The Cast
Much like his namesake, James was a miserable boy until that special day when magic entered into his life. It happened on a rainy night on Coney Island when his uncle snuck him into his first burlesque show at the age of 16. Mesmerized by the twirling tassels, beautiful fans, and hilarious stylings of the performers, James felt something unrecognizable in the air.
The next morning he awoke to find a giant, glittery, sequined and tasseled pasty of his own growing in his wardrobe. At that moment he set out on a fantastical journey that took him to burlesque shows as far afield as Edinborough and Paris before landing him permanently in Toronto. Finding a magical and delightful crew of characters he founded Boylesque TO and has been living happily ever after since then.
Formed in a low pressure region near the equator, Mahogany Storm has blitzed north with a fury of sass and now hovers over the CN tower drizzling his sweet, aphrodisiacal sap on the city. His whirlwind tassles and boombastic dance moves dazzle those in his path into a dizzying reverie leaving his victims whet and wanting. When Boylesque caught wind of his rage, they lured Mahogany into their chasm of awesomeness and together they sizzle stages with fiery charm and bare audacity.
Dew Lily is no stranger to taking off his clothes. He has been putting on and taking off clothes for a little over two decades now, and has had plenty of practice making the process either funny or seductive, sometimes both, no matter how small the venue (i.e. his bathroom mirror). Dew is an amateur performer with no previous experience in burlesque, but after joining Boylesque TO, Dew discovered other people might be entertained by his implied nudity, not just him.
By the age of 4, Wrong Note Rusty was already a prodigy on the skin flute; it was not uncommon for him to shut himself in his room to practice for hours on end. His parents, noticing his dedication to the craft, soon acquired an old, rusty trombone which would become a fast friend and, eventually, a life long partner. Some say that we never outgrow our high school archetypes. If that’s the case, then Wrong Note Rusty will forever be the high school band geek … that one who wishes he could be the school slut. In order to explore his more salacious side, Rusty’s trombone solo concerts are currently on hiatus. However, you can count on him to lube up the ol’ bone if the night is right for some musical stylings.
Bruin Pounder's involvement with Boylesque TO marks a new chapter in his life. After being disgraced from the Canadian Caber Toss Circuit for using a hollow Caber, Pounder came to Toronto to pursue his other passion – culinary arts. One night Pounder was drunk at a bar and received thunderous applause as he ripped off his clothes and began to gyrate to Van Halen's Jump. Fate was on Pounder’s side as the rest of the Boylesque crew was at the bar that night, watching his movements with a mix of awe and horror.
Man Chyna got his start on the professional wrestling circuit. But when that now infamous tape surfaced, One Night in Chyna, it was the end of his pro-wrestling career. While hustling on the streets of Atlanta, the world of burlesque caught wind of Man’s predilection for nudity and the rest, as they say, is HIStory.
Jerked straight out of the denim-clad glamour of 90s Hollywood, Corey Swelling is Boylesque’s resident teen heartthrob. Once an aspiring Olympic gymnast, Corey leapt from the pommel horse and landed on stage as a dancer for C+C Music Factory. While working up a daily sweat, he quickly learned how skilled he was at taking off his clothes. It was only a matter of time before he vowed to ditch his tank top and show the world his assets.
When Corey isn’t stripping to the bodyguard soundtrack he spends time making acid wash cut-offs and checking for his name in tiger beat. His likes include Neve Campbell, The New Kids, Jason Priestly, the Electric Circus dance party and BodyBreak with Hal Johnson and Joanne Mcleod. So Move over Corey Haim, goodbye Corey Feldman, Corey Swelling’s fifteen minutes have just begun.
The ladies say he's a sweetheart, the gentleman know better. Mickey D is all about love.health.happiness.equality...and heavy petting.
Our Hosts
Born under the counter of Pancer's Delicatessen in glamourous North York, Balonia has been stuffing herself with meat and entertaining the masses since she was knee-high to a jar of kosher pickles. Not much has changed in either her activities or her height. After a brief stint as a performer in the Legitimate Theatre, which somehow got her nominated for a Dora award, Balonia is tickled pink to be on the burlesque stage and surrounded by sausage once again. She also does bar mitzvahs.
Ginger Darling is an old hand in the business of show. After years of dedication, hard work and a significant misunderstanding, he woke up one day and discovered he had helped form an all-male burlesque troupe. Equally happy lounging in a smoking jacket and dancing in Underoos, Ginger lives his life by the following rule: it’s fine to be undressed, so long as you’re never underdressed.
Alumni
Angel Whiteside is filled with the Holy Spirit and with the Spirit of Burlesque! From his humble beginnings as a young Mormon boy in Southern Alberta all the way to the big city lights of Toronto is a long way to come, and Angel embraces his new life with fervor and occasional nudity. Previous Burlesque experience includes dancing in front of the bathroom mirror and playing doctor with his childhood playmates.
Dick DuBois first appeared on the scene among the shifting, fleshy, groping shadows of a fashionable opium den on the west side of London, circa 1896. Remarkably well preserved and vigorous, given his advanced age and dubious beginnings, DuBois now contentedly resides in the New World and enjoys lechery, buggery, and needlepoint. Keenly self-conscious and excruciatingly shy, he prefers the shadows to the spotlight, but has taken up burlesque out of a perverse devotion to the Protestant Work Ethic, with a view to self-betterment through self-abnegation. He sincerely hopes that you are ready for this jelly.