Acclaimed burlesque-infused adaptation of A Christmas Carol returns with all-star cast.
December 8 - 23, 2023 at Laurie Beechman Theatre
"Even Mr. Durang doesn’t dismember Dickens as much as the clothing-optional folks... do in “Filthy Lucre: A Burlesque Christmas Carol”. [The] nudest Scrooge in history... aided by the ghosts of burlesque past, present and future... considers whether she has a higher calling than running a mere strip club. Perhaps this “Christmas Carol” isn’t the best choice for the kiddies." By Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times
Charles Dickens immortal classic drops its knickers and gets down to business in FILTHY LUCRE: A Burlesque Christmas Carol, presented by Porkpie Productions in association with Spin Cycle. Adapted, written and directed by Jonny Porkpie ("Dead Sexy" "Pretençión" and "The Corpse Wore Pasties" from Hard Case Crime), this unique blend of theater and burlesque returns for the first time since its sold-out debut in 2009 at Walkerspace in Tribeca. Performances run December 8, 15, 22 & 23 at 7pm at the Laurie BeechmanTheater (inside West Bank Café at 407 West 42nd Street at Ninth Avenue). Tickets are $24 for general admission or $38 for VIP tickets that include reserved seating and a post-show photo op, available at www.SpinCycleNYC.com. Please note that there is also a $25 per person food/ drink minimum at all performances.
Welcome to The Filthy Lucre, where the cover charge is exorbitant, the drinks are watered down, and management steals the performers' tips. What sort of money-grubbing miser would would run a "Gentleman's Club" like this? Who else but Scrooge? And so she does, in FILTHY LUCRE: A Burlesque Christmas Carol, a stripteasing twist on Dickens' classic holiday tale. When the scantily-clad spirit of her former business partner returns from the grave, the "nudest Scrooge in history" (NY Times) goes on a tassel-twirling journey with the Ghosts of Burlesque Past, Present, and Future. Will this haunting bump-and-grind-through-time help bitter Ebeneza see the error of her exploitative ways? Of course it will. You know the story, but you've never seen it quite like this.
Jonny Porkpie alleges that his adaptation is "completely faithful to the original text, except Scrooge is a woman, and an unscrupulous strip club owner, and also the show is filled with striptease acts... okay, maybe it would be more accurate to say the show and Dickens have an open relationship." This "Burlesque Play," as Porkpie calls it, incorporates those acts into the scripted narrative much in the way a musical integrates songs.
FILTHY LUCRE stars: Miss Coney Island and Golden Pastie Award winner Gal Friday (as Ebeneza Scrooge), Burlesque Hall of Fame “Best Boylesque” winner Tigger! (as Marley), NY School of Burlesque founder Jo Weldon (as The Ghost of Classic Burlesque), 2021 Miss Viva Las Vegas and reigning Burlesque Hall of Fame “Best Debut” winner Margo Mayhem (as The Ghost of Neo Burlesque), underground sensation MiscAllaneous DomTop (as The Ghost of Burlesque Yet To Come), Cashlee Banks (as Penny), Jonny Porkpie (as Bob Cratchit), and Boardwalk Empire’s “Kitty the Stripper” Corvette Le Face (as Belle).
Jonny Porkpie is a burlesque performer, writer, producer and emcee, and both the the self-appointed "Burlesque Mayor of New York City" and an occasional candidate for "actual" mayor of NYC. He is a frequent emcee at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender, and a producer there for the past decade. Productions include burlesque gameshow The Naked Truth, which toured to over 30 cities in 5 countries on 3 continents; BQNY Theatrical (formerly Pinchbottom Burlesque), the "Best Burlesque" in NYC (New York Magazine, The Village Voice) which produced the Off-Broadway shows "The Pinch Brothers in The Bawdy House," (currently slated to return for Marxfest 2024) “Pretençión: un cirque de burlesque, un burlesque de cirque," and "Dead Sexy: The Off-Broadway Play"; as well as productions at venues across the country and around the world. His MFA in Creative Writing for Children has been of no help in the revision of this show.