Cross a thrills-and-chills circus with an old-style burlesque show, and you’ve got The Pretty Things Peep Show, coming to Savannah on Feb. 7.
“It’s a girly road show based on an old timey vaudeville show as would have been seen in the 1930s,” says Go-Go Amy, the show’s producer and one of its headliners.
“We have a live band, a three-piece jazz band called The Peeping Toms,” Amy says. “We have three performers who do such acts as whip-cracking, magic acts and juggling.”
Amy says the show is a vintage vaudeville experience that features the acts of yesterday performed by the stars of tomorrow. The current cast includes: Go-Go Amy, the Impresario of Undress; Lil’ Miss Firefly, the Midget of Mischief; Vivacious Miss Audacious, the Headmistress of Hula Hoops; and Mr. Donny V., the Dapper Dan of Danger.
Donny V. is the show’s host and a sideshow performer. He spent six years hosting the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, and has worked at Ripley’s Believe it or Not in Time Square.
Lil Miss Firefly stands just 27 inches tall, but has a big list of credits to her name. She starred in the hit show “Freaks” on the Las Vegas strip and has toured with Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera.
Vivacious, also known as the Whirlwind with the Crimson Grin, is an original member of Super Happy Funtime Burlesque. She runs Audacious Hoopsalong with the performance group Atomic Hoop Troupe, and was one of the first modern variety performers to pair hooping with burlesque.
There are 22 acts in all, including sword swallowing, the human blockhead, fire eating, juggling, glass walking, straight-jacket escape, burlesque, the Chinese Execution Blade Box, whip cracking, animal traps, knife throwing, aerial, hula hoops and comedy.
“We have a great balancing act with a chair and do sideshow acts,” Amy says. “The Chinese Execution Blade Box is me and a bunch of swords.
“There’s a lot of cutlery in the show,” she says. “Everyone but the band uses a sword or knife.”
Collectively, the performers have 15 years of experience. “All these acts are really traditional sideshow circus acts,” Amy says.
“Everyone has learned from other performers,” she says. “You watch a lot of shows, and find a performer who is willing to teach you.
“Hopefully, you don’t hurt yourself much,” Amy says. “It’s practice, practice, practice.”
There really is no other way to learn the acts, Amy says. “You can’t get a college degree in broken glass,” she says.
“You learn from the people before you. It’s handed down generation to generation.”
The main objective is keeping these art forms alive, Amy says. “There aren’t that many like our show,” she says.
“As a producer, it’s really fun to put together a show I would want to see. Every time I put a new show together, I ask myself, ‘Would I want to see this?’”
Amy is one of the Peep Show’s biggest fans. “I decide to watch the other acts every night and I never get tired of it,” she says. “It’s always exciting. There are some quick changes.
“These acts are so unique, most people have never seen them live,” Amy says. “They’re seeing things they thought were impossible.”
Watching the show brings out excitement even in performers who see sword swallowing and other acts every day. “I’m reminded that what we do is so cool,” Amy says.
The venues have been as varied as the acts — dinner theaters, cabarets, large theaters, intimate shows and art spaces. “It’s fun to be universal,” Amy says. “We have everyone from bikers to grandmas.”
Whether the show is racy or not depends on the individual viewer. Yes, it’s burlesque, but it’s old-fashioned burlesque.
“It’s like a strip show you could take your mom to,” Amy says. “My mom has actually come to see me.
“There are articles of clothing that come off,” she says. “They are very sparkly and fabulous.
“The sexiest part of the body is the imagination, and we leave a lot to that. We keep enough clothes on that it’s really all in good fun.”
The peep show is a great date show, Amy says. “We’re currently on our Valentine tour,” she says. “We’ve got a couple of acts that go with that theme and run with it.”
In addition to producing and performing, Amy makes the costumes. “I got my start as a costume designer,” she says.
“Next to being onstage, designing is the most fun. I really have a creative outlet. I do a lot of tailoring and styling for the boys in the show and take them out on shopping trips to get them looking sharp, as well.”
The current tour is crossing the country from New York City to Los Angeles and back. “We’re trying to stay in the warmer states,” Amy says.
“We’re doing a full national tour with this one. We’ve gone as far as Australia and just got back from Europe.
“We were in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Austria and the Czech republic,” she says. “We’ll be in the UK in July.”
The peep show was at Ozzfest 2010 with Motley Crüe, Rob Halford and Ozzy Osborne. The troupe’s television appearances include “Celebrity Apprentice,” “Oddities.” “Miami Ink” and “Cake Boss” and they also have appeared in music videos for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band.
Traveling with the Peep Show can be unnerving. “It’s not fun to fly with swords,” Amy says. “But sexy ladies and swords are universal.”
This is the second time the show has come to Savannah. “We were in Savannah three years ago on one of our very first tours,” Amy says.
“Savannah is the city everyone mentions,” she says. “The venue was small, and we sold out super fast.
“We’ve been trying to get back for a while,” Amy says. “Some other friends who know the city well said to go to The Jinx, so we’ve been bugging them for two years and I finally wore them down.”
Amy is determined to take the show to as many cities as possible. “If you are a fan of the show and ask us to come to town, I will get there,” she says. “I’ll figure it out. It might take two years, but we’ll get there.”
An admitted workaholic, Amy is always on the clock. “We’re doing six shows a week, and some weeks, we’re doing 18 shows, not even taking a day off,” she says.
“As producer of the show, anytime I’m not on stage, I’m on the laptop or phone. It takes a lot of work to keep the show running.
“There’s a lot of coordination, organization and travel — and promotion, as well,” Amy says. “Once we book a tour, it’s a huge undertaking in and of itself.”
Amy has assistants to help, plus the performers help with promotion. “I’m always working on new acts,” she says. “Everyone in the show is really committed not only to their own acts, but to keeping the show up and running.”
IF YOU GO
What: The Pretty Things Peep Show
When: 10 p.m. Feb. 7
Where: The Jinx, 127 W. Congress Street
Cost: $7 cover
Info: 912-236-2281, www.prettythingsproductions.com