The Triple Door’s Roman Holiday Combines Sass, Class and Glam in a Glass

Cabaret veterans Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann—the masterminds behind The Triple Door’s long-running Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker—are reviving Burlesco DiVino: Wine in Rome, their 2013 ultra-luxe stage show of dance, comedy, striptease and music this weekend at The Triple Door. Here are four reasons not to miss this “original musical-burlesque fantasia”:

• Because it stars not only Verlaine, Seattle’s glamorous ecdysiast queen, and McCann, her loyal partner in the pageantry, but a galaxy of mega-talented local burlesque stars—including The Luminous Pariah, Paris Original and Trojan Original (check out their many appearances here)—plus actress Erika Zabelle (recently of Comedy Central’s Drunk History), the fusion belly-dance trio Tribellas, and many more;

• Because at heart it’s a classic let’s-put-on-a-show tale, as Zabelle and McCann play an American choreographer and an Italian musician trying to mount a spectacle for demanding socialite Donatella Chianti (Verlaine) under the influence of fashion models, fire dancers, gods and goddesses of antiquity, and copious amounts of the title beverage;

• Because it evokes Rome’s two golden ages, 60 A.D. and 1960 A.D., combining the elegance of Audrey Hepburn on a Vespa and the sex appeal of Sylva Koscina in a toga;

• Because—and if this doesn’t sell you on the show, what would?—in one show-stopping, breath-stopping number, Verlaine cavorts in a giant champagne coupe (1:20 in the video below).

7:30 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 21; 7 & 10:30 p.m. Fri., Sept. 22–Sat., Sept 23. Prices vary. The Triple Door, downtown, 216 Union St.; 206.838.4333; thetripledoor.net.

Burlesco DiVino Teaser 2015 from Verlaine & McCann on Vimeo.