FRINGE 2016 REVIEW: 'Furlesque'

Grown men and women, in animal suits, dancing burlesque to an original, highly saucy version of “Oops, I Did It Again.” Do you need further convincing?

McKenzie Graham, City Beat Cincinnati

June 3, 2016

Grown men and women, in animal suits, dancing burlesque to an original, highly saucy version of “Oops, I Did It Again.” Do you need further convincing? Honestly, there’s really very little reason not to see Furlesque. It leaves you feeling light and bubbly and with a stitch (or is that an itch?) in your side from laughing. Given audience enthusiasm, you’ll feel more like you’re at the local pub than at a stage production — in the very best way possible. Poles are used liberally, there are more puns than you can shake a tail at and, for literary types, there are a slew of famous quotes from our writers in high society, delivered with the most sophisticated of British accents by a character named Chanticleer. There is a storyline, but I’d venture to say most people show up to enjoy the choreographed burlesque songs delivered by people in animal suits. Seekers of a story might be disappointed at the fairly universal “I want to do fill-in-the-blank, but fill-in-the-blank won’t let me” theme, although the details were thoughtfully written and the setting is certainly unique. Given that there’s parental death, songs and a herd of animals, my mind automatically went to The Lion King, but this is most definitely not a Disney production. We start off at the “Scratch and Sniff,” a furries' burlesque club owned by a man who took over for his sister when she died. With the club, he inherited the difficult role of parent over his niece, a feisty dancer-at-heart who just wants to don the guise of a member of the animal kingdom and let loose, damn it! Of course, he wants better for her life, and it’s this struggle that frames the main coming-of-age story that unfolds. The reconciliation at the end is a sweet moment.

'Furlesque': An average Joe goes to Cincy Fringe for a coming-of-age 'furry' tale

By: John David Back, WCPO Contributor

June 10, 2016

The phrase "coming-of-age tale set in a burlesque show for furries" meant nothing to me until I saw “Furlesque” as part of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

Now I know exactly what that means -- and I am strangely proud of that fact.

“Furlesque” was my first Fringe Festival experience, and it was absolutely on the fringe: Think off-the-wall premise, off-the-path venue and off-their-rocker performers. (I think attending shows like this immediately gives you “street cred” on the arts scene, plus it's cheap and pretty damn good.)

Gabriel's Corner is a performance venue in an old church at Sycamore and Liberty streets. The “stage” is the floor, and the audience sits on chairs on risers. The Fringe Festival “tickets” are actually playing cards that you immediately give back. (I had the six of clubs.)

I went to the opening night of “Furlesque,” but one could hardly tell it was the first performance. There were a couple of flubbed lines and a missing pair of gloves, but otherwise it was well rehearsed. The opening choreography, featuring five adults in full animal costumes dancing semi-seductively for five minutes, set the tone. I laughed, I was sometimes confused -- and I got strangely aroused by a salamander.

The play tells the story of a young girl, Nancy, who “grows up” in the wings of the Scratch and Sniff, a burlesque club for furries. To the uninitiated, which I was, a furry is someone who dresses like an animal and behaves as an animal. It was surprisingly less sexual than I'd assumed. It was mostly lighthearted and fun, with some slapstick dance moves and the occasional, tasteful hip thrust. Nancy’s uncle Jack (a very good Mike Hall, effectively the star of the show) runs the club and refuses to let her dance in the revue. 

Several things I saw that prove I was at the Fringe Festival:

• A man wearing a robe and pajama bottoms on a silver Vespa -- and he was not a performer.

• Erotic dance involving, in this order: a white rose, a carrot and a box of Frosted Flakes.

• Adults dancing to “Lady Marmalade” from “Moulin Rouge” while dressed as a squirrel, fox, turtle, toucan, salamander, tiger and bear.

I was wearing a button-down shirt and was wildly overdressed. And I probably cannot go within 100 yards of a reptile house ever again. (Eileen Earnest was somehow a total babe as a salamander named Chanticleer Owens who only spoke in literary quotes and had a British accent.)

If you're looking for an easy access, lightweight introduction to the arts scene in Cincinnati, you won't find anything more accessible than Cincy Fringe. It's about a fortnight long (12 days, actually) at a variety of venues, and it’s very cheap. Plus, every single evening ends with an afterparty of drinking at Know Theatre. You have one last day to enjoy this year’s edition; I suggest you seize the opportunity.