Strippers of a Different Stripe

Ever since I moved four blocks away from it, I have been dying to know what the Admiral (NSWF!) looks like on the inside. For one thing, I have never been in a strip club before, and therefore have just a natural curiosity about them. For another, the Admiral is rather famous around this town for being one of the very few all-nude clubs and it is in a former burlesque/vaudeville theatre built in 1927.

So when we heard about the Burlesque Festival taking place there it seemed the perfect opportunity to visit the Admiral, without having to "visit the Admiral". I am happy to report that the Admiral absolutely lived up to all of my expectations. In the lobby they have kept the height of the ceiling of the old theatre which adds grandeur along with a series of gi-normous egyptian-esque paintings of generously proportioned topless women. The carpet is a deep red- which is exactly as I always picture a strip club to be. Inside the theatre they seem to have created a false ceiling. The DJ is located in the old balcony level and there was an impressive array of lighting instruments. The main floor is sunken with a 3/4 thrust stage (natch). The seating is cabaret style with a raised seating area surrounding the main "pit" where the stage is. The "egyptian" theme extends into the showroom with lions-head mirrors. Some other crazy stuff appears to be 70's throw- back such as a mirrored column next to the stage. There are poles but they blended so well into the decor I didn't realize what they were for until dancers started using them after the first act of the show!

We also got a taste of what a regular tuesday night at the Admiral must be like as the show started almost an HOUR late. The ladies that got up on stage to dance one at a time to 2 songs apiece weren't removing any of their scanty clothing at this point, but they were shaking their stuff and writhing around as one would expect. The show itself was pretty lackluster (we left before the second act) with one standout performance by Claire de Lune (so disappointed we didn't see an act with puppets! But very well done anyway). For some reason there were not other acts other than dancing girls. Usually the word "burlesque" implies there will be a bit of a variety show aspect to the evening. This gives the ladies time to do costume changes or change the set not to mention as exciting as boobs are even they can get a bit monotonous after a while. (Or is that just that I'm a girl?) It was certainly not up to Michelle l'Amour level, which I would highly recommend if you ever desire to check out a burlesque show in town yourself. I might go too!