When Showgirls debuted in theaters in 1995, dripping in rhinestones and provocation, it was swiftly crowned one of the most reviled films of its era. Critics sharpened their knives while audiences clutched their pearls. But beneath the glare of its neon vulgarity and brazen sexuality, Paul Verhoeven’s erotic drama was laying the groundwork for a cult classic that would take decades to be properly, if begrudgingly, adored.
The film follows Nomi Malone, a starry eyed drifter with a dancer’s body and a survivor’s instinct. As Las Vegas threatens to swallow her whole, Malone must claw her way toward the top of its fame-hungry food chain. Her ascent is ruthless, loyalty is expendable, and morality is optional. Standing firmly in her way is Cristal Connors, the reigning queen of the Strip’s showgirl hierarchy. She’s a cocaine-fueled glamzilla who ruled the stage long before Nomi’s arrival and has no intention of surrendering her crown without a little blood on the sequins.
The film’s audacity, once dismissed as tasteless excess, now reads like intention. The omnipresent flesh becomes desensitizing by design, stripping the audience of voyeuristic comfort and exposing the brutality of performance, ambition and showbiz. It is gaudy, exploitative and uncomfortably honest. And, most surprisingly, it is very funny.
Enter Showgirls: An Unauthorized Musical Parody, Majestic Repertory Theatre’s glitter-bombed love letter to the film’s legacy. The Downtown production resurrects the movie’s most infamous moments—doggy chow, “Versayce,” the iconically bad swimming pool sex scene—and filters them through Majestic’s signature satirical bite. This is Showgirls keenly aware, a satire that understands its source material deeply enough to revel in its absurdity while honoring its strange, ferocious power.
Kady Heard performs as Cristal Conners during a dress rehearsal at Majestic Repertory Theatre.
With book, lyrics and direction by Troy Heard, and musical compositions by James E. Edwards, the production is anchored by two commanding performances. Elaine Hayhurst steps into the leotard as Nomi Malone, while Kady Heard embodies Cristal Connors with venomous poise.
To give audiences a taste of the spectacle, the duo joined us for an in-character interview, because with Showgirls, anything less would feel dishonest, darlin’.
Nomi, you’re new to town. What’s the first thing the city has taught you? And what’s it taken from you so far?
Nomi: Well, immediately, the city took everything from me, like my f**king suitcase. So, I think I should just take whatever I can get, take everything I want. Seems like that’s what you have to do in Vegas.
And Cristal, you’re already on top in the showgirl world. What’s more dangerous in Vegas, being hungry like Nomi or being comfortable like you?
Cristal: I would say being hungry like Nomi, because you never know when you’ve crossed the wrong person in order to get where you want to go.
Nomi: Wow. I think being comfortable is a very dangerous place to be … resting on your laurels.
Cristal: Resting on talent.
So, when you see someone like Nomi coming up behind you, do you feel threatened or is it more entertaining to watch?
Cristal: Entertaining to watch, never threatened, especially not by someone like that. Have you seen her piqué turn? She’s all pelvic thrust.
Nomi, Cristal says that there’s a way things are done in this town. What advice are you taking from her?
Nomi: Well, I don’t take any advice from her because she’s over the hill. She’s on her way out, just grasping at straws to hold on as best as she can without tripping and falling.
In Vegas, is talent enough, or does survival require a darker side of you?
Cristal: You have to have both. You have to have talent, and you have to … I don’t know what I can say in a way that you can print, but you have to scratch some backs to get your way to the top. That’s Vegas. That’s how it’s always been.
Nomi: I would agree with that. You need that drive and that fight and some friends along the way.
Cristal: Don’t forget the talent.
Do you think that the stage is a place of freedom?
Nomi: I do. I feel most myself when I’m on stage.
Cristal: I’ve never known anything else, so I don’t feel very free. It’s just a part of who I am … it’s the golden handcuffs, so they call it.
SHOWGIRLS: AN UNAUTHORIZED MUSICAL PARODY Thru March 8, Thursday-Sunday, 7 p.m., $53-$63. Majestic Repertory Theater, majesticrepertory.com.
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