Mike Curths of the InsideOut Gallery likes to celebrate Valentine’s Day by paying homage to the erotic side of the holiday. Last year he held an Erotic Art show by hosting dozens of the best erotica artists in the country. The event was such a success that he has decided to expand things this year. “In addition to all the great art, we now have the capability of showing films, so we will have some eros films and a performance by Warp 51, this sexotic/sci-fi band,” said Curths. “What I am really excited about is that we have arranged for the Super Happy Funtime Burlesque troupe to come to Northern Michigan to perform. So this is definitely going to be a day like none other seen in Northern Michigan.” Super Happy Funtime Burlesque originated in Grand Rapids in 2004 and has taken their community by storm. While his friends were soaking up the offerings of current pop culture, Super Happy co-founder Corey Ruffin was busy with his father’s record collection that consisted of 10,000 recordings from the burlesque and vaudeville era. “I immersed myself in it all. I was drawn into it and I did a lot of research,” said Ruffin. “As a starving artist in this at times culturally-deprived Midwest, I found myself among other starving artists in Grand Rapids. We have poets, pantomimes, musicians and others whose independent acts were having a tough time finding a place to perform. So I knew that I couldn’t put a pantomime in my band, so the discussion started on how we all could perform together by doing our own thing.”
SMALL START Instead, Ruffin created Super Happy Funtime Burlesque and the troupe started out small, performing just a few times before he met up with the show’s current producer, Rich Haralson. “Rich wanted a variety show for a party at his home,” said Ruffin. “He owned the vacant lots next to his house and put up a walled fence, and it created the perfect environment for this short attention-span show that we had created. He saw the potential of this that night and started thinking that this could be done on a commercial level. Rich saw that this was very professional and that what we needed was a marketer, and he has been with us since.” Ruffin, who is the bandleader and show’s host (his stage name is Mr. Happy Pants), has watched Super Happy Funtime Burlesque grow from its humble beginnings at the 160-seat Sazarec Lounge, to now enjoying sell-out shows monthly at the 400-seat Wealthy Theater. “Our first show drew 80 people and by the next show, we were sold out. And when we heard that a lot of people were coming and being turned away, we knew we needed to look for a larger space,” said Ruffin. “We have a loyal following in Grand Rapids and now are at the 400-seat Wealthy Theater, and sell that out. But the bottom line is they are not going to come out and see us every weekend, so we are trying to take the show on the road. Traverse City will be our first out-of-town gig.” Because the troupe now has 30 members that include performers, musicians and tech staff, they can’t afford to travel too far from Grand Rapids. “We can’t afford to spend the night, so we are looking for shows within a couple of hundred miles so we can drive back the same night,” said Ruffin. “In order to keep ticket prices reasonable, and the fact that we spend our money on costumes and props, we just can’t afford hotel rooms for 30 people.” BEGINNINGS Burlesque started in the early 1800s as a result of tensions between the upper and lower classes. The clashes were a result of social rules established by the ruling elite and held over the working-class society, resulting in “burlesque” theatrical entertainment, which consisted of comic skits -- often stripteases that offered a parodic look at current societal issues. Burlesque shows enjoyed success in Europe and America from the 1870s through the Great Depression era. Shows were described as risqué, bawdy and raucous. Famous performers from the burlesque era included Abbot & Costello, Red Skelton, Mae West and W.C. Fields. Born out of burlesque was vaudeville. Some historians cite the art of vaudeville beginning in New Orleans with the medicine shows that traveled from town to town. From the 1880s through the 1930s vaudeville was the most popular form of entertainment in North America. Essentially, vaudeville was made up of a series of unrelated short acts that ranged from musicians to comedians to magicians to animal trainers and just about every other form of entertainment from that era.
UPDATED MATERIAL “One thing I want to emphasize is that we are not some sort of burlesque or vaudeville revival show. We are not doing historical sketches from that period. Certainly we are in the ‘spirit’ of those art forms but with a modern perspective,” said Ruffin. “Basically, we are a variety show with each act having about five minutes to do their thing. Essentially, ‘American Idol,’ late night talk shows and ‘Saturday Night Live’ are all burlesque and vaudeville in nature.” But Ruffin admits that those programs are somewhat tamer in nature than his Super Happy Funtime Burlesque. “Grand Rapids is a pretty conservative community, so we poke fun at that and other things in society today. We are young Midwest performers, so we like to put our spin on things and we poke fun at moral issues, religion, poverty and even winter. Nothing is off limits -- we like to make fun of ourselves,” said Ruffin. “Certainly people who go to our website and look at the videos and pictures see a lot of risqué stuff. A lot of people go to pictures of the girls in the pasties or watch the YouTube video of the striptease act, but that is only 1/3 of the show’s content. Not everything has sexual overtures to it.”
SPOIL SPORTS Reviews from Grand Rapids area publications have been positive, but the show is not without its detractors. “We have gotten under some peoples’ skins, that’s for sure. At a recent performance we were raided by the police with a nine-member vice squad working on a hot tip that we had a live sex show with caged animals. They stormed in and I think at first, people thought it was part of the show,” said Ruffin. “Before we do our show each month at the Wealthy Theater, we have to meet with the ACLU because some city leaders have threatened to shut down the theater if they continue to have shows with partial nudity.” But at least the local media reviews have been positive, right? “Well, not all of them. Just a few weeks ago a particular entertainment editor, who admitted he had never seen our show and listened to half of a skit during a radio version of what we do, wrote a negative piece in his blog, saying he was ‘shocked and appalled at the content of our show.’ Well, that created a lot of controversy and the Frederick Meijer Gardens cancelled our gig with us. So we are a little pissed off at Meijer right now because they haven’t paid us the money they owe us -- since they cancelled on us, they have to pay us. I guess from what I have been reading about what has been going on up in Traverse City, we are not the only ones pissed at Meijer.”
Ruffin said that while even negative, the publicity has just increased interest in what his troupe is doing. They have even incorporated the recent controversy into their act by alluding to the fact that Meijer Gardens has inappropriate entertainment, and people should go to Meijer instead. “If you have a sense of humor and can laugh at yourself, then you are going to like what we are doing,” said Ruffin. “If you are serious about everything and easily offended, then this is not for you. We do a lot of audience participation stuff.”
The Super Happy Funtime Burlesque will close out a full day of celebrating the “erotic” in all of us at the InsideOut Gallery in Downtown Traverse City’s Warehouse District. The gallery will host an erotic art show, along with a viewing of “eros” films and a concert by sexotic rockers Warp 51 before Super Happy Funtime Burlesque takes the stage. To listen to tunes from Warp 51 go to myspace.com/warp51music. To learn more about Super Happy Funtime check out their website: superhappyfuntimeburlesque.com. Tickets are expected to sell out and those interested are encouraged to buy in advance by calling the InsideOutGallery at 231-929-3254.
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