THE COMIC STRIPPERS POKE FUN AT PEELERS
If you are hoping for, but possibly also dreading, the appearance (on stage) of men in a state of nature, fuss no more.
The Comic Strippers, appearing Friday, June 8, at 8 p.m. at the Myer Horowitz Theatre, never actually get down to their altogether. There’s no baring of the birthday suit, no reporting in the raw. At worst (or best) you’ll see a “dad body ” that favours a bag of Doritos over a wax job.
“When you look at our bodies, you can tell we’ve had fun. So everyone can just relax,” says Ken Lawson, one of six members of the improv troupe that loves to parody the conventions of the male stripper. The Vancouver-based group has been to Edmonton several times, and sometimes they even sell out. There is apparently something irresistible about the way they prance, pouting, to the pounding bass of strip standards such as I’m Sexy and I Know It.
Comedian Roman Danylo, from the award-winning Canadian comedy series Comedy Inc., founded the group some five years ago after hearing from his wife that women went crazy for male dancers wearing little but a bow tie. This seemed like an easy way to make money, so Danylo went to his friends in the comedy, television and film community, seeking volunteers with beer guts and good moves.
“Roman sent a note around that said ‘We’ve got torsos and can dance around like idiots,’ ” recalls Lawson. “Because we’re trained to say ‘Yes’ as improvisers, we did it. And it changed a lot of our lives.”
The show debuted at Vancouver’s Theatresports in 2013.
“We knew right away it was a hit. People really reacted to it because it’s so absurd. Then we did it at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and ended up in the top five and we’ve been touring, mostly selfproduced, ever since.”
The group has travelled across Canada and North America (they just returned from Hawaii) making women scream, sometimes with laughter, in an act that combines audience participation, improv skits and choreographed spandex dance numbers.
“I’m very tall and slender and my limbs are very long, so I’m a very limb-y dancer,” confesses Lawson in a phone interview from Vancouver. “Someone once said I remind them of those big tubes with the wavy arms that advertise at car dealerships.”
Absurd is the common thread of The Comedy Strippers. For one thing, each of the performers is named Chip, including Chip Otle, a hot Mexican stripper, and Chip Sahoy, who loves cookies. The shtick is that they are retired striptease artists who are desperate for respect and think they can get it through an improv and comedy act.
“Our show is like Whose Line is it Anyway? meets Magic Mike,” says Lawson, whose character is based on a 1980s heavy metal singer, wearing guy-liner and busting out in triumphant poses. “We’re very committed.”
At first, Lawson wasn’t comfortable taking off his shirt. But now he and his fellow artists, all in their late 40s and early 50s, are fine with Velcro pants and less-than flattering comparisons to The Chippendales.
“There is no other show like it and it’s like a dream come true for us — great theatres, awesome, big, party audiences. It’s a joy-fest. People buy into the concept instantly. People bring their grandmothers and their moms ... It’s a very bodypositive show.”