PHOTO BY DEREK BREMNER
POP
CULTURE NERD ORGY
According to Selena Mooney, aka Missy Suicide, in
order to understand the impact of burlesque as an art
form — to, as she puts it, “feel the feels” it produces for
performers and audience members — you simply have
to see a show.
A native Portlander, Mooney founded Suicide Girls as
an online community more than 15 years ago to explore
beauty in “all shapes and sizes” — the kind of beauty
she saw all around her in her everyday life.
These days, Suicide Girls is a recognizable leading
brand for alternative depictions of beauty and sexual-
ity, all presented in the context of traditional burlesque,
pinup-style and erotica.
And part of that brand goes beyond the internet with
the Blackheart Burlesque touring show, which makes a
stop June 16 at Eugene’s WOW Hall.
Mooney calls the latest edition of the show “a burlesque
nerd orgy,” with routines referencing everything from Star
Wars to A Clockwork Orange, from Stranger Things to West-
world and even a Bowie/Prince tribute number.
She says, via press release: “The show is unlike any-
thing you’ve ever seen. It’s tongue-in-cheek, it’s sexy,
it’s silly and highly and choreographed. It’s impossible
to leave without a smile.”
Suicide Girls Blackheart Burlesque hits the stage 8
pm Friday, June 16, at WOW Hall. The show is all-ages but
anyone under 18 must chaperoned by an adult. Tickets
$20-$45, or pay $60 more for admission to a preshow
VIP meet-and-greet; visit wowhall.org. — Will Kennedy
eugeneweekly.com • June 15, 2017
25