Overview
When something has been a part of the pop culture landscape for a whopping 33 years, there really isn't much it won't have done. And The Simpsons has done plenty — over 700 TV episodes and counting, a 2007 movie, its own albums and singles, and video games, books and comics as well. Yes, the list goes on. Until now, however, even the most diehard fans of television's favourite Springfield-dwellers mightn't have seen the titular family take to the stage in a burlesque and drag parody. But come Saturday, April 16, for one night only at The Tivoli, Brisbanites can choo-choo-choose to watch exactly that.
In case the show's name didn't make it plain, The Stripsons also claims to "put the strip in Springfield" — so, as iconic as Homer's blue pants and white shirt combo is, and Marge's green dress, too, you can expect to see them wearing much less. That's what happens when The Bad Collective takes on a childhood favourite and turns it into a firmly adults-only stage show of the highly satirical kind, as it has already done with Shreklesque.
In a production that's also obviously in the same vein as The Empire Strips Back, The Stripsons doesn't just give Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie the comedic treatment, but also Millhouse, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Mrs Krabappel, Mr Burns and Smithers as well — because The Simpsons has always been about more than its eponymous characters. The cast of burlesque, drag, musical theatre, dance and music talent donning yellow makeup includes Trigger Happy, Bebe Gunn, Lulu Lemans, Baron von Envy, Barbie Banks and Betty Lovecat, plus newcomers such as Indea Sekula, Kimi Young and Ella Nagel.
KTB
The soundtrack for the two-hour show: all of the songs that you've had stuck in your head over the years thanks to The Simpsons, all accompanying a blend of dance, comedy, drag and striptease. (If "Dr Zaius, Dr Zaius, ohhhhh Dr Zaius" or "Who holds back the electric car? Who made Steve Guttenburg a star?" just popped into your brain right now, then you know what we're talking about.) And, that likely means everything from 'See My Vest' to 'Monorail' to 'We Put The Spring in Springfield' will get a whirl. Cross your fingers that 1991 hit 'Do the Bartman', which reached number one on the Australian charts, also shows up.
And if you're wondering how The Stripsons came about, The Bad Collective creative team conjured it up after Shreklesque proved unsurprisingly popular — and after rewatching hundreds of episodes and listening to all those Simpsons tunes, naturally.
The Stripsons will play The Tivoli on Saturday, April 16 — head to the show's website for further details, and to the venue's website for tickets.