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TransMasculine Cabaret, Starring Vulva Va-Voom
By Vulva Va-Voom & Company
Created by Vulva Va-Voom
Playing at
Show Description
Hardships, meet hilarity. "TragiComic transgender-identifying true confessional" & "obscene, maniacal burlesque star" sound incompatible...but this gritty nightclub headliner combines stranger things onstage.
Genre and Content
Content Warnings
The creators say this show is appropriate for ages 18 and up only
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Seat Reservations and Show Tickets
| Add to Schedule | Date | Time | Ticket Options | Quantity | Purchase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 08/02 | 10:00 PM | ||||
| Sat 08/03 | 5:30 PM | ||||
| Mon 08/05 | 7:00 PM | ||||
| Fri 08/09 | 7:00 PM | ||||
| Sat 08/10 | 10:00 PM |
Reviews
Overall Rating:
Reviews for: TransMasculine Cabaret, Starring Vulva Va-Voom
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Video Trailer
Cast and Crew
Vulva Va-Voom
Playwright / PerformerVulva Va-Voom (they/them/their) is a "legit" theater triple-threat gone bad. Very, very bad. The core theme of their work as a playwright is “High-brow culture and low-brow humor need never be contradictory.” Their work loosely falls under the category “Theatrical NeoVaudeville,” and is best summarized by the taglines, “It’s like Carol Burnett violating Oscar Wilde with a rolled-up New Yorker,” or “Picture Frasier and Niles Crane, but they’re drunken, singing, dancing strippers.” Classically trained for ballet, tap, jazz, modern, pointe, operatic soprano, Broadway belt, Shakespeare, and more, their early career was predictable enough. Once upon a time, their performance resume included every respectable professional company in west central Florida. But somewhere around 2005, they leapt into the underground world of experimental "alt" nightclub cabaret—burlesque, comedy, drag, and sideshow—and never looked back. During their years on the nightclub circuit, they became more deeply immersed in vibrant alt-nerd subcultures where no one cares about strangers' judgments. Among science-fiction convention panelists, Rocky Horror casts, renaissance fest caravans, Gothic-Industrial clubgoers, and the ever-present hot bisexual anime Wiccans, Vulva cast off any remaining expectations of mainstream culture. They also discovered that performing in bars and restaurants comes with a curse: upscale "white tablecloth" venues understand their material's literary and historical references but cannot tolerate filth. Meanwhile, "frat bro" dive bars are thrilled by the bawdy comedy, but completely fail to grasp the more erudite wordplay. Vulva still regularly appears as a guest soloist in colleagues' variety shows, but wears the "nightclub producer" hat more rarely. In 2018, they were introduced to the intelligent, open-minded audiences of the international experimental performing arts festival circuit.
More Information
Awards For (Just) This Piece:
| Venue Choice Award | New York City Fringe | 2024 |
| Artist That Pushed Boundaries Between Art Forms | Asheville Fringe Arts Festival | 2024 |
| The Social Good Award | Tampa International Fringe Festival | 2023 |
| Venue Choice Award | Tampa International Fringe Festival | 2023 |
REVIEWERS SAY:
"It's smart, edgy and brilliant."
- The Orlando Sentinel
"Smart and provocative show [...] Packs a wallop [...] Fiercely unapologetic [...] This cabaret is indeed a VIP experience!"
- NYC's Lavender After Dark
“A wonderful performer […] beautiful and talented […] The most powerful voice we've heard […] A poignant personal story […] Go for the heartwarming story, stay for the sheer talent of a performer that will bowl you over…”
- NYC's Young-Howze Theater Journal
"Vulva Va-Voom is a star, and that is clear from well before the house lights dim and the show officially starts. [...] A sexy and hilarious burlesque confessional. [...] Vulva is a true triple threat, and it is a treat to listen to their tale of self-acceptance in the face of adversity. 'TransMasculine Cabaret' is all at once sexy, sobering, and joyful – don’t miss it!"
