Filthy Lucre: A Burlesque Christmas Carol

Burlesqued by Jonny Porkpie

from the novella by Charles Dickens

THE CAST

Ebeneza Scrooge:

Gal Friday


Jacob Marley:

James Tigger! Ferguson


Ghost of Classic Burlesque, Fortuna, Headmistress:

Jo Weldon


Ghost of Neo Burlesque, Goldie, Petitioner:

Margo Mayhem


Ghost of Burlesque Yet To Come:

MiscAllaneous DomTop


Bob Cratchit, Narrator, Fezziwig, et al:

Jonny Porkpie


Belle, Narrator, Fred, Mrs Crachit, et al:

Corvette Le Face


Penny, Pickup, Understudy (Scrooge's Voice)

Cashlee Banks


And featuring the voice of Scott Rayow

ACTS

Welcome to the Filthy Lucre

 Gal, Jo, Margo, Cashlee
(Choreographed by Peekaboo Pointe)

Marley Unbound

Tigger!


The Ghost of Classic Burlesque

Jo Weldon


Belle of the Ball

Corvette Le Face


The Ghost of Neo Burlesque

Margo Mayhem


Tiny Tim’s Lament

(Music by Mike Tarantino, Lyrics by Jonny Porkpie)

Jonny Porkpie

The Ghost of Burlesque Yet To Come

MiscAllaneous DomTop


An Act Deer to Scrooge's Heart

Gal Friday

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CHARACTERS
(In order of appearance)

Narrators: Jonny Porkpie, Corvette Le Face

Scrooge: Gal Friday

Fortuna (a stripper): Jo Weldon

Goldie (a stripper): Margo Mayhem

Penny (a stripper): Cashlee Banks

Bob Cratchit: Jonny Porkpie

Patron: Corvette Le Face

Nephew Fred: Corvette Le Face

Petitioner: Margo Mayhem

Ghostly Voice: Scott Rayow

Jacob Marley: Tigger!

Ghost of Classic Burlesque: Jo Weldon

Headmistress: Jo Weldon

Fan: Jenny Mincepie

Fezziwig: Jonny Porkpie

Belle: Corvette Le Face

Belle’s Friend: Jonny Porkpie

Ghost of Neo Burlesque: Margo Mayhem

Mrs. Cratchit: Corvette Le Face

XXXMas Pageant Announcer: Scott Rayow

Tiny Tim: Jonny Porkpie

Ghost of Burlesque Yet To Come: MiscAllaneous DomTop

Customer #2: Corvette Le Face

Customer #1: Jonny Porkpie

Joe of Joe’s Pawn Shop: Corvette Le Face & Jonny Porkpie

Walker of Shame: Jonny Porkpie

CAST & CREW

CASHLEE BANKS (Penny, pickup) is a bad-and-bougie, campy queen who made her debut in the New York School of Burlesque student showcase in December 2022. She is an all the way uptown girl from the Bronx and draws her inspiration from the creative, collaborative and competitive hip-hop culture that was born there. As an artist her goal is to celebrate blackness outside of the lens of respectability politics to highlight that “black excellence” is simply black. She is a lady who is street and a freak in the balance sheets.

CHARLES DICKENS (Rolling in his grave), also known as Boz, was the greatest novelist of the Victorian Era. Known for his vivid characters and social commentary, Dickens was the author of over 15 books, including such classics as Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and Hard Times. As his popularity grew, with the public waiting breathlessly for the next installment of his latest work, he embarked on a series of public reading tours, appearing extensively across both North America and the UK. His works have been adapted for the screen by such luminaries as Mike Newell, Alfonso Cuarón, and The Muppets.

CORVETTE LE FACE (Belle, Narrator, Mrs Cratchitt et al) is a Burlesque dancer and actor based in New York City. Since 2011 she has been performing all over NYC and abroad as well as Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. Corvette loves creating characters onstage and is currently working on a series of acts honoring the great musical divas of the 70’s-90’s. Any requests? She’s open to suggestions. As an actor some of Corvette’s favorite credits include BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO) and the feature films CHUCK and HUSTLERS. Corvette is PSYCHED to be in “Filthy Lucre”, and she is feeling the holiday spirit.

GAL FRIDAY (Scrooge) is a true bump-and-grinding, booty-shaking queen known for her classic moves and fearless personality. She had the honor of performing at The Burlesque Hall of Fame, and is also extremely proud to have held the title of 'Miss Coney Island' and won a Golden Pastie Award for "Most Perfect Posterior" at the NYC Burlesque Festival. In addition to a burlesque career that has taken her around the world, she also works in strip clubs. Or, in her own words: “Gal Friday is an old man trapped in the body of a middle aged stripper. When not onstage, she enjoys reading, solitude, and shaking her fist at miscreants & scoundrels. Scrooge is not just a role, it's a prophecy.”

