Time to get schwifty in here!
A nerdy burlesque show will transport viewers to a sexy sci-fi world — if the Galactic Federation doesn’t notice. “Burp-lesque,” a strip show inspired by the foul-mouthed cartoon show “Rick and Morty,” will crash land in Coney Island on June 29. The show’s creator says that paying tribute to the misadventures of a mad scientist and his timid grandson is outside the bounds of most burlesque troupes.
“We do the weird stuff,” said Petite Renard, who runs Metropolis Burlesque with her husband, Moe Cheezmo. The group specializes in giving off-beat television shows, comics, and movies a goofy, sensual twist. The group first tackled “Rick and Morty” in a show three years ago, and its super-fans went wabadubadubdub.
“Rick and Morty pushes a lot of our nerdy buttons,” Cheezmo said.
The June 29 performance will get extra squanchy, with seven acts featuring the show’s lead characters, including Morty, his mother Beth, and the scientist formerly known as Rick, alongside minor figures from the show, such as Ma-Sha, the sexy ruler of the planet Gazorpazorp, who Renard will portray for the first time. The sci-fi show’s constantly changing cast keeps each edition of the “Burp-Lesque” show fresh, said Cheezmo.
“We’ve done the show three times, and it hasn’t been the same once,” he said.
For other shows, the group has drawn on other unlikely cult classics, including depressed equine cartoon “Bojack Horseman,” the “Sandman” comic series by Neil Gaiman, and Hanyo Miyazaki movies. Cheezmo refers to the group’s tongue-in-cheek burlesque style as “nerd-lesque,” and says that the pop-culture trappings can bring in audiences that might not be comfortable with a traditional bump-and-grind.
“A lot of people wouldn’t get necessarily go to burlesque, but they get hooked on the idea of nerd-lesque,” he said.
“The show definitely brings nerds together,” added Renard.
The show will mark Metropolis Burlesque’s debut at Coney Island Sideshows by the Seashore stage, which hosts “Burlesque at the Beach” with different groups each weekend during the summer.
“Burp-Lesque” at Sideshows by the Seashore [1208 Surf Ave between at W. 12th Street in Coney Island, (718) 372–5159, www.coney
