Ladies of burlesque take naughty show across town

The ladies of Burlesque As It Was are packing up their pasties and moving across town. The troupe bid fond farewell to their cozy old home at Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret (1601 Arapahoe St. Denver), and dig in at the Soiled Dove Underground (7401 E. First Ave.; 303-366-0007) on Saturday.

"Lannie's is a beautiful room, but we were packing people in there like sardines," said Burlesque As It Was founder Michelle Baldwin. "We needed more room, so we were really happy when we found the Dove."

Their first show in the new venue, "Springtime in Paris: A Night at the Moulin Rouge," promises to be a lighthearted romp through the City of Light, complete with playful French maids and, of course, the can-can.

Baldwin, also known as Vivienne VaVoom, said the Dove's setup is great for unconventional antics, on-stage and off. "Our stuff is so theatrical, it's nice to have more options to play with," Baldwin said. "For instance, our can-can girls will be running in from the back of the house, and there are spotlights that will follow them through the audience. We'll be able to create dramatic entrances and exits because of the full stage curtain."

"Springtime" also features the debut of BAIW's new host, Big Mama Red. A brassy singer and storyteller, expect plenty of sass-talk and ribald jokes from this Mama.

"(She's) a singer with a great big voice and a live piano and guitar player accompanying her," said Baldwin. "We're excited to have the Soiled Dove's amazing sound system for her."

It's a lot of changes at once, but Baldwin takes it in stride. As of this summer, she will have been doing BAIW for 10 years.

Another thing she's really pumped about at the new venue: free parking.

"Especially now, as the economy gets worse, it's nice to not have to pay parking on top of an evening of entertainment," she said. "And nice that we performers don't have to pay parking, too."

Beautiful ladies, a fabulous new show and free parking — how can you lose?