Tossing her perky red bob and casting coy come-hither glances from behind a painted-on mask, stripper Demonica Valentine slithers downstage at the Loop Theater and twitches her eyes to the beat of George Michael’s “Freek.” Clad in layers of black vinyl and satin, she’s an odd mix of twee and goth–an unsettling blend of cutie-pie, sex bomb, and creep. That’s the idea, says Annie Terrell, Demonica’s offstage alter ego: the Hellcat Hussies, her fledgling burlesque troupe, live to unsettle. “Nobody ever learned anything sitting in their comfort zone.”
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Terrell, a consultant at Cook County Hospital, and her best friend, Aradia V, have been dreaming of a queer-positive, high-femme, fat girls’ burlesque troupe since their days as phone-sex operators five years ago in Olympia, Washington. So after Terrell moved to Chicago in 2002 she started prowling thrift stores and sex shops for corsets, whips, and bows. V joined her the following year, and they began to drag local talent into the fold just this spring, resorting, at times, to some unorthodox recruitment tactics. Twenty-year-old Katie Powers, who performs as Baby Darling, says Terrell told her she had the best legs in the world, then threatened to “cut” her if she didn’t dance.
In one routine V, stripping as Cherry Vanilla Creme, takes the stage covered in red-and-black lace, twirling a lollipop and pouting under Bettie Page bangs as she warbles “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” Then her clothes come off to reveal a chastity belt. Just as the lights dim at the end, Daddy walks in, brandishing the key.
The Hellcat Hussies perform at 9 PM Wednesday, July 7, at Spot 6, 3343 N. Clark. There’s no cover, but you must be 21 or over. Call 773-388-0185. July 16 and 17 they appear as part of Gurlesque Burlesque at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace. Those shows are also at 9 and are 21 and over. Tickets are $15 in advance and available at the Abbey’s box office or through Ticketweb, 888-468-3401 or www.ticketweb.com.
