such a tease

World's biggest burlesque show by ravishing Dita Von Teese set to entice Houston next year

She is nothing less than ravishing.

Courtesy photo

The world's biggest burlesque show is touring the U.S. in 2023 and that includes a stop in Houston: Glamorous burlesque queen Dita Von Teese will bring her Glamonatrix burlesque show to 19 cities across the U.S., kicking off on January 7 in Seattle, and stopping at Houston's Bayou Music Center on January 24.

According to a release, Houston will be one of three stops across Texas, also including the Dallas' Majestic Theatre on January 20 and Paramount Theatre in Austin on January 22.

The U.S. tour follows a 41-show overseas tour with stops in London, Monte Carlo, and Vienna.

Tickets go on sale at 10 am Friday, September 16 at Ticketmaster.com. Citi cardmembers have access to presale tickets beginning 11 am September 13 through 10 pm September 15 at www.citientertainment.com.

In addition to starring, Von Teese is also producer and director, and strives to elevate and modernize the typical 1940s typical burlesque show in an inspiring and uplifting way. That includes inclusive and multi-faceted casting, showcasing the talents of male, female, and gender-fluid performers from around the world to create a body-positive, celebratory show.

Hosted by Jonny McGovern ("Hey Qween!", "Go-Go for the Gold"), the Glamonatrix show includes extravagant production numbers from Dita and cast, including revered burlesque performers such as the legendary Dirty Martini, choreographer Alek Palinski, and Zelia Rose, one of the lead performers of Hamilton Australia.

Newcomers include Lana Kai Fox, Tosca Rivola, and Laszlo Major. Dita will be joined in select cities by special guests that include ballroom world champion Umario Diallo partnering Dita in a striptease Latin dance.

Costumes are by Jenny Packham, Mister Pearl, Alexis Mabille, and Catherine D’Lish, plus bespoke fetish footwear by Christian Louboutin, some on display as part of the Louboutin "L'Exhibition(iste)" in Monaco.

The tour dates are as follows:

January 7 – Seattle – Paramount Theatre
January 10 – Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
January 13-15 – San Francisco – Palace of Fine Arts
January 17 – Portland – Keller Auditorium
January 20 – Dallas – Majestic Theatre
January 22 – Austin – Paramount Theatre
January 24 – Houston – Bayou Music Center
January 27 – New Orleans – Orpheum Theatre
January 29 – Atlanta – Tabernacle
February 02 – Washington DC – Warner Theatre
February 4 – Toronto – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
February 7 – Montreal – Theatre Maisonneuve
February 09 – New York – Beacon Theatre
February 11 – Boston – Orpheum Theatre
February 14 – Chicago – Chicago Theatre
February 16 – Detroit – The Fillmore Detroit
February 18 – Louisville – The Louisville Palace
February 22 – El Cajon, California – The Magnolia
February 24 – Riverside, California – Fox Performing Arts Center

Von Teese is credited internationally with reviving burlesque, and setting a new benchmark for this great American art form with a sense of elegance, style and sophistication. She's written two books including New York Times bestseller Your Beauty Mark: The Ultimate Guide to Eccentric Glamour, considered requisite reading for pin-up, burlesque, and fashion fans, and is currently writing a third, Fashioning the Femme Totale.

She also can be seen performing her iconic Champagne Glass act in the film Don’t Worry Darling.

concerts

Documentary News

Netflix series Waco: American Apocalypse debuts with newly unearthed footage

Waco: American Apocalypse

ATF agents at Waco compound in 1993.

Netflix has a new series on the tragedy that took place in Waco three decades ago: Called Waco: American Apocalypse, it's a three-part series documenting the standoff between cult leader David Koresh and the federal government that ended in a fiery inferno, televised live, with 76 people dead.

The series debuts on March 22, to coincide with the 30-year anniversary of the event which took place from February 28 to April 19, 1993.

It's an oft-told tale and not the only new release to try and exploit the 30-year anniversary: Jeff Guinn, former books editor at the Fort Worth Star Telegram, just came out with a book in January, also described as definitive, called Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and a Legacy of Rage.

Waco: American Apocalypse is directed by another Texan: Dallas native Tiller Russell (Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer), who obtained never-before-seen videotapes of FBI negotiations, as well as raw news footage and interviews with insiders.

Those insiders include one of David Koresh’s spiritual wives; the last child released from the compound alive; a sniper from the FBI Hostage Rescue Team; the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit Chief; journalists; and members of the ATF tactical team who watched colleagues die in the shootout against the heavily armed members of the religious sect.

The FBI videotaped inside the hostage negation room, thinking they'd be there maybe 24 hours, not 51 days.

"These are video cassettes that were sitting in somebody’s closet for 30 years, that show the mechanics of hostage negotiations in an intimate setting - not the hostage negotiation scenarios you see in films, but a team of people grinding, day in and day out, for 51 days," Russell says.

He also procured footage from Waco TV station KWTX, who had a reporter embedded in the initial gunfight.

While the standoff was broadcast live on TV at the time, much of it was out of camera range. The film uses 3D graphics to recreate the details of the compound.

Russell acknowledges that the tale of the cult leader who was also a pedophile, the debate over the right to bear arms, the constitutional limits of religious freedom, dredge up painful conversations that continue today.

"It cast a long shadow, pre-saging the Timothy McVeigh bombing in Oklahoma, the shooting at Colombine, and a growing distrust of government, but I think it's important to reckon with our past so we don't repeat mistakes," he says.

"So much of what’s roiling in culture today can be traced to Waco, a story about God and guns in America with all these children at the center whose lives were determined by the adults around them," he says. "There was no playbook for what happened, everyone was out on a limb, and people made mistakes. But almost everybody was trying to do their very best."

"I think this is a story that's often recalled in politicized terms, with finger-pointing on who screwed up and how did we get here, but there's a profound humanity to it all," he says.

Watch the trailer below:

history movies

such a tease

World's biggest burlesque show by ravishing Dita Von Teese set to entice Houston next year

Documentary News

Netflix series Waco: American Apocalypse debuts with newly unearthed footage

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