Are you living in a primitive state of neurotic irresponsibility? Do you believe in angels? Is your energy box completely dead? Do you need more Duran Duran in your life?

If you answered “yes” or “no” to any or all of these questions, then make like a pocket rocket and blast off with Barbarellesque on November 22nd at The Creative Alliance. With two performances of supreme titillation, Barbarellesque— a burlesque musical that puts Barbarella live on-stage—is sure to bring out the little Galaxy Queen in each of us.

I recently spoke with the production team responsible for assembling the cast and crew of Barbarellesque: performers Kay Sera and Missy Aggravation, and set designer, Richard Just. I just had to know…

AH: Why Barbarella?

Kay: Anyone who’s seen the film knows that it was just BEGGING to be burlesqued! It’s so wonderfully campy but also super-sexy! Its over-the-top nature plays extremely well on the stage and the “special effects” that were so cheesy in the movie…well, they’re even cheesier live!

Richard: Strong central female character, sexual empowerment, sex positive messages.

AH: Were you all together when it was conceptualized?

Missy: Yes, we were watching the movie to show it to cast member Cherie Sweetbottom who had never seen it. By the end of us watching we knew there was a show in there! Cherie was also part of putting the original production together.

Kay: And Cherie does that zero-G striptease from the film’s opener that created quite a scandal in 1968!

AH: What’s the creative process like once you know what you’re doing?

Kay: When we decided to really DO it, we took our fun pretty seriously! We formed Compound Productions 5050 to focus specifically on Barbarellesque. We wanted to bring the movie to the stage—not just pay homage to it, but actually perform it as theater.

Missy: We had only a few meetings, and many phone calls and draft iterations, but things came together pretty quickly. We watched and re-watched the movie and used the original script for all the dialogue—it didn’t need many changes! Some of the very worst lines, in fact, are absolutely straight out of the film—the ones that make the least sense are the ones we were sure to keep!

Kay: We wanted to do it justice–it’s so good/bad! Like everything in the past, it changes when you look at it through a contemporary lens. What was risqué and shocking then is quaint by today’s standards.

Richard: We definitely set the “quaint bar” lower. And the risqué bar higher.

AH: There are four Barbarellas. Why four Barbarellas?

Missy: Barbarella changed costumes eight times in the movie. It seemed only right to have multiple Barbarellas in our stage version!

Kay: And there are so many great burlesque performers in this area that we wanted to showcase as many as possible. Barbarella undergoes a transformation in the film, from naïve ingénue to empowered seductress to party girl. Burlesque is all about transformation, so we thought it especially appropriate to bring in performers who embodied those different personas. And I think the  the plural is “Barbarelli,”

AH: Richard, how do the sets work?

Richard: Sets were kind of easy—when you look at the movie, they’re relatively minimal. They used air-filled bags for some parts! I went with futuristic, yet simple, since the emphasis was on the performers.

Kay: Rich’s sets are scalable to fit the venue. The players turn, flip or remove elements to go from one scene to the next. It’s pretty incredible.

 AH: How does Barbarellesque differ from other shows that you’ve done?

Richard: It has a flow to it. It follows the script of the movie pretty closely. Something we took great pains to make sure happened, which is NOT easy when folks are STRIPPING.

Missy: We have a large cast that includes not only the main characters, but a half-dozen performers who are like the film’s extras. They play the labyrinth prisoners, the citizens of SoGo, the revolutionary forces and the Great Tyrant’s guards. They’re critical to keeping the action flowing seamlessly.

Kay: Barbarellesque is essentially the film, on-stage, with additional acts punctuating the movie’s most iconic moments.

AH: Did you each make your own costumes?

Missy: Hahaha, yes! Burlesque is a very DIY space.

Richard: Heh, I took someone to a barbershop for HAIR EXTENSIONS to make a suit for one of the characters.

Missy: One of my costumes is made entirely of hair extensions, too!

Kay: That individuality—the contributions that each performer makes in developing their own acts within the narrative of the play—that’s what makes it “an ecdysiast theatrical experience!”

 

When: Saturday, November 22, 2014 TWO SHOWS! 7:30 and 10
Where: Creative Alliance at The Patterson | 3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore MD 21224
Tickets are available here.