TWAS BRILLIG!
YOU’LL GET A HEART-ON IN THIS SEXY HOLE
“All in the golden afternoon. / Full leisurely we glide” is part of the opening poem of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland before she follows the white rabbit and falls into the hole. When you get out of the Jefferson L subway station in Brooklyn, you are encircled by vibrant graffiti on industrial buildings, many colorful food trucks, and interesting looking people strolling in a laid-back mood, leisurely gliding. Until, that is, you arrive in front of a small door of a rundown warehouse — a “Rabbit Hole” on Troutman Street — and then enter the dark world of Wonderland where you will discover Company XIV‘s Queen of Hearts, which is not only a burlesque variety show based on Carroll’s novel but a Baroque immersive experience, a sensual theatrical adventure that takes you to a completely different planet.
I had no idea that the people helping us to our seats were the actual performers (who also set up the different scenes during the show). They were all wearing costumes, modern versions of vaudeville classics: Some were dressed as 1600s Sun King’s servants and courtiers; some as Moulin Rouge’s sparkling divas from Paris in the Belle Époque, some similar to actors from Cabaret’s Kit Kat Klub, all of them elegant, scantily clad, and beautiful. Zane Pihlström’s costume and scenic design is unique — enchanting but urban, dreamy but naughty — and the entire space is the set so the audience immediately becomes part of the show.
I found out later that the person who poured me a glass of champagne was Brandon Looney, who later played a fantastic March Hare and other characters. Looney, reminding me of Carl Anderson’s Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, reached deep dramatic tones while warning Alice, and also extended high but warm pitches in the pop choruses. I should have suspected something: Queen of Hearts is a creation of burlesque maven Austin McCormick, the American director and choreographer who graduated from both the Julliard School and The Conservatory of Baroque Dance before founding Company XIV, where he seamlessly fuses opera, ballet, circus arts, baroque dance, live music, burlesque, and the unexpected. You certainly do not expect to chit-chat with or be served by the performers minutes before the show and at intermission.
To make this extravaganza, McCormick and Pihlström counted on the talent of LEXXE for their Alice, a classically trained ballerina turned singer-songwriter who also wrote the original music. A mix of a wide range of genres, from 80s glam rock to disco to jazz to 1930s novelty songs, LEXXE and McCormick’s selection of music was never tiring, always upbeat, loud, and as unpredictable as the show. Down the rabbit hole, Alice drinks a potion and shrinks, eats a cake and she is suddenly nine feet tall, until she is so sad that her tears become an ocean, with delightful moving blue-and-white waves that resemble the ones used in 1930s vaudeville shows. The creative magical aspect is aided by Brian Tovar’s lights, ever-changing like the sets, alluring but meticulous, making the “pool of tears” allegory perfect. A large anchor appears in midair and a chiseled Merman, Nolan, starts an aerial acrobatics dance that turns into a sensual striptease. Later, he plays the flamingo and, with Alisa Mae, performs an aerial number that left us speechless.
Alice gets advises from Syrena, the playful and mischievous Caterpillar who is carried on stage in a black cocoon that is slowly stripped off to reveal her gorgeous body. She blows smoke rings before starting a seductive belly-dance with a hookah balanced on her head and body. Duana Taste is the Cheshire Cat, a graceful and enticing ballerina with a naughty grin; Nicholas Katen plays a wild Mad Hatter, showing all his bravura as dancer and actor; Lindsay Rose excels as the Queen, glamorous, with a powerful voice and divine stage presence. “Off with Her Head,” a duet she performs with LEXXI, almost got a standing ovation.
Phill Von Awesome, with his amazing handstand dance, Emily Stockwell, (who also plays Alice), Nate Morgan, Erin Dillon, Joey Columbus, Clairisa Patton, and Caroline Gayle are the rest of this amazing ensemble, all professional, uber-talented artists possessing distinctive qualities. Sarah Cimino, the makeup designer, and Charlie August Kellogg, the wig designer, need to be mentioned as well because they helped make each character unique. A show starring highly skilled performers wearing sexy stockings, high heels, glitzy pasties on nipples and tassels on butt cheeks may sound like a Las Vegas production but Queen of Hearts is something else, it is more sensual than erotic and it has a definite Downtown flavor. The only nonnecessity was the fog-smoke effect since Tovar’s lights always created the ideal atmosphere. Queen of Hearts is a funny, trippy experience for adults of all sexual orientations, and a rare theatrical pearl for both New Yorkers and tourists.
photos by Mark Shelby Perry and Sam San Román
Queen of Hearts
Company XIV
Théâtre XIV, 383 Troutman Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Thurs – Sun at 8 (doors open at 7); ends on October 31, 2024
ages 21 and up only
for tickets ($112 to $149 singles), visit Company XIV
couches for two ($549 $599) include a half bottle of champagne brut and treats