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Super Happy Funtime Burlesque returns to The Acorn Aug. 31
THREE OAKS - Super Happy Funtime Burlesque is foraging a new path and defying all the rules of entertainment and good taste as it embarks on its fifth national tour in two years with "The Poorly Timed SHFB Xmas Special," stopping at The Acorn Theater Friday, Aug. 31 at 8 p.m.
SHFB is one of a kind: Eighteen members, a hellaciously tight live band, and a 350-pound male stripper-slash-sensitive poet, staging original musical theater in dive bars and clubs. Seeing them live is what it must've been like to hang out at CBGB's on a Tuesday when it was just Truman Capote squinting to pretend like Debbie Harry was a man.
Said 350-pound stripper/poet, one Joe the Cabdriver (did we mention he drives cab for a living?), takes center stage as the star of this latest newest production. Dubbed 'Santa vs Satan', the tale is told through song and dance of how Joe accidentally kills Santa during a three-day coke-fueled orgy at the north pole, only to be burdened with the responsibility of taking his place so that all the good upper-middle-class white children can get their Xmas toys. Well, somewhere along the way he pisses off Satan and picks up a real nasty candy cane addiction that forces him to sell off his sleigh and whore out Rudolph to earn a couple bucks. We won't bother telling you any more, except that it gets way worse when he teams up with notorious roadside preacher Fred Phelps to turn the tides in the battle against evil.
SHFB has had its share of notable collaborations. Director Richard Elfman flew to Michigan in 2009 to perform musical numbers from his cult classic "Forbidden Zone" with SHFB at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids. SHFB has also collaborated with Just Larry (Ringling Bros. Circus' head clown), World Famous Brett (Cirque du Soleil), and film director and SPIN Magazine photographer Erik Voake. SHFB's
characters have been featured on national TV and in B level films: dancer and stuntwoman Miss Pussykatt was a featured competitor and fan favorite on "America's Got Talent" after judge David Hasslehoff exclaimed, "Pussykatt, I love you!" upon seeing her perform.
SHFB is a great show, and audiences are coming out to see them in droves. They are doing the unthinkable, staging 100-percent original musical theater mixed with sexy and bawdy burlesque acts all over the country. They live in a giant converted school bus - and they come from Michigan! SHFB must be seen to be believed.
And here comes the first show in September!
The Acorn Theater is located at 107 Generations Dr., Three Oaks, MI 49128. A full-service bar and other refreshments are available.
For tickets and information, call 269-756-3879 or log on to www.acorntheater.com.
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