Company XIV: Queen of Hearts
Created by Austin McCormick and Company
Company XIV Theatre
October 10, 2019
Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5.

Burlesque is alive and well and now living in Brooklyn.  Company XIV’s seductive spin on the story of Alice in Wonderland, Queen of Hearts is a quite the success and quite the sexcess.  From the minute you walk into the dim, highly incensed room of the theatre and are greeted by a most handsome collection of androgynous men in heels, you know that you are in store for an Alice in Wonderland that your mother never took you to.

I am not sure I could follow a moment of Alice and Wonderland, but it didn’t matter.  What awaited me was a fusion of burlesque, circus, dance and song.  The air is scented, the red lights are glowing, and every inch of the building has a marvel for you.  Those androgynous servers who greeted you at the door now become a non-stop experience of physical prowess and teasing sexual energy.  There were contortionists, mirror tricks, ballet, acrobatics and pop-opera set to pop songs.  It was gaudy and overwhelming and over-produced and just a delicious night in the theatre.  You simply couldn’t take your eyes off of it – and that says a lot for a show that runs nearly three hours with 2 intermissions.  This is the perfect naughty date night.