BeatSploitation! at the C.O.W., a new Lower East Side performance space

Dame CuchiFrita

Photos and text by Stacie Joy

The C.O.W. (Celebration of Whimsy), formerly The Living Theater at 21A Clinton St. between Houston and Stanton, kicked off its opening Tuesday night with the sold-out show BeatSploitation!, an evening of poetry, dance, nudity and absurdity reminiscent of a ’50s beatnik café.

Performers included burlesque legends Dirty Martini, Tigger! and Julie Atlas Muz, sideshow poet Mat “SealBoy” Fraser, Slipper Room’s co-owner James Habacker (as Walt Whitman), producers Dame CuchiFrita and Edie NightCrawler, host Matthew Mohr (as Serge Le Gainswhack) and dancers BB Heart, Grandma Fun, the Taint Sisters, Darrin Wright and Luke Miller.

The C.O.W.’s space is intimate, blessedly air conditioned, and set up to accommodate the production’s theater-in-the-round style. Aside from a few technical issues with sound, the production was flawless and the audience seemed to enjoy themselves.

I spoke to co-creator and curator Dame CuchiFrita for details about her show:

“Edie NightCrawler and I teamed up to make our dream show, not only to showcase our individual work (choreography and burlesque, respectively) but also neoburlesque legends and pioneers that have paved the way and whose work we admire.

With the commercialization of performance art (especially in the last 5-6 years), the sadly disappearing venue situation in NYC, and the theatre aspects of vaudeville becoming more scarce, I feel there needs to be opportunity to create a fresh approach for newer audiences while staying true to the original neoburlesque intent and in order to keep the old faithfuls coming back.

Judging from the audience response, it seems there is a hunger for these types of shows. And this wouldn't be possible without Stephen Michael Rondel giving us a chance to use The C.O.W. as venue. He has done a tremendous job in putting a new face on an old East Village venue and is looking forward to have burlesque as well as other performances in that space.”

Angela DiCarlo


Dirty Martini


Tigger!


Mat “Sealboy” Fraser


BB Heart


Matthew Mohr