This episode has been over a year in the making. I have been wanting to have this chat since I found out my friend Christopher Childers was in the movie Showgirls. In case you haven’t seen this movie, please know there are a few “spoilers” in this episode. And I will say that unless you really want to watch a highly misogynistic portrayal of strippers and dancers that is fueled by patriarchal standards, you may not even want to waste your time. The movie is highly offensive and ruined an actress...
Nov 20, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 66
Today, I have the honor of sharing an interview with a woman who worked behind the scenes with Showgirls in most of Greg Thompson’s productions in Reno. Elaine Sargent used her degree in theatre to immerse herself in the glamour backstage as a wardrobe technician. I had a lot of fun talking with Elaine about costumes, Showgirls, what they are and are not, and of course, why they went away. If you are a fan of Reno, make sure to listen as Elaine shares lots of insights into the good old days of R...
Nov 06, 2021•55 min•Ep. 65
Hey hey! Are you ready to deconstruct the showgirl some more? In these special episodes, we have talked about how there are no more showgirl shows with Alison Kravenko in ep 056, physical requirements and expectations with Brenda Barrett in episode 60, and Art vs. selling out with Andrew Branche in ep 062. Today, we continue the deconstruction of the Showgirl and dive into my favorite subject, costumes! And of course, I couldn’t have found a better guest than the master of Showgirl costume desig...
Oct 16, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 64
Today I present to you a solo episode that touches on a very important topic in the Showgirl’s Life. Community. Though we have shared some hilarious backstage stories in previous episodes, there was magic happening at a deeper level. I am sharing my views on what it was like in the dressing rooms and the beautiful relationships that developed from those naked times. I am also excited to announce my partnership with The Origin Company. Created by Kate Northrup, the author of Money, A Love Story a...
Oct 02, 2021•13 min•Ep. 63
Hey hey! Are you ready to deconstruct the showgirl some more? Last month, in episode 060 , we talked about physical requirements and expectations with Brenda Barrett. And in the first ever Showgirl Deconstructed episode 056 back in July, we talked about how there are no more showgirl shows with Alison Kravenko. In this episode we will be discussing the difference between art versus selling out in the dance world. We went all over the place with this one. Talking about what it means to sell out a...
Sep 18, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 62
Tiffany Johnson was a tall nude in Donn Arden’s Jubilee! in 1999 and left just before I got into the show. She returned for 3 more years almost a decade later. She has had a long career with a variety of opportunities and achievements. One thing to note is that we grew up in the same city and saw each other at all the dance competitions. The last time I saw her before I got into the show in 2000 was in Las Vegas at a Nationals competition in 1994, which was the year that she turned pro by joinin...
Sep 04, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 61
Today’s episode discusses one of the toughest parts of being a Showgirl that non-performers can’t wrap their heads around—physical requirements and expectations. Showgirls and Bluebell dancers have been held to high standards for decades due to standards set by Madame Bluebell and then perpetuated by “tastes” preferred by white men over the generations. Encore guest Brenda Barrett, former Bluebell dancer, and I deep dive on this topic today, and share more about our experiences as dancers and th...
Aug 21, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 60
Welcome to part 2 of the Showgirls Road Trip 2021. Earlier this summer, I went on a road trip with Sheri Lewis, host of Bluebells Forever podcast. Sheri and I got together recently to debrief about our wonderful adventure in Reno, Las Vegas and LA. It took awhile to recount all of our experiences that we enjoyed that week so I decided to break it up into two episodes because it was A LOT. Enjoy this second part! I promised links in the episode, so here they all are!! UNLV Library Special Collect...
Aug 14, 2021•56 min•Ep. 59
Welcome to part 1 of the Showgirls Road Trip 2021. Earlier this summer, I went on a road trip with Sheri Lewis, host of Bluebells Forever podcast. Sheri and I got together recently to debrief about our wonderful adventure in Reno, Las Vegas and LA. It took awhile to recount all of our experiences that we enjoyed that week so I decided to break it up into two episodes because it was A LOT. Enjoy this first part! I promised links in the episode, so here they all are!! UNLV Library Special Collecti...
Aug 07, 2021•55 min•Ep. 58
Hello! I am so excited to bring this episode to you. This one has been in the making for over a year, as I have been collecting guests’ stories about their part in the opening of Donn Arden’s Jubilee! Which is celebrating its 40th anniversary today!! Happy Birthday Jubilee! Donn Arden’s Jubilee! Opened on July, 31, 1981 with a cast of 150 singers and dancers, a stage crew and wardrobe department of almost 100 people and an 18-piece orchestra. At a total cost of $10M. About $29.8M in 2021. In oth...
