- Lost Girls of Neverland, presented by Concrete Vertigo Productions, on until March 3 at 8 p.m. at Vancouver's Anza Club. For tickets ($15-$25) and show schedule, visit www. brownpapertickets.com.
WHEN the lights go down at Vancouver's Anza Club for tonight's opening night performance of Cameron Fatkin's latest epic neo-burlesque show, those in attendance will be transported to Neverland, New Orleans' hottest gentlemen's club, during Mardi Gras.
Lost Girls of Neverland is a contemporary musical comedy ode to the classic tale of Peter Pan. Audience members will be guests at the "club," giving them the perfect viewpoint to watch the all-original retelling unfold.
"It's about a girl named Wendy Darling who basically comes to New Orleans to find herself," says Fatkin, producer, Concrete Vertigo Productions. "She is a naïve young girl and she basically gets taken under (the wing) of this troupe of women who run a gentleman's club called Neverland."
Run by Mistress Pan, Neverland is engaged in a rivalry with a similar club across town called the Mermaid Lagoon, owned by none other than Madame Hook.
"It's all about Wendy coming into her own and her friends that she makes along the way and how they contribute to her (journey)," says Fatkin. "They have their own problems and everybody's basically ended up in Neverland as a lost girl because they are in their lives very lost and don't know where they're going, that sort of thing. It is a very, very funny show, but it also has a couple serious themes in it as well."
For Lost Girls of Neverland, Fatkin drew upon the works of Scottish novelist and playwright J.M. Barrie and of course the Walt Disney film version of Peter Pan.
"It's actually really fun because we get to create new worlds out of an old world," he says.
"What I constantly say is this is like my love letter to Disney, but for adults - for the people that grew up with it that are now older," he adds.
The show previewed last night at Vancouver's Anza Club and performances will continue until March 3. The newly remodelled venue provides a unique space as audience members will be seated at individual tables.
"It's going to be like they're sitting in the club that is Neverland, so they're going to be fully immersed in the show," says Fatkin.
Lost Girls of Neverland follows Fatkin's debut burlesque show, Ruby Red Burlesque, a sexually-charged retelling of the classic Wizard of Oz tale, mounted in October 2010 at the PAL Theatre. The production was sold out for its entire two-week run.
"It was a really big success so we figured we might as well do another one," he says.
Fatkin decided to make Lost Girls an even bigger production that features a full two-act storyline, is two hours in duration and incorporates multiple costume changes, singing and dancing as well as stage combat.
"It's bigger in the sense that we have a bigger budget and we have more ideas," he says.
Fatkin's inspiration came from a multitude of sources, including pop concerts. He spent the last year travelling (to North America, Southeast Asia and Australia), and made a point to see as many concerts as possible, including one by Kylie Minogue.
"I thought her spectacle of a show was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen," he says. "That provided a lot of inspiration."
Fatkin also checked out some Australian burlesque.
"Their burlesque I found was a lot more open," he says. "There's burlesque here but theirs I found to be a lot more cheekier and dirtier and more fun."
For both of his shows, Fatkin has drawn much of the cast and crew talent from Capilano University's alumni pool. He's a Cap film program grad and many of those involved are graduates of the school's musical theatre program, including Sable Strub (Wendy), Jacqueline Breakwell (Tinkerbell), and Allison Fligg (Jane). Lost Girls is being directed by Maddison Popov (Point B Theatre's Reefer Madness).
Using a burlesque base, Lost Girls of Neverland gives local actors, typically working in more traditional theatre, an opportunity to play a new kind of role, says Fatkin.
"I'm really, really impressed with how everybody is doing," he says.
Fatkin encourages community members to take in a performance.
"It's just one of those shows, it's got the sexy, it's got the story and I don't think there's any other show like it in the city right now," he says.
"I really hope that people feel empowered and like they've had a good time and a good laugh. . . . Hopefully it will get more people interested in burlesque," he adds.
emcphee@nsnews.com
