Yesterday, Ageless brought you the world of Bikram Hot Yoga, today we feature an interview with Red Hot Annie, who warms things up in a slightly different manner.
Annie in action! (redhotannie.com)
Annie Weinert aka Red Hot Annie and Vaudezilla perform “Schtick With Us: A Vaudeville Burlesque” at the Skokie Theatre on Friday, February 12 at 8:00 PM.
We previously wrote about Burlesque in Wilmette but Skokie, c’mon! So, we went right to the source to get the birdseye lowdown on this hi-jinx (or words to that effect).
When did the burlesque/cabaret thing in Chicago start (or restart)?
Annie: Burlesque has been in a big resurgence for years, but when Vaudezilla came onto the scene in July 2008, there were – at most – 2 shows/month that performers could be part of.
We were a driving force in changing that, first by introducing our month show at Exit, then by introducing a weekly shows at Blue Bayou that features 7-9 rotating performers. Now, Vaudezilla alone produces 5 highly successful shows each month in Chicago! I would venture to say that the burlesque scene is larger than it’s ever been in Chicago!
Would you describe what the show is like in a few sentences?
Annie and Dick Dijon doing some "shtick." (image by Peter Legrand)
Annie: “Shtick with Us” is a vaudeville burlesque that we’ve created to capture the old-timey style of a 1930′s vaudeville show in a modern story. There’s a central fictional story about Channel 45 with a core cast that includes: Red Hot Annie, Dick Dijon, Maria May I, Noel Williams, Siren Jinx, Paul Bujak, Logan Conner, Paris Green, and Coo d’Twat.
We use that to bring in a rotating cast of variety acts to do bits throughout the show – like singers, magicians, and burlesque performers. Yes, burlesque in Skokie! Expect classic strip tease!
How did a presumably nice girl like you get into, well show business?
Annie: I started performing at the tender age of 15. The performing bug bit hard. I’ve been in probably 50+ amateur and professional theatre productions, as has my production partner, Dick Dijon. When we started producing burlesque shows in 2008, we each had over 10 years of theatrical experience under our belts. We’ve produced over 100 burlesque shows in under two years, and “Shtick with Us” is our first full-length original show, so we’re really proud that we have a beautiful space like Skokie Theatre to perform in!
Interesting, yes?
And if you’ve read this far, you probably want a sample of Annie’s work. If you are of age (and you probably are) you can find videos of her act by clicking here.
And you can order tickets by clicking here.
