When one thinks of "burlesque," the more risqué images of the Moulin Rouge and Prohibition-era nightclubs may come to mind. Often, people picture women with ostrich feathers seducing their audiences with dance, sight and sound. But Ray Gunn and like-minded men are changing the notion of burlesque. Burlesque as dance and performance art is now gaining traction and Gunn, a Chicagoan, has been an integral part of the male burlesque movement since its resurgence.
"Burlesque is the classic art of striptease," said Gunn. "We are selling the sizzle and not the steak. I want my shows to be titillating but not vulgar. It's essential to find the humor in sex as well as the eroticism." Gunn is part of the local trio known as The Stage Door Johnnies, an all-male burlesque ensemble. The group won "Artists of the Year" in 2010 from the Burlesque Innovation Guild and was also awarded the current title of "World's Best Burlesque Group 2011" by the Burlesque Hall of Fame. Adding to the group's notoriety among burlesque performers and fans is Ray Gunn's recent title of "International King of Burlesque."
Gunn told Windy City Times that this year's competition was held at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas. "It's sort of a summer camp for strippers. The whole week is full of both workshops and the competition," he said. "It really makes going home harder for you with all this great performance art." Gunn used the song "Trust Me" from the Jungle Book as his winning entry. "I used the scene when Kaa, the snake is seducing Mowgli. The routine was sexy and seductive but still artfully done," Gunn said. "I started the act in a red snake skin eventually working my way down to a pair of candy apple red briefs. I don't think the symbolism was lost on anyone."
Gunn's work appears as much eroticism as it does art and he pulls from culture as any artist to achieve the message and the mystique he needs to portray. "I pull from all over: blaxploitation, science fictioneven steampunk," Gunn said. "I had this one act where I dressed as a cello and performed acrobatic tricks on a giant music stand while I 'played myself.' I think this act was both burlesque and classic tongue-in-cheek."
The audience for male burlesque is not what one may think. "My audience varies from city to city," Gunn told Windy City Times. "In Minneapolis I have a large lesbian following. In Seattle, I have a huge gay following. In Chicago, both straight women and men seem to enjoy what the Stage Door Johnnies do. I've heard guys say, 'I like what they do. They're funny!'
"Each show is a bit different and what we do as a group or I do on my own varies. Some acts are a bit darker. Some acts are more universal. We still have to play our audience."
Male burlesque, not having the popularity or notoriety of its female counterpart, requires some extra work on behalf of its performers. "It certainly is tougher for a male performer to win over his audience," said Gunn. "But what we do on stage is really no different than what a woman might do. When people hear 'male burlesque' they think Thunder from Down Under or Chippendales, and that's just not what we're about. We do a full range of acts, from gender-bending to something that feels more like first contact with an alien species!"
Gunn was keen to point out that burlesque has a theatrical element to it, as opposed to exotic dancing. "Stripping can oftentimes be simple and routine. I like to think that burlesque is more complex and less coarse."
But Gunn's new fame has not gone to his head. He told Windy City Times that he still gets nervous before every single performance: "I double-check and triple-check my costume. I go for a cigarette or a drink. I go through the act. I get into character. Surprisingly I'm less nervous about being naked as about the choreography going properly." Gunn is a classically trained dancer from a prominent New York dancing academy. "The choreography is all my own," he said. "I have worked in numerous genres of dance and found that art of dance just led me to burlesque." When asked to compare his work with the go-go boys once on display at Cocktail Bar in Boystown, Gunn joked, "This is not a step-touch, side-side routine." But he added, "There is a time and a place for that kind of dance as well, don't get me wrong."
Next on Gunn's royal horizon will be continuing to work with Naughty Little Productions. "The Stage Door Johnnies are touring and I'll be helping with the choreography," said Gunn. "I like to see the blend of vaudeville and circus acts since both have contributed to the art of burlesque. I would like to integrate those elements and bring them back to male burlesque."
The Stage Door Johnnies can be seen locally at The Original Mother's, 26 W. Division St., in "Naughty Little Cabaret" at 8 p.m. every Saturday night. For more information on the Stage Door Johnnies, visit www.thestagedoorjohnnies.com .