- KC Fringe Official Festival Reviewer
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
"TragiComic trans-identifying confessional" and "obscene, irreverent, maniacal burlesque comedian" might seem like incompatible themes, but Vulva Va-Voom has combined much stranger elements onstage. Creepier, stickier, Lovecraftian elements. Gritty nightclub headliner Vulva (they/them) has inhabited some bizarrely imaginative world-building over the years...but that world is still impacted by politics and culture.
Who gets to define whether someone is a drag queen, drag king, or an in-between? Vulva has mostly appeared hyper-femme throughout their onstage song-and-dance career...but why? (Mostly a matter of practicality, given that spirit-gummed facial hair and latex nipples are indescribably annoying to scrape off at 4am.) But does femme presentation invalidate nonbinary credibility?
As the comedian executes a live “female drag to male drag” transition onstage, they explore labels, identity, and their dire real-world experiences when "laughter as a constant coping mechanism" fell short. More introspective and intimate than Va-Voom & Co.’s usual off-the-charts level of raucous debauchery, this piece combines Vaudeville with Weimar, vulnerability with absurdity, authenticity with farce, and— as always— absinthe with uppers.
Website: https://www.VulvaVaVoom.com
Instagram: @VulvaVaVoom
LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/vavoomcabaret
ARTIST'S RECOGNITION FOR OTHER FRINGE WORK:
| Smutty Burlesque Nerd | Venue Choice Award | Tampa International Fringe Festival | 2019 |
| Vulva Va-Voom Lives In This Bar Now | The Edge Award | T.I.F.F. | 2020 |
| Vulva Va-Voom: Hollywood Psychic of the Golden Age | The Edge Award | T.I.F.F. | 2021 |
| Annual gala fundraiser headliner | T.I.F.F. | 2022 | |
| Juried selection: Winter Mini-Fest/FESTN4 | Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival | 2023 | |
| Stroke of Genius: Pantomime Masturbation Throughout Performing Arts History [Head Writer & featured performer, in assoc. w/ Boiled Horse Productions] |
Juried selection: Winter Mini-Fest/FESTN4 | Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival | 2023 |
| Best of the Bay STAFF PICK Award | Creative Loafing Tampa | 2023 | |
| Smutty Burlesque Nerd: Vulva Va-Voom's Ship of Theseus | The Edge Award | T.I.F.F. | 2024 |
SPECIAL THANKS:
We are deeply grateful to local artist Allison Vincent-- of the shows Daddy Issues and 5 x 5-- for very kindly loaning a beautiful guitar to our show (and to Amber for facilitating). It would have been a logistical nightmare to haul a guitar between Florida, Missouri, and Minneapolis in addition to our other items...huge thanks!
Publication Reviews:
"Smart and provocative show [...] Packs a wallop [...] Fiercely unapologetic [...] This cabaret is indeed a VIP experience!"
- Lavender After Dark [NYC]
"With that [opening song], I was pretty much sold for the duration of Transmasculine Cabaret. [...] This is a chaotic, interesting show that will either offer you a reflection of yourself that you didn’t know you needed or open your eyes to a different lived experience. I recommend Transmasculine Cabaret: Starring Vulva Va-Voom for anyone who likes good sound design, appreciates a stretching of their sensibilities, and is interested in the lives of people who fall outside the binary."
- Lavender Magazine [Minneapolis, MN]
“A wonderful performer […] beautiful and talented […] The most powerful voice we've heard […] A poignant personal story […] Go for the heartwarming story, stay for the sheer talent of a performer that will bowl you over…”
- Young-Howze Theater Journal [NYC]
"It's smart, edgy and brilliant."
- Orlando Sentinel (May 22, 2024)
"'TransMasculine Cabaret' is not just a performance but an intimate conversation with the audience, encouraging reflection and empathy."
- Watermark Magazine [Orlando]
Post-Script:
Look, I'm gonna level with you: if you've read this entire page and you're still not sure whether this show is for you-- even with overwhelming evidence of high production quality-- you just might not be a good match for an LGBTQ+ musical. What more do ya want, buddy? The show is by a multi-multi-award-winning national touring artist. It features a killer Broadway belt, opera, guitar, some dance, a ton of good jokes, and a true story that consistently makes various audience members cry. If you're not ready to commit by now, I don't know what to tell you. 🤷♂️