‘