Behind the Burly Q

The art of Burlesque has experienced a new renaissance, but for years it was vilified and misunderstood, and for the most part left out of our cultural history. Now comes the feature documentary Behind the Burly Q, a thrilling yet affectionate look back at the golden age of Burlesque - America's most popular form of live entertainment in the first half of the 20th century.

Behind the Burly Q reveals the true story of burlesque by telling the intimate and surprising stories from its golden age through the women (and men!) who lived it. Featuring dozens of interviews with performers, musicians and authors including actor Alan Alda, whose father Robert Alda was a handsome “tit singer” and a straight man; Nat Bodian, journalist who wrote and saw burlesque at the Empire in Newark in the 1930’s; Lorraine Lee, who used to dance for Bonnie and Clyde and Pretty Boy Floyd and “earned a quarter”; Tempest Storm, who still performs today and claims to have been lovers with Elvis and JFK; the notorious Blaze Starr, who escaped a life of poverty to rise to the heights of fame, and became involved with Governor Long; Kitty West, aka Evangelina the Oyster Girl, the Bourbon Street star, who entertained busloads of tourists as she “came out of her oyster”; Taffy O’Neill, who performed at night, and spent the days taking her young son, stricken with polio to treatment; Mike Iannucci, star stripper Ann Corio’s husband and producer of “This Was Burlesque”; Rachel Schteir who wrote the book Striptease, a comprehensive history of the art of stripteasing; and Janet Davis, author of the extensively researched book on Tiny Kline, who Walt Disney himself discovered and made her the first Tinker Bell when she was in her 60s.

Filmmaker Leslie Zemeckis is a veteran of stage and film. She is the creator of the one-woman burlesque-inspired show, "Staar: She's Back and Mistresser Than Ever!" that has been performed at various clubs throughout Los Angeles garnering audience acclaim. Zemeckis recently produced the feature "Staar" starring Carrie Fisher and Jeffrey Tambor and also produced the short film "Enfants Terribles," which she stars in opposite Peter Facineli and Christopher Lloyd and which was an official selection of the Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and Chicago Film Festivals in 2005 – 2006. Her acting credits include "Deterrence" for director Rod Lurie, “Sacrifice” with Michael Madsen, “Blowback” with Mario Van Peebles, and “Polar Express” opposite Tom Hanks. She co-starred in “Beowulf”, directed by her husband Robert Zemeckis, starring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie.

PRAISE FOR BEHIND THE BURLY Q

“Utterly entertaining Behind the Burly Q is a painstakingly researched love letter to the women and men who once made up the community of burlesque performers…its treasure trove of vintage photographs and performance footage is enough to make historians and fans of classic erotica swoon…insightful, fascinating.” –Ernest Hardy, The Village Voice

CRITICS’ PICK! “Intriguing…fans of theatrical history are well advised to check it out”

-New York Magazine

“Charming, entertaining…a delight!” –Manohla Dargis, Behind the Burly Q

“Provides a privileged front-row seat to sample several of the form's most memorable practitioners… stories run from raunchy to touching to funny to flat-out incredible.” –Ronnie Scheib, Variety

“Taps into a world of burlesque as we've never seen it before.” - Linnea Covington, New York Press

“Affectionate and engaging…wonderful vintage footage, a fascinating glimpse into a corner of American history.” –New York Daily News

“Fascinatingly strips away at the myths surrounding the most popular American entertainment form of the first half of the 20th century.” –Michael Musto, The Sundance Channel

“Quickly paced, absorbing.” –Kyle Smith, The New York Post

FOUR STARS(EXCELLENT)! “A fun-filled tribute which elevates the Golden Age of Burlesque to its rightful place in history.”

“RUN, DO NOT WALK, TO SEE THIS MOVIE! It is the most thorough, balanced, rich and probing documentary possible about the history of classical burlesque.”-Trav S.D., Travelanche

“History done right: informative, entertaining, funny and finally rather moving…jam-packed with juicy detail, and most of that jam is tasty indeed.”-James van Maanen, Trustmovies

“Delightful, engaging…A veritable who's who of the grande dames of the burlesque stage…for sheer fun, this is a winner.”-George Robinson, Cine-Journal

“Fascinating, colorful and yes, tantalizing… progresses with a peppy pace and lighthearted demeanor probably apropos of a Burly Q show.” –Ross Anthony, The Hollywood Report Card

“Playfully dirty…the fascinating history of American burlesque.” –

“It’s smart, brassy, sassy and charming.” –Jennifer Merin, About.com

“Any fan of burlesque will no doubt find it thoroughly enjoyable.”-Adam Schartoff, Film Forward

“A fun and affectionate look at a subject that continues to fascinate generations.” –The Diva Review

“Enjoyable — brassy and loud and thoroughly unapologetic. A lot like its subjects.” –NJ.com

“Intimate and surprisingly interesting …BEHIND THE BURLY Q” is a highly recommended and very important cinematic endeavor… a form of entertainment that has been left out of our cultural history and one that many should know about.” –Andrew Johnson, Black Cat Media

“Burly is the only oral history recorded by many of burlesque’s greatest stars… an interesting look at some unheralded theater history.”-Joe Bendel, J.B.Spins

“Offers a delightful portrait of that bygone era, featuring an extensive roster of veterans of the scene…a well-rounded history of the era.” -Alex Roberts, TV Soundoff

“(Zemeckis) has preserved for us a lively, lovely corner of American life.” - Richard Schickel

“An absorbing, moving and cleverly constructed look at the tradition of American burlesque... the stories are rollercoaster rides!” - Emily Hourican, Irish Independent