Las Vegas burlesque - The Empire Strips Back

I was in Vegas for a few days recently and in addition to visiting a couple of clubs (Palomino and Chicas Bonitas), I went to one of the burlesque shows. I saw "The Empire Strips Back" at the Rio. This was a bit of a traditional burlesque with a series of dance/strip performances.

The costumes for the show were amazing. They had elaborate sets with a full-size Jabba the Hut, and a sand speeder. The dancers wore outfits that were reliably evocative of the Star Wars characters, with a sexy twist. The dancing was also excellent, both from individual dancers and some of the group performances.

The burlesque part of things was less satisfying. Many of the sets were 90% just dancing, with a bit of removing clothes at the very end. There was almost no nudity. Only one set of the entire ninety minute show had boobs in it. There also wasn't any continuity between the performances. There'd be one dance, then the MC would come out and kill time for a bit, then the curtains would reopen for another dance. The MC was just a hype man, without much performance value.

I admired the attention to detail and there's no doubt the performers were good dancers. But I confess to getting a bit bored.

I've seen a few vaguely similar shows in Vegas. I found both Zombie Burlesque (Planet Hollywood) and Rouge (at the Strat) significantly more entertaining than the Empire show. Both had much more going on, with bigger productions, more continuity, and more dancers. Both had more revealing numbers, including topless performers.

Burlesque isn't really anything like a strip club, but they at least share attractive people dancing and taking off some clothes. I enjoy both (though I hit clubs way more often than shows). Vegas has a bunch of options for both. If you're a Star Wars fan, or enjoy parody productions like that, Empire might not be a bad choice. But I think there are better ones in Vegas.