So I think I’ve learned to avoid the early show at the Triple Door, at least for something like burlesque; this review covers the 7pm showing on Thursday 3/24/2011.
Food first – I decided to go against habit and tried the evening’s special, a lamb curry that was supposed to be spicy-hot. The portion size for the ‘full’ order was good, and the sauce was a very tasty curry, but not hot at all. The veggies were minimal which wouldn’t have been a bad thing if the meat had tasted fresher/less-game-y. In the end I ate less than half the meat, but all the rice/sauce/veggies I could. It was a disappointing start to the evening.
I was a little put off by the way they started the show with what seemed like at least a half hour of the band singing cover songs. Well, maybe they were singing. Everyone but the drummer looked to be lip-syncing and faking their instruments, but maybe it was just the aural dissonance of seeing such a Johnny-Cash-esque-bass come out of such a small guy. Either way, I was really surprised at how long they kept the stage dancer free. When they did finally bring in dancers, the guy side of the cast was underwhelming to say the least. Usually a Can-Can show is fun for watching both guys and girls, but not this one. The girls did have very realistic showgirl attire, but it was hard not to compare against the Nutcracker show I saw last Christmas, which was much more elaborate in sets and costumes.
Three ladies performed a nice set on the rings, and came back again to perform on hanging ropes during the second half of the show. Which brings me to another WTF moment, getting back to my seat after intermission, looking at the clock and seeing 8:16, when the show is supposed to be over by 8:30. And it was over by 8:40, so they did a 10 minute intermission before a 20 minute set? I have to assume the balance of musical and dancing numbers is better during a late show. And I also assume that in the late show you see more skin; you got a brief peak at “Marilyn’s” covered nipples at the end of the 1st half of the show. There seemed to be a lot of missed lighting cues during the entire evening.
Frankly I was underwhelmed. I expected more out of a Can-Can show on the Triple Door stage. Don’t get me wrong, I think all the performers put in a good effort with the material they were working from, but it seemed like a half-hearted attempt on the part of the director. It could be just an effect of cutting down the 10pm show for time and age (I notice the 7pm show is listed as just 17+), but still seemed like they could have done better. I was also confused by how comparatively gay/bi unfriendly the show was for something with a Wizard of Oz theme, and seemed very out of character for the Can Can shows I’ve seen before. I don’t me unfriendly in the sense that they did gay-bashing-jokes, but rather in a if-you-are-gay-dont-bother-coming-nothing-to-see sort of way.
And to the Triple Door itself, this marks the second time I’ve been recently where I felt like the service level has declined noticeably. They did at least take my drink order this time, but it took 20 minutes to arrive, on a night where they weren’t anywhere near capacity. And I found it really skeazy that when they found out I hadn’t come up with a date for my second ticket, they tried to sell my second seat to someone, without planning on giving me my money back. I can live with a no-refunds policy, but if I paid for two seats, but come alone, as far as I’m concerned I paid for a $20 coat check that I can keep an eye on. Certainly not without at least asking me if I mind some stranger sharing my table, ON MY DIME, while you take their money as well.
I think the biggest lesson learned is that there’s a difference between “can can presents” and “the can can castaways present”. I will be paying closer attention next time.