Glitter, check. Feathers, check. Pearls, check. Add in some fabulous lyrics, a few wildly inappropriate lines, and you’ve got yourself a full blown production of “Pearls over Shanghai,” performed by the fantastic Thrillpeddlers.
To be honest, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into this weekend at the Hypnodrome, but I figured that any show that had been running for almost two years must have something to offer. And it surely did. If you only go see it for the beautiful costumes and vibrant make-up, you will be fully satisfied. But then there’s the singing, the piano playing, and the spanking and you’ll realize it’s one of those once-in-a-life-time events. The story revolves around a myriad of love stories, taking place in the skanky part of Shanghai in the 1930’s, revealing the innocent, the naughty, and the disturbing side of Shanghai’s infamous underworld.
This show is definitely not for the timid, because there is a bit of skin showing here and there, and a creep show in the dark that totally freaked me out — this was an original production by the legendary Cockettes after all — but it a good way, where afterward I kept wondering how in the heck they actually made me feel like I was tripping on opium … and also made me never, ever, want to do opium.
“Pearls over Shanghai” will finish its run on April 9th, so don’t miss it. Go see it, maybe even twice.