Jul 31, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 57
What is a showgirl show? In this special episode, I brought back Alison Kravenko Johnson to deep dive about how there are no more Showgirl shows left. This new feature of Showgirls Life will happen once a month where I bring on an encore guest to discuss one specific topic in the Showgirl’s Life. This month, Alison and I had a conversation about what a Showgirl show is, why it went away, what Showgirls whom were at the beginning of their careers are doing now and more about why the Showgirl went...
Jul 24, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 56
Showgirl’s Life was started to document the lives of the people that embodied or supported the Showgirl. A lot of lessons have been learned along the way. I discuss a variety of topics relating to the work required to produce a podcast, shame, discrimination in entertainment, and what a Showgirl is and what she isn’t. Tune in to hear my confession about being a Showgirl and the future of Showgirl’s Life. Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation on the show notes page and share wh...
Jul 17, 2021•20 min•Ep. 55
Dave Margolis started his training late but was able to work hard enough to land a spot in the chorus boys line in Jubilee! Dave shares about his first audition with Michael Pratt, former assistant company manager in Jubilee!, what it was like being a Showboy and the privilege that it was. He also gives his professional opinion about the anxiety dreams that former cast members call the Jubilee! Dreams. Enjoy! Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation on the show notes page and sha...
Jul 10, 2021•58 min•Ep. 54
It’s been a year of podcasting! Yay!! This episode is the replay of the 1st anniversary livestream recording, trimmed of the visual bits. Drawing date has passed. Thanks for listening!! Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation on the show notes page and share what you enjoyed about this episode. I look forward to connecting with you! 😍 Support the show Love listening to this show? Show your love by becoming a member or buying merch. Members get exclusive videos and photos sent m...
Jul 03, 2021•28 min•Ep. 53
Today’s episode features Brenda Barrett, a tall bluebell dancer from the opening cast of Donn Arden’s Jubilee! She shares about her life as a dancer turned pilates instructor who has been working and living in Rome for the past 30 years. Topics discussed: opening Jubilee! in 1981, moving to Europe to pursue more dance opportunities, auditioning and performing in Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal music video, the impact of going to live theatre, the manipulation of energy as a performer and the e...
Jun 26, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 52
Rita Pardue was hired for the girl’s singer line in the opening cast of Donn Arden’s Jubilee. She moved all the way across country from Boston to take the position after her cattle call audition for Fluff LeCoque. She shares her favorite experiences in Jubilee and how the two years she spent in the show helped launch her into a successful broadcasting career. To sign up for Sparkly Sundays and get a weekly email filled with inspiration, Showgirl history and updates about Showgirl’s Life, click h...
Jun 19, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 51
This 50th episode of the Showgirl’s Life is a collection of guests sharing their perspectives on what a Showgirl is and what she isn’t. Think you know what a Showgirl is? It's definitely not like it was portrayed in Showgirls the movie (what a joke!) Listen in to hear about how the Showgirl is more than feathers and legs. Enjoy! Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation on the show notes page and share what your definition of a Showgirl is. I look forward to connecting with you! S...
Jun 12, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 50
Suzanne Raines (Lunn) went to Paris with Madame Bluebell, to perform as a Bluebell dancer in Allez Lido at the Lido de Paris at the age of 16. She did quite well there advancing to the dancing nude line until Miss Bluebell invited her to travel to Las Vegas to be part of the opening cast of Donn Arden’s Jubilee! She was asked to be a line captain to the tall nudes when she arrived. She remained in the show for eight years until she became pregnant with her daughter and retired from dancing. List...
Jun 06, 2021•49 min•Ep. 49
Dollie Eaglin started dance at a late age, even though she was inspired by the dancing shows she saw on TV as a young girl in the South. In this episode we discuss her path to the Las Vegas shows Donn Arden’s Hallelujah Hollywood and Jubilee! And the impact being part of those casts had on her in all of her pursuits since. Topics of racial discrimination, being a woman and being a teacher also come up as we talk about the how being in those shows shaped her as an artist and choreographer. As par...
May 29, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 48
Debra Lee Kristian is back for part 2 where she shares more about life at the Lido de Paris at the Stardust Hotel when the mob ran it. She has a few stories of interactions with Frank Rosenthal and how upset she was at a nickname he gave her. We discuss the immensity of the Donn Arden productions he was famous for producing and what it was like working for the Mob. Enjoy! Photos of Debra are available on the show notes page here along with links to videos of her singing in Allez Lido. Let’s keep...
