Bar Exam

The posh Pampas Room—pronounced “pamp-as,” not
“pompous”—is the lounge adjunct of Belltown steak house El
Gaucho. Those entering from Wall Street descend a long, carpeted
stairway directly into the lap of luxury, where the bar curves
off into infinity in the soothing dim. (The stairs are precipitous, but
the distinct impression is that should you fall, you’d be cushioned by
big wads of unseen money.) The room itself only nods to art-deco swank,
but it feels as rich as the clientele. Jacketed waitstaff glide about
anticipating desires, and there’s a thrum of anticipation: It’s
opening night of the Blue Moon Cabaret, bringing burlesque to Pampas
Room for the very first time.

How many people here are burlesque virgins? Hostess Miss Indigo Blue
wants to know at the start of the show. She calls everyone “darlings,”
and after a little teasing and coaxing (her specialty), the
answer is a surprisingly resounding cheer. Apparently this echelon of
Seattle society has been waiting for the likes of El Gaucho to give
burlesque its imprimatur; now they are here with bells on to see the
Blue Moon Cabaret take it (almost) all off. With the show come various
amuse-bouches, beet salad with bleu d’Auvergne, El Gaucho’s famed filet
(or, if you must, chicken or salmon), and a trio of desserts. For
the amusement of mouth, eyes, and ears, the nearly sold-out
house has paid $100 to $225 per person (the latter persons getting
their posteriors front-row table seating and their interiors Veuve
Clicquot).

Is it worth it? If you’re asking the question, you’re in the wrong
place (though the dinner alone may be priced from El Gaucho’s menu at
approximately $75). The silver-screen-style beauty in the feathered
white pillbox hat and her older gentleman friend seem to be enjoying
themselves enormously from the get-go, and as the wine and
cocktails flow, everybody gets in the mood. Onstage, performers plumb
burlesque’s classic era, peeling their couture-level costumes (by the
likes of It’s Mark Mitchell and Danial Hellman) away with all due lack
of haste. The smiling Shanghai Pearl explores some old-fashioned
“orientalism” with the help of an abacus; dainty Inga Ingenue dances
with two pink-feathered fans, a couple handfuls of spangles, and
nothing else; Ginger, the toast of Paris (looking suspiciously like
local burlesque star the Swedish Housewife), demonstrates the
improper way to pour Veuve. But it’s the aptly named Alotta
Boutté, all the way from San Francisco, who works the room,
singing “Ain’t Misbehavin'” and stealing the show.

The Blue Moon Cabaret alternates with the Dark Side of the Moon
Burlesque most Fridays through December, and future lineups for both
shows include male performers. If this is objectification, it’ll
be going at least two ways, darlings.

Pampas Room, 90 Wall St, 728-1337