Popular culture comes full circle all the time. Antiquated fashion, music, and art styles are frequently dusted off, given a fresh coat of paint and introduced to a new generation.
Case in point: The recent local resurgence of vaudeville, a mixed entertainment showcase that dates back to the dawn of the 20
th century. The
Lansing Unionized Vaudeville Spectacle, an acoustic band with more than a dozen members, is doing so well that bandleader Dylan Rogers and his wife, Jeana-Dee, recently announced the
Robin Theatre, a community performance space that will soon open in REO Town.
The Further Adventures of FatBoy and Jive Turkey, an eclectic, bluesy outfit with roots squarely in vaudeville, perform regularly on local stages and at festivals. Both of these throwback acts keep the focus mainly on music, but another local group has dedicated itself to vaudeville’s more outrageous, theatrical elements.
Katie Corr and her husband, Ben Corr, are the founders of
Lil’ Darlins Vaudeville. They go by the stage names of Kitty Darlin and Benny Darlin, and they lead an evolving assembly of performers whose set-list consists of period music and extreme specialty acts, including contortionists, fire-eaters, and “human blockheads” (we’ll come back to that one).
“What I like about vaudeville is that includes anything and everything,” Katie says. “Vaudeville’s heyday was America’s melting pot (era), and you were seeing all these different cultures together on stage for the first time —Irish, Yiddish, African. There was tons of variety. That feeling of inclusion always appealed to me.”
Katie said she and her husband have been best friends since high school, where they did theater together. She said they were both always drawn to vaudeville, but it wasn’t until 2008 that they assembled friends and local performers into the first Lil' Darlins lineup. A year later they performed together for the first time at a fundraiser benefiting local music collective Earthwork Music.
“We pitched the idea to them and they wanted to do it,” Katie says. “We’re very lucky to be surrounded by open-minded, creative people.”
Since that initial show, Katie says Lil' Darlins’ performances have evolved, eventually settling into a set format. It consists of roughly 25 slots that are plugged with a rotating list of large musical production numbers, skits, and about half a dozen songs, all propelled by the group’s pit band. All the sets are hand built, and practices are all done out of the Corrs’ house.
“If I hear a song that I have an idea for, I’ll go over with the band and try to think of a production number to go with it,” Katie says. “That includes choreography, costumes, and comedy bits that I can pair with it."
Lil' Darlins consists of a core group of seven members, including a stage manager, and the eight-person band. Then there are usually three to six specialty performers worked in. Regulars include the Vivacious Miss Audacious, an acrobat who preforms balancing feats on a dining room chair; Josh Wilde, a comedian/magician; and the Big Icky, the aforementioned human blockhead, who hammers nails into his face, eats light bulbs and has cinder blocks smashed on his belly as he lays on a bed of nails. You may think that it’s just an illusion, but Katie provides first-person testimony to the contrary.
“I had to fill in for him once — it’s real,” Katie deadpans. “It’s a big risk being on stage because you have no control and anything can happen. I think that’s a big part of the allure — every show is a little different, so people come back looking to see what we’ll do this time.”
The group has grown from doing one or two shows a year to about one a month. Katie says in 2014 Lil' Darlins Vaudeville did 15 shows, and this year looks like there will be even more. The challenge in arranging performances comes from the group’s ever-expanding size.
“It’s hard to coordinate schedules for 20 performers,” Katie says. “We have to travel. If you’re staying in one spot, it’s difficult to get a consistent turnout. And we make a point to pay all our performers, even if Ben and I have to pay out of our own pocket. (Performers) often work for free, and they’re told by venues that at least they’re getting exposure. But you can’t pay your bills with exposure.”
Katie Lil' Darlins is “first and foremost” a Lansing entity. She says no matter what, plans are to keep the troupe based here, and she sees the group as a vital part of the local flavor.
“My goal is to make Lansing better by being a contributor to the culture,” she says. “But it’s not about us — it’s about the people who are looking for a way to express themselves, and we help them do that. People are always coming to us with their ideas, being creative and resourceful. There’s so much potential for the future. Lansing is filled with talent.”
She says that their biggest challenge is appealing to a society that’s obsessed with watching things on screens.
“We keep things moving quickly,” she says. “Our shows are geared toward today’s audiences —it’s really hard to keep people’s attention. We want people to forget they’re sitting at a show and leave two hours later and say ‘what the hell did I just see?’”
There’s only one rule: All music is performed live.
“I want to keep our performances as authentic as possible,” Katie says. “I will never, ever use pre-recorded music. It takes so much away from the show. We have done modern things, but we try to keep it as old timey as possible. People want that live experience — you can’t beat it. Seeing something in person, with the sounds, the smells, I think people are starved for reality.
“You can see all of the same stuff online, but we’re offering an experience, and we’re working very hard to offer something like that. To keep something alive that ‘died’ so long ago. “
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Allan Ross is a Lansing-based freelance writer, actor, podcaster and television producer.
Photos ©
Dave Trumpie
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of
Trumpie Photography.