Showgirls Life

This episode has been over a year in the making. I have been wanting to have this chat since I found out my friend Christopher Childers was in the movie Showgirls. In case you haven’t seen this movie, please know there are a few “spoilers” in this episode. And I will say that unless you really want to watch a highly misogynistic portrayal of strippers and dancers that is fueled by patriarchal standards, you may not even want to waste your time. The movie is highly offensive and ruined an actress's career. Her career took the fall, not the male who directed it. Need I say more?

Christopher was one of the dancers in the movie. I didn’t know he had any connection with the movie, which is a horrible depiction of what life is like for a Las Vegas production show dancer, until our chat for episode 13 last summer. He agreed to come back and talk about his experience acting in the movie as well as how the movie has affected him 25 years later. We had so much fun during this chat. Enjoy!!

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Today, I have the honor of sharing an interview with a woman who worked behind the scenes with Showgirls in most of Greg Thompson’s productions in Reno. Elaine Sargent used her degree in theatre to immerse herself in the glamour backstage as a wardrobe technician. I had a lot of fun talking with Elaine about costumes, Showgirls, what they are and are not, and of course, why they went away. If you are a fan of Reno, make sure to listen as Elaine shares lots of insights into the good old days of Reno! Enjoy!

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Hey hey! Are you ready to deconstruct the showgirl some more? In these special episodes, we have talked about how there are no more showgirl shows with Alison Kravenko in ep 056, physical requirements and expectations with Brenda Barrett in episode 60, and Art vs. selling out with Andrew Branche in ep 062.

Today, we continue the deconstruction of the Showgirl and dive into my favorite subject, costumes! And of course, I couldn’t have found a better guest than the master of Showgirl costume design, Pete Menefee! Emmy award winning designer, Pete Menefee, started his career in entertainment as a dancer. After 12 years of using his body as his medium, he transitioned in the role of sketch artist and then costume designer. 

He has worked on the Showgirl spectaculars Donn Arden’s Hello Hollywood, Hello and Jubilee! He has also spent many years working in Hollywood for some of the industry’s biggest names, Anne Margaret, Shirley MacLaine and Juliet Prowse to name a few. He has also worked as a designer for the Radio City Rockettes and countless ice shows with his incredible talent. 

Pete and I deep dive about the Showgirl costumes he designed for Jubilee! talking about the materials choices, how many artisans worked on a single costume and how he feels about his costume designs being tampered with. He shares a special story at the end that I was privileged to hear in person this past summer when I met Pete for lunch with my friend Sheri Lewis, host of Bluebells Forever podcast, in his backyard oasis in the Hollywood Hills. Enjoy this episode about the incredible costumes that made the Showgirl even more dazzling to watch!

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Today I present to you a solo episode that touches on a very important topic in the Showgirl’s Life. Community. Though we have shared some hilarious backstage stories in previous episodes, there was magic happening at a deeper level. I am sharing my views on what it was like in the dressing rooms and the beautiful relationships that developed from those naked times. 

I am also excited to announce my partnership with The Origin Company. Created by Kate Northrup, the author of Money, A Love Story and Do Less, she has created a community for women to change the way they work. If you are curious to learn about this community, take the free online workshop outlined below. 

The Productivity Myth: 3 Easy Tactics to Focus On The Right Things and Get Better Business Results Without Burning Out

Curious what a real sisterhood looks like? Want to see how to smash the productivity myth? Register for a workshop and learn how you can change the way you work and experience more connection and joy in your life. Register now!  

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Hey hey! Are you ready to deconstruct the showgirl some more? Last month, in episode 060, we talked about physical requirements and expectations with Brenda Barrett. And in the first ever Showgirl Deconstructed episode 056 back in July, we talked about how there are no more showgirl shows with Alison Kravenko. 

In this episode we will be discussing the difference between art versus selling out in the dance world. We went all over the place with this one. Talking about what it means to sell out as a dancer, what we think selling out is really about, differences in values as performers, how taking all your lessons as a dancer and using them as a performer makes performing in production shows art, the thrill of being recognized as a dancer on the street just by your walk, and so much more!!

