Iconic burlesque innovator Dita Von Teese has long felt at home in Las Vegas, finding inspiration in the city’s glittery history when her touring productions visit a local venue. Now set to open her own residency show on the Strip, she’s ready to use all that inspiration to create something new onstage. And what a stage it is.

The historic Jubilee Theater at Horseshoe Las Vegas is an absolute perfect fit for Dita Las Vegas, and sweetening the deal further is the news that Von Teese will use some of the classic costumes from the legendary Jubilee production in her show. These masterpieces haven’t seen the stage since the showgirl spectacular shuttered in 2016.

But no one is trying to re-create the Las Vegas of old; Von Teese is assembling her biggest production ever and paying homage to Jubilee while continuing to evolve her art form. The Weekly spoke to her recently to get the lowdown.

Is this Vegas residency something you’ve been working toward for a long time? It’s something I’ve wanted for a long time, but it took quite a while, many years to actually get to someone with the power to make it happen the right way in Vegas. I think if someone hasn’t seen the shows and the tours and what I actually do, they might just imagine the girl in the martini glass [act]. We’ve seen burlesque before, and it’s usually in a little room with 100 people. So it takes someone coming out to see the show to understand where I should be. This is kind of a defining moment for me, for our partners to come out and see the show and say, this should be in the Jubilee Theater.

Were you a fan of Jubilee? I’ve seen Jubilee more times than I can count. Every time I’d go to Vegas, I had two stops—the Jubilee show and the Liberace Museum. Those things are gone now, but it was very exciting when the room was offered, because it is that historic, and my first question was, where are all the feathers? It’s a little bit daunting to build a show for that stage. I respect the Jubilee show so much and everyone who was in it and working on it. All the feathers and rhinestones are legendary for people like me, who love that kind of spectacle, and I felt like I won the glamour jackpot when I found out we can utilize some of those beautiful costumes.

Your shows are a very modern version of a very classic presentation. Are you taking that same signature approach to the residency show? My mission for the last 25 years has been to evolve burlesque into something different, and at no point have I tried to re-create the past or do it how it was done back then. I’m interested in technology, in feminine power, and that’s very different from old-timey burlesque entertainment that was run by men for men. Burlesque in this day and age means something totally different for so many people. The majority of my audience is female, but a lot of men come too. And to be able to do something bigger than I’ve ever done and stay in one place is very exciting to me, because I’ve always been thinking of, how do I fit all these things onstage into a semitruck and take them around the world. There’s so much more I can do, and I’m looking forward to bringing together the best of what I can do with my favorite things from Jubilee and just seeing these costumes onstage, in motion again, in a new way.

You’re also working with a larger cast, but how will your own performance be different in this show? I’m still onstage for these really elaborate, long striptease numbers, and this show, I make more appearances than I normally do. We’re trying to make as many costume changes as possible. And if you know the room, there are all these cool things that come out of the ceiling, out of the floor, from the side stages, so there’s so many opportunities to have different kinds of appearances.

Are we going to see any of those big, classic showgirl show moments? Maybe a chorus line? Yes, but in a new and different way. I don’t fit into the standards of the showgirl. I wanted to be a ballerina when I was little, but I wasn’t good enough. I wanted to be at Crazy Horse in Paris, and I was told no, I don’t have the right body shape or height. So I feel like I have the ability to manifest things when I’m told no—I’m still becoming a showgirl. We’ve been trying to create a show that feels different from the past and I feel like I’m on the right track with this. I don’t want to say too much, but yes, I know I can put my own spin on this.

DITA LAS VEGAS: A JUBILANT REVUE Opens October 5, $47-$189, Jubilee Theater, ticketmaster.com.

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