JAMES TIGGER! FERGUSON (Jacob Marley) "The Godfather of Neo-Boylesque" has performed in NYC since 1988 & around the world since 1993. A pioneer in the 1990s burlesque renaissance who won the 1st-ever "King of Boylesque/Mr. Exotic World" title at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas in 2006. He has headlined festivals all around Europe, Australia, North & South America. His act was banned in Rome. Tigger! has performed in original works with Taylor Mac, Julie Atlas Muz, Penny Arcade, Talking Band & Target Margin Theater. Called "a fantastically watchable naughty satyr" by The Scotsman & "delightful... simultaneously hilarious and titillating" by TheaterMania. @tiggerlesque

JONNY PORKPIE (Playwright, Bob Cratchit et al) recently retired from a decade-long stint as a producer and emcee at The Burlesque Hall of Fame to focus on his first love: scripted theatrical burlesque shows. These shows— which include Off-Broadway productions of “PRETENÇIÓN: un cirque de burlesque, un burlesque de cirque”, “The Pinch Brothers in The Bawdy House” (Catch the sequel, Marxfest 2024), and "Dead Sexy"—have been lauded as the “Best Burlesque” in NYC by New York Magazine and the Village Voice. His burlesque game show toured to over 30 cities in 5 countries on 3 continents. He has, ludicrously, an MFA in Creative Writing for Children.

JO WELDON (The Ghost of Burlesque Past, Headmistress, et al) has performed some version of striptease and burlesque since 1978, taking it off everywhere from dive bars to national museums -- including onstage with Spinal Tap and representing Gypsy Rose Lee for her 100th Birthday celebration at NYPL Live. The founder and Headmistress of the NY School of Burlesque and author of “The Burlesque Handbook” and “Fierce: The History of Leopard Print”, she received the 2023 Tour Guides of NYC Lifetime Achievement Award. Jo has traveled the world as a performer, speaker, sex worker's rights activist, and instructor; her one-woman show “What I Wore to Work” returns to the Laurie Beechman in 2024.

MARGO MAYHEM (The Ghost of Neo Burlesque, Goldie, Et Al) Based in NYC, Margo Mayhem is an international burlesque performer and the current winner of Best Debut at the Burlesque Hall of Fame. She is also the winner of two international titles: Monarch of Imperial Burlesque Festival (Montreal) and Queen of Bohemian Burlesque Festival (Prague). In addition to being #29 on the 2022 Burlesque top 50 list, she was also crowned Miss Viva Las Vegas ‘21 and Most Comedic at the Oregon Burlesque fest ‘22. She (along with fiancé and partner Samson Night) is also part of the duo Midnight Mayhem, who, in 2022, won Best Small Group at the Burlesque Hall of Fame.

MISCALLANEOUS DOMTOP (The Ghost of Burlesque Yet To Come) The ultimate kink fantasy, MiscAllaneous DomTop is an NYC based burlesque performer, fetish model, producer and pro dom. They are known as the wild card of burlesque, from their outside-the-box fetish looks to their strong snake-like dance movement, which joins neo-classical dance technique to music with a modern approach. MiscAllaneous is an international performer and is also the producer of HardCore Burlesque, a fetish variety show. 

PEEKABOO POINTE (“Welcome to the Filthy Lucre” choreo) is a performance artist, burlesque performer, and choreographer. MFA in Performance and Interactive Media Art, Brooklyn College 2019; BFA in Dance, George Mason University 2002. In 2003 she began performing burlesque in the nightclubs of NY,and has toured Australia, Canada, across the US, Europe and South Africa. She has had the honor of choreographing and performing for Taylor Mac’s 24 decades of popular music. In addition to burlesque, she is currently creating interdisciplinary multimedia dance theater in NYC, and has presented work at HERE Arts, Dixon Place and Wild Project.

SCOTT RAYOW (Ghostly Voice, XXXMas Pageant Announcer) per wikipedia: Scott Rayow, often credited as Scottie Ray, is an American voice actor who has worked for NYAV Post, DuArt Film and Video, 4Kids Entertainment and Central Park Media. He is best known for voicing The Shredder in the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.

BOB KRASNER (Press photos) has been a professional photographer for over 25 years. He has survived photo sessions with heavy metal hair bands, reluctant politicians, nervous brides and camera shy children (and adults).His pictures have been published by Rolling Stone, People, Vanity Fair, Town & Country, Penguin Books, Random House and The Villager, for whom he also writes. The New York Press Association has awarded him first prize for best art photograph for the last three years. He can frequently be found, camera in hand, on the streets of New York City (where he lives), looking for the next great shot.

PRESS RELEASE

"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." -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. Burlesqued and directed by Jonny Porkpie ("Dead Sexy" "Pretençión" Off-Broadway, 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.

Starring Miss Coney Island and Golden Pastie Award winner Gal Friday (as Ebeneza Scrooge), original 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 BHoF “Best Debut” winner Margo Mayhem (as The Ghost of Neo Burlesque), fetish sensation MiscAllaneous DomTop (as The Ghost of Burlesque Yet To Come), Cashlee Banks (as Penny), Jonny Porkpie (as Bob Cratchit), Boardwalk Empire’s “Kitty the Stripper” Corvette Le Face (as Belle)

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