shows that just seemed to fall short to me, I wanted to create something that was sexy and fun, with performers that commanded the stage with a high production value. So my dream of owning a high-end, mostly-male burlesque cabaret became a reality and I founded Naughty Little Productions Inc, and opened the doors to Naughty Little Cabaret. We started with the Stage Door Johnnies [The well-respected male burlesque troupe], Tila Von Twirl [two-time International Burlesque Hall of Fame Award winner] and Dida Ritz [RuPaul's Drag Race]. We started with six performers in our first year and have now had more than 150 different entertainers grace our stage from over 15 different countries.
How will the Valentine's Day show be different?
Our show normally focuses on male burlesque sprinkled in with female entertainers and variety acts, but our Valentine’s Day show really focuses on the classic female art of strip tease and burlesque. As you can expect with any NLC show, we will have a variety of other performances ranging from male acrobats to live singers to fire performers and more, but the focus will be where burlesque got its roots: Female artists.
Burlesque is all about the tease. Can you tease some surprises we might see at the Valentine's Day show?
We have some of the world’s biggest names in burlesque including Lola Van Ella, Peekaboo Pointe, Ray Gunn and Bazuka Joe. Aside from that we will have Jade Sotomayor from RuPaul’s Drag Race and Chicago burlesque superstars Eva LaFeva, Lady Jack, Ray Ray Sunshine, Camille Leon and Lilly Rascal.
Speaking of surprises, you not only do burlesque but also have a gorgeous singing voice. Will you be crooning for Valentine’s Day?
Aw, that's very sweet of you. Yes, I will be singing many songs for these shows with my co-host Kat Sass including "Cabaret" from Cabaret, "Nowadays" from Chicago and "Elephant Love Medley" from Moulin Rouge.
Do you suggest audience members be single or in a relationship to enjoy the show?
I suggest this show for anyone who enjoys live entertainment and performance. It's perfect for couples who want to do something different than dinner and a movie, and great for singles who want to come out and be naughty for Valentine's Day.
For more information about the show, head to Naughty Little Cabaret's website.