REFRAIN MUSIC

“Inside every woman is a Pussycat Doll”…that’s the tag line of the PCD Burlesque review that appeared last night at the Center at Casino New Brunswick, starring Carmen Electra.  Not quite knowing what to expect with this show I entered to an almost packed house with a surprising range of ages from their early twenties and well into their senior years.

The Pussycat Dolls is a creation of Robin Antin (some of you may have seen her as a guest judge on this season’s So You Think You Can Dance) and were founded as a Burlesque troupe in 1995.  They called the “Viper Room” in Los Angeles home from 1995-2001 where they had a Thursday night show performing 50’s and 60’s standards in lingerie and pin-up costumes before moving to their current home ‘The Roxy’.  In 1999 they began to grow in recognition with a spread in Playboy, and went on to be features on MTV, VH1, and in Maxim magazine in 2002.  They’ve had many guest lead dolls from Christina Applegate, Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, and the aforementioned Carmen Electra.  In 2003, under music industry stars Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair, Antin began the creation of the the popular singing group we all know today that featured former Edens Crush singer Nicole Scherzinger to coincide with the Burlesque show.

Pussycat Dolls Burlesque Review

The show started strangely I thought with a ‘guest dj’ playing for about the first 25 minutes of the show, which I could tell had some of the audience wondering when the real show was about to start, this was a nice feature at the beginning to amp up the crowd but went on for about ten minutes too long.   As the DJ played, the smoke began to ooze onto the stage, willowing around the half a dozen empty black chairs and dangling feather boa’s that sat waiting on the stage.  The lights got dimmer and dimmer as the DJ’s beats pounded through the center, and then the Dolls burst on to the stage to perform their first number.

Pussycat Dolls Burlesque Review - Casino NB

You could tell that this was a new experience for a lot of people as they didn’t quite know how to respond to half a dozen scantily clad women coming out in, basically their underwear, and singing to an old vaudeville style song.  This walking Victoria’s Secret commercial was a new experience for a lot of people but the crowd eventually was cheering and expressing their excitement at the urging of the PCD’s lead vocalist.

The stage blackened at this point and we were treated to one of several Pussycat Dolls features on the video screens in the Center on either side of the stage, I assume that this was to present time for ‘costume changes’, but still seemed like a bit of a ‘filler’.   Their return to the stage brought out one of the several appearances by the feature Doll, Carmen Electra.

Pussycat Dolls Burlesque Review - Casino NB - Carmen Electra

Carmen Electra, a four time Playboy playmate, has been with the Dolls since their early years performing countless shows, and was part of the troupe that got featured in Maxim magazine that garnered the attention of Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair.  She continues to dazzle audiences with the PCDBR and has had many side projects over the years from workout videos, movies, television (remember Baywatch), and music.  Once again she doesn’t disappoint on this night, dancing up a storm, and in a bathtub (faux taking a bath to music, in lingerie) and entertaining the crowd.

Pussycat Dolls Burlesque Review - Casino NB

The Dolls went through some classic standards in “Foxy Lady” and “Hey Big Spender” and also vocalized some of the best known pussycat Dolls songs like “Don’t Cha”, “Buttons”, and  “When I Grow Up” all to rave applause from the crowd.  Overall it was an entertaining evening with some high energy dancing, beautiful girls in lingerie, and some good music.   If you have the opportunity I’d highly recommend taking in a PCD Burlesque Show and once again I want to thank the Casino and PPRL for a great show and fun evening.