Orlando Fringe 2025
Corsets & Cuties: FIN
Corsets & Cuties
Genre: Burlesque, Cabaret, LGBTQIA+, Physical Theatre
Venue: Orange
Festival: Orlando Fringe
Low Down
Corsets & Cuties: Fin brings to an end an era of burlesque dancing from Orlando’s leading and award-winning burlesque troupe. A triumphant finale to an era.
Review
Corsets & Cuties is an award-winning multi-gender burlesque troupe led by Lady Jaimz. After ten years of awards, fringes, and performances, this performance, subtitled “fin” is the grand finale of the company (at least in its current state). The show features a rotating set of performers doing acrobatics, comedy, singing, and, of course, strip-teasing. Bring your cash ready! These performers are expecting cash tips. I lacked US dollars on me (and I doubt they would have had much usage for a British pound.)
This performance featured founder Lady Jaimz as the MC and Jax N.Augh, Barbi Rhinestone, Teddy, Crumcake Cutie, Hot Dog, Libra Moon, and Bebe Caliber. Each number was spectacular and masterfully performed. As all good burlesque should be, the performances were slick, well-rehearsed, funny, sexy, and unique. It is beautiful to watch performers simply at their best, enjoying the last work they’re doing together as a company.
Mattisen Thompson performed a sleek vintage lip-sync striptease to Drowsy Chaperone’s “I Don’t Want To Show Off.” Libra Moon did drop-dropping dual hoop acrobatics with Minxxy. Fringe-favorite dancer Teddy (somehow managing to perform a different number each night) was on stilts and the hoop acrobatics for this performance. Jax did a sweet musical number of a prisoner singing of his love to his guard. Barbi put on her Bride of Frankenstein wedding dress and gave us an energetic performance. Crumcake Cutie did an encore of her (bloody) hilarious and award-winning best-comedy burlesque number. And MC Lady Jaimz wrapped the evening with an introspective and thoughtful dance, showcasing how Burlesque changed her life.
My only piece of criticism directed at the performance comes in cohesion. I wish there were more of an interlocking theme through the performance that exemplified the theme of “fin.” Each piece on its own is spectacular, but more attention could have gone to bringing it all together. Only Lady Jaimz’s nostalgic number I felt exemplified the theme. Video interviews do appear before each performance, wherein the performer is asked what Corsets & Cuties meant to them. These are of varying quality from phone-shot to professional lighting and sound. I would have preferred to have all these interviews done on-stage after each performer, rather than before their performance. This would have solved the varying video quality and drawn more attention to the present finale.
Yet, it is admittedly hard to give Corsets & Cuties much criticism in this review. After all, what is there to criticize about the art on display? The show was a spectacular hour of burlesque numbers by a company that is at its end. It was a triumphant finale. I’m certain they only hit harder on their last performance. The only question remains if this is truly the end of Corsets & Cuties or the start of a rebrand. Many audience members commented to me that they were uncertain. Lady Jaimz seemed to hint at more incoming. Are they rebranding? Only producing? We’ll have to wait and see. No matter what: we all hope this is not the end of a great artistic troupe.
