Mother’s Day Burlesque Show Celebrates Spring In Sarasota

SARASOTA, FL — A burlesque show planned Sunday night at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre and Humor Institute Sunday night celebrates the beauty of spring.

Presented by Hard Heart Burlesque, the show “Spring Fever” brings burlesque, vaudeville, circus and other acts from across Florida to Sarasota, as well as international performer Jezebel Express from New York City.

The show also falls on Mother’s Day, making it a great way to honor mothers, said Marina Elaine, one of the show’s co-producers.

“I’m excited because most of our audience members often are women, so I felt Mother’s Day is a really opportunity for more women to come,” she told Patch. “It’s very empowering and we show all types of women, not just what you see in magazines.”

Her co-producer, Karma Kandlewick, added, “Mothers like to have fun to and do different things. It’s not just brunch all the time.”

Both women, who are based in Sarasota, have performed burlesque for years, traveling throughout the state to showcase the artform. Elaine has even traveled out of Florida, visiting places like Georgia, New York City and Boston.

They’ve only recently started producing their own showcases, hosting their first on Valentine’s Day – a sold-out show.

Kandlewick expects the Mother’s Day event to sell out, as well, and suggests that people purchase tickets in advance, if possible.

She and Elaine decided to start producing shows together as the local arts scene was recovering from COVID-19. The burlesque scene was dormant during the pandemic, she said. “COVID shut it down. As all these other artistic performances returned, we decided to bring burlesque back to Sarasota.”

With so many events cancelled because of the pandemic and people forced to social distance, Elaine said many that she knows were eager for burlesque to return.

“I’ve had so many people throughout COVID saying, ‘I can’t wait for a show,’” she said. “It’s exciting to see more venues opening up and willing to give burlesque a chance.”

Burlesque has ties to vaudeville, sideshow and circus acts, which means it “fits in really well with the history” of Sarasota County, Kandlewick said.

Elaine added, “Sarasota being such a circus- and art-based city, it’s a shame to not see burlesque since COVID. Vaudeville and burlesque go hand-in-hand. It’s really special. It keeps that tradition alive and makes Sarasota the art and circus city.”

Tickets to Sunday’s show, which is open to those 18 and older, are $37 and can be purchased online here.