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 sexuality, 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 Westworld and even a Bowie/Prince tribute number.

She says, via press release: “The show is unlike anything 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.

A Note From the Publisher

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