Catherine (writer/director Melanie Bailey), a struggling journalist covering women’s issues, falls asleep sipping wine and is visited by the Spirit of Boss Bitches, who looks just like Orlando Fringe’s “Bikini” Katie Thayer. She pixie-dusts Catherine with some powdered empowerment, then summons a coffee klatch of history’s fiercest females to deliver a pep talk through burlesque song and dance.
Black Magix Royal does dangerous-looking high kicks as Queen Nefertiti and Martha P. Johnson of Stonewall fame; Cristina Ramos performs striking choreographed contemporary routines as a radioactive Marie Curie and an Andrew Lloyd Webber-less Eva Perón; and, as Eleanor of Aquitaine and astronaut Sally Ride, Valerie Voss’ athletic maneuvers will bring you to your knees. Some of the routines are set to prerecorded music, while a few are sung live, with a diverse playlist ranging from Vera Lynn to Imagine Dragons.
I applaud Bailey and company for the positive spirit and uplifting message of “Historical Hotties,” as well as their efforts to make burlesque educational. However, I couldn’t help being reminded of an elementary school pageant (despite the tasseled ta-tas), as each character declaimed their biography like they were reciting from the World Book Encyclopedia. Although all are gamely enthusiastic, some members of the cast sounded uncomfortable with their dialogue, and most stood around stiffly whenever not in the spotlight. Add in some uncomfortably long transitions and a weirdly mournful mood whiplash around the midway point, and you have an unpolished but well-intentioned production that’s the very definition of “by Fringe, for Fringe.”
Orlando Fringe Festival: Tickets and times for “Historical Hotties”
Lowndes Shakespeare Center
This article appears in May 15-21, 2024.