Candyass, Cabaret Burlesque Montreal revives burlesque but there’s more than just T&A

Anyone expecting to see a night of scantily clad strippers parading around the stage when the Candyass Club Cabaret hits the boards at Montreal’s Café Cléopatre is going to be in for a shock. But not a disappointment.

Because they’re going to partake of a bawdy melange of vaudeville, burlesque and cabaret. And a healthy dollop of skin.

Velma Candyass, the show’s producer, director and feather boa fluffer, says showgoers can expect a “mix of everything – jugglers, tap dancers, mimes, variety.

“If you don’t like something, wait five minutes for the next act.”

Cabaret celebrates Montreal’s birthday throwing rings around the Cross

As for burlesque, there’s bawdy parody set to music. Takeoffs on songs like Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire, become Ring of Fur. Nothing is sacred. The cast celebrated Montreal’s 375^th birthday by throwing rings around the Cross of Montreal, albeit a miniature.

Another cast member brought to life Montreal Gazette cartoonist Aislin’s rendering of newly elected Mairesse Valerie Plante as Wonder Woman, stripping down to reveal her Wonder Woman.

But the cast can touch the heart with a soulful tribute to the death of a calèche horse in the Old Port of Montreal.

For an historic change of pace, there’s a paean to Elizabeth the Queen of Hungary.

An evening of passion and salvation for Montreal

Candyassers offered theatre goers a chance to mix a little passion with salvation – an evening of it, where congregants could “pledge their chastity, taste the forbidden fruit and become a virgin again at the Pantycostal Church of Candyass.”

“We can do a range of silliness and seriousness.”

The cast includes regulars emcee Jimmy Phule, drag king Nat King Pole, a she who dresses up as a he, Roxie Hardon, Trixie Cups and Candyass, who confesses she “has been stripping since dinosaurs first roamed the earth and before YouTube.”

Montreal cabaret with a mission

Candyass says the Cabaret cast has a mission: to keep live theatre alive.

“In this day of Netflix and Youtube, the act of going out to see live theater is becoming a lost art form.

“It’s important to support live entertainment on stage and give performers a chance to hone their skills and develop as artists, do something daring.”

Candyass Club Cabaret gives performers a chance to hone their skills, but it won’t let them slide into a comfy groove.

“We have a new show every month. We don’t recycle. It’s a pretty amazing thing to do.”

Getting the audience involved

Candyassers try to keep the audience involved with silly contests. Winners walk away with ridiculous prizes.

The season runs from September to May with a show every third Friday. Show starts at 10 p.m. Tickets are $10. Good seats everywhere. Sorry, no one under 18 allowed in. That lets them show a little T&A.

For more about the Candyass Cabaret, visit http://www.candyassclub.com
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