The Empire Strips Back
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
Montalbán Theatre
Through Jan. 8
RECOMMENDED
Ranging from the hypnotic to the hilarious, the sublime to the silly, director Russell S. Beattie’s loving burlesque lampoon of the Star Wars movie canon offers up a bevy of ecdysiasts displaying a different way of The Force. Depicting various classic characters, the show highlights the balletic and gymnastic talent of these gorgeous gals – and the few guys – but also offers some of that traditional bump and grind endemic to the fine art of strip tease. It is great fun for the whole family – if the family is 18 and over.
The proverbial rolling screen credits start the show, informing us that Luke, Leia, and the rest of the rebels have escaped the Evil Empire and high-tailed it to a more suitable star system. After the screen fades to black, a mysterious helmeted Rebel Alliance fighter enters from the shadows astride an exhausted tauntaun. After she dismounts and starts her racy routine, her disabled steed expires. Well, what’s a poor girl to do after she has stripped down to her skivvies on the frozen planet Hoth? Happy entrails to you.
We then meet emcee Eric Calrissian (Eric Newton), a last-minute replacement for his uncle Lando, who is out shooting a Colt 45 commercial. He may not be as suave as his elder relative, but Eric is a whole lot funnier. Introducing each act with quick wit and risqué repartee to pump up the boisterous crowd, Eric keeps the show going at its energetic pace.
There is a novel spin involving Luke’s beloved speeder from the first – or is it the IVth? – movie, Boba Fett shedding a jet pack – and more – to a fitting “Welcome To The Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses, and, apparently inspired by Busby Berkeley, Mel Brooks, and Ice Capades, the precision goose-stepping of some sexy Storm Troopers. A statuesque Darth Vader makes an alluring appearance and not as Luke’s daddy, a robed Jedi gracefully disrobes all while exhibiting entrancing light saber skills, and Han Solo’s and Chewbacca’s breakdancing chops are a revelation in more ways than one. Even Emperor Palpatine gets into the act with a side-splitting display of “the raw power of the force.”
There are tender moments as well, such as skull-tendrilled twin Twi’leks and their mesmerizing pas de dux, with their sinuous intertwining of arms and legs mirroring each other’s sultry moves and crafting an erotic tension between them. To the rapturous strains of Rhianna’s “Diamonds,” the white-clad Princess Leia moves with gymnastic poise, enchanting a loyal R2D2 who accompanies her and who ultimately shows his appreciation in true strip show fashion.
Choreographers Lisa Toyer and James Barry do laudable work with a gifted team of dancers and background performers. Prior to the show and during intermission we are treated to amusing uncredited video ads for various intergalactic commodities, with one showing a cute little Ewok in some enchanting situations. You don’t want to miss them.
Beattie’s starry production elements, psychedelic strobe and stage lights, and strategic song selections befitting many a strip club, enhance the overall audacity of the event. And while there is no show program to credit the cast and crew, suffice to say that all involved – from performers to designers and everyone in between – deliver a work that boldly goes . . . oh, that’s from that other franchise . . . is out of the galaxy far, far away.
Montalbán Theatre, 1614 Vine St., Hollywood.; Thurs-Fri.; 8 p.m.; Sat., 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Sun.; 7 p.m., through Jan. 8.; NOTE: 18 and over. https://feverup.com/m/119016 Running time 2 hours, including 15 min. intermission.
