At 'Speakeasy,' a NYC burlesque and variety show, happy days are here again

Hankering to visit Broadway again, but not keen on wearing a mask for the whole show, or paying for theater tickets and a night on the town?

Have we got a show for you.

"Speakeasy" is part burlesque, part Cirque de Soleil, part musical review, part magic show and a ton of fun — in an intimate space where performers interact with audience members.

And if that isn't enough, each ticket, starting at $85, comes with five cocktails and an appetizer.

Besides being delicious and a good deal, the cocktails allow you to remain mask-free for the 90-minute performance. (You must show vaccine card and photo ID at the door.)

Bringing Broadway back: Wayne craftspeople make set scenery and stage props

From the moment you walk past the twinkling marquee lights on 46th Street and head down into the cozy nightclub scene in the basement of Bond 45 restaurant, you feel a tingle of excitement — the kind you used to get when you were all dressed up with somewhere to go, before the world shut down.

The setup of round tables of eight, ringed by more tables on a mezzanine level, feels straight out of "Casablanca." As our foursome sipped our first cocktail, we chatted with our tablemates, a young couple from Westchester on their second date. Soon Master of Ceremonies Jada Temple was welcoming us from among the tables in her brassy, pitch-perfect alto.

Enter the strippers.

I'd never been to a burlesque show and was a bit apprehensive, imagining women (only) disrobing to drunken catcalls. I was pleasantly surprised. The body-positive "Speakeasy" cast, equal parts men and women, showed a tongue-in-cheek sense of fun, to the giggles and screams of the females in the audience.

No one revealed anything more than you might see on the beach, and a lot less than on cable TV.

And the cast's talents go way beyond removing their clothes. The night I attended, dancers included Lazlo, a Hungarian ballet dancer, aerialist and acrobat; Opera Gaga, a classically trained musician who, impossibly, belts out arias while wrapping herself upside and sideways around a pole; contortionist Aryn Shelander, who demonstrated Mongolian foot archery by shooting an arrow out of a heavy bow with her foot while twisted into a pretzel shape; and Syrean, who belly-danced while balancing a wreath of fire on her head.

More: The history of Broadway theatre lives in its playhouses. Here are their stories

"Speakeasy" started out during the depths of the pandemic as "Speakeasy on Demand," a downloadable film for at-home viewing, with cocktail mixes delivered by UPS. It was a way for producer-director Holly Anne Devlin to keep theater talent employed during the pandemic. Devlin has put on dozens of outdoor theatrical events throughout the five boroughs, which she calls "little bursts of joy."

In March, Devlin produced the Broadway event, "We Will Be Back," with a star-studded cast of actors to commemorate the anniversary of Broadway's year of being dark, and was recently honored by city officials for her dedication to keeping New York theater alive.

"Speakeasy" was one of the first New York shows to open post-pandemic this summer, and it was was an instant hit, Devlin said, with people jumping to their feet and openly weeping when Temple belted out the finale, "Happy Days are Here Again."

"The reason it took off is because it's joyful and celebratory," she said. "Our whole goal is for you to walk down the stairs and forget about everything for 90 minutes, to feel good, celebrate, have a communal experience. That's something people are really missing, that sense of community."

More: Hawthorne Pride Alliance to stage 'My Big Gay Italian Christmas' at local church

More: What's on the Broadway shows list for 2021, plus all you need to know about tickets

Still, it hasn't been easy to pull off such an intimate indoor show during COVID. Devlin is proud that, due to frequent testing of the cast and checking of patron vaccine cards, there hasn't been a COVID case associated with "Speakeasy." But before checking vaccines cards was a city mandate, she got a lot of "really scary" pushback from anti-vaxxers.

After a sold-out 14 week-run, the show took a pause this fall while Bond 45 reopened its downstairs kitchen. "Speakeasy" reopened in early November.

Tickets can be purchased through Dec. 22 on TodayTix.

If the show has to shut down, she said, viewers can still download "Speakeasy On Demand."

But, trust me, it's better in person.

Go: BOND 45 restaurant, 221 W. 46th St., $85 to $129.

Julia Martin is the 2021 recipient of the New Jersey Society for Professional Journalists' David Carr award for her coverage of Montclair for NorthJersey.com.

For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: jmartin@gannettnj.com

Twitter: @TheWriteJulia

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New York City burlesque show 'Speakeasy' brings happy days