I am so pleased to bring you this conversation with my former dance partner, Andrew Branche. This topic is so dear to our hearts as we both started off loving ballet and joined concert companies and then made our way to production shows, where we truly blossomed into beautiful performers and artists. Enjoy!

Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation on the show notes page and share what you enjoyed about this episode. I look forward to connecting with you! 😍

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Tiffany Johnson was a tall nude in Donn Arden’s Jubilee! in 1999 and left just before I got into the show. She returned for 3 more years almost a decade later. She has had a long career with a variety of opportunities and achievements. One thing to note is that we grew up in the same city and saw each other at all the dance competitions. The last time I saw her before I got into the show in 2000 was in Las Vegas at a Nationals competition in 1994, which was the year that she turned pro by joining the Nuggets dance team. 

As a woman of color, Tiffany has experienced the usual treatment in regards to race while working in the entertainment industry. Add to that the fact that she is 6’1” and you get a bit of an idea of how life as a dancer has been for her. Listen in to hear her thoughts on racism in entertainment, being a Las Vegas Showgirl and how she changed certain standards for the women of color that came after her time in Jubilee! 

Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation on the show notes page and share what you enjoyed about this episode. I look forward to connecting with you! 😍

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Today’s episode discusses one of the toughest parts of being a Showgirl that non-performers can’t wrap their heads around—physical requirements and expectations. Showgirls and Bluebell dancers have been held to high standards for decades due to standards set by Madame Bluebell and then perpetuated by “tastes” preferred by white men over the generations. Encore guest Brenda Barrett, former Bluebell dancer, and I deep dive on this topic today, and share more about our experiences as dancers and the physical requirements and limitations of being dancers in the professional dance world. She has some beautiful advice at the end for all dancers. Enjoy!

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Welcome to part 2 of the Showgirls Road Trip 2021. Earlier this summer, I went on a road trip with Sheri Lewis, host of Bluebells Forever podcast. Sheri and I got together recently to debrief about our wonderful adventure in Reno, Las Vegas and LA. It took awhile to recount all of our experiences that we enjoyed that week so I decided to break it up into two episodes because it was A LOT. Enjoy this second part!

I promised links in the episode, so here they all are!!

UNLV Library Special Collections Digital Archives 

ASMR swing video 

Showgirls Road Trip (SRT) 2021 Souvenirs

Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation on the show notes page and share what you enjoyed about this episode. I look forward to connecting with you! 😍

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Welcome to part 1 of the Showgirls Road Trip 2021. Earlier this summer, I went on a road trip with Sheri Lewis, host of Bluebells Forever podcast. Sheri and I got together recently to debrief about our wonderful adventure in Reno, Las Vegas and LA. It took awhile to recount all of our experiences that we enjoyed that week so I decided to break it up into two episodes because it was A LOT. Enjoy this first part!

I promised links in the episode, so here they all are!!

UNLV Library Special Collections Digital Archives 

Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation on the show notes page and share what you enjoyed about this episode. I look forward to connecting with you! 😍

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Hello! I am so excited to bring this episode to you. This one has been in the making for over a year, as I have been collecting guests’ stories about their part in the opening of Donn Arden’s Jubilee! Which is celebrating its 40th anniversary today!! Happy Birthday Jubilee!

Donn Arden’s Jubilee! Opened on July, 31, 1981 with a cast of 150 singers and dancers, a stage crew and wardrobe department of almost 100 people and an 18-piece orchestra. At a total cost of $10M. About $29.8M in 2021. In other words, the show was quite expensive for its time. 

Those are the facts. Just a bunch of numbers researched and spouted off. But this episode is really about the people. The people that actually got to experience this masterpiece being created. I hope you enjoy these snippets of all the opening cast and crew members that I have had the privilege to speak with about their share in the creation of the Showgirl spectacular, Jubilee! Enjoy!

Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation on the show notes page and share what you enjoyed about this episode. I look forward to connecting with you! 😍

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Merch!