May 22, 2021•42 min•Ep. 47
Debra Lee Kristian did not fit the standards that Donn Arden’s cast members were typically known for. She was quite short but was able to entertain Donn Arden enough to win the role as the Principal singer of Allez Lido, the final edition of the Lido de Paris at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Listen in to part one of her interview to learn how she got into dancing and singing, her first audition for Donn Arden, even though she was too short, and the stage spectacular that she had lande...
May 15, 2021•44 min•Ep. 46
Showgirl’s Life podcast welcomes back Janet Kravenko, Alison Kravenko and Skyla Johnson for a group interview to talk about show business and their family legacy. As a special Mother’s Day tribute, the three share what life has been like being a mother and/or daughter in showbiz and some of the lessons they have learned. We discuss fears of the business, challenges being a mother and a performer, and the state of the dance world today with the advent of social media in the mix of an already diff...
May 08, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 45
Marty Lewis, who was in both opening casts of Hello, Hollywood, Hello and Jubilee as a black male dancer, shares his story of being a black Showboy in Donn Arden’s MGM productions. We discuss the joys and privileges of being part of the casts of Showgirl production shows, where entertainment has gone today and reminisced about many of the opportunities that were available to dancers in the 70s and 80s in America. He shares his perspectives on working as a choreographer and dancer around the worl...
May 01, 2021•57 min•Ep. 44
Patti Jo Amerein (Cooper) began her stage career in the production of City Lites at the Flamingo Hotel. She was urged to audition for Donn Arden’s Jubilee! When the first contract change came up and was immediately hired as a Tall Nude. Patti Jo shares her experiences navigating her performing career through the 80s and 90s and then transitioning to motherhood and then making another transition into farm life. We discuss her celebrity encounters, the skillsets that performers acquired while perf...
Apr 24, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 43
Joe Macchieverna started off opening Hello Hollywood Hello as a singer and then continued on to be part of the opening cast of Jubilee! As a chorus singer and eventually worked his way to Principal in Jubilee and then the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana. Joe comes from old school Vegas roots in the entertainment industry and shares his perspective of what life was like in Vegas in the late 70s early 80s. We discuss the impact of being an entertainer has had on his life even now while he continue...
Apr 17, 2021•44 min•Ep. 42
Su Kim Chung, head of the Special Collections at the UNLV library joins us again to chat about the matriarchs in the Showgirl’s life, Madame Bluebell and Fluff LeCoque. We discuss generational differences for women in society regarding money, property and work. We also discussed some books for the more academic approach to the history of women. More topics around how these two women impacted so many women in their lives include nurturing their community, mentorship and female relationships. Chec...
Apr 10, 2021•53 min•Ep. 41
Skyla Johnson, currently performing in Las Vegas at the Luxor in Fantasy, shares how her showbiz lineage has shaped her as a performer and woman. We discuss her audition for the show, the differences between classic Las Vegas Showgirls and the current performers on “The Strip” as well as lessons she has learned from her family about Show business. She carries on the legacy of her family as the “new” Showgirl while still performing nightly. This is the fourth episode of the first show family on t...
Apr 03, 2021•58 min•Ep. 40
Janet Kravenko was hired by Madame Bluebell at the age of 17 to join her touring company in 1957. She was traveling around Europe with seven other girls performing in the prestigious troupe while absorbing the experience of a lifetime as a professional dancer. She was asked to join the group of sixteen girls that were traveling to Las Vegas to open the 2nd edition of the Lido de Paris, Ce Cést L´amour, at the Stardust Hotel, directed by Donn Arden, and moved to Las Vegas in 1959. We discuss what...
Mar 27, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 39
Part two with Alison Kravenko is here! Last episode, we learned how Alison was born to be a Showgirl because of her family legacy and its ties to the Bluebell dancers. This episode Alison and I dive more in depth to costumes, details about Jubilee and the revamps of the opening and finale and her life after the show. Check out the show notes here with a video of Alison on Donahue Las Vegas. Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation and share what your favorite moment in this episo...
Mar 20, 2021•55 min•Ep. 38
Alison Kravenko was destined to be a Showgirl. It is part of her family legacy. Her mother was one of the original Bluebells to come across the pond to perform in the Lido de Paris at the Stardust hotel back in 1958. Once Alison focused her sights on dancing and trained to be a ballerina, it was just a short time before she had her chance to audition for Donn Arden and was cast in the opening cast of Jubilee! We discuss her path from high school drill team to Bluebell dancer and beyond in this f...
Mar 13, 2021•59 min•Ep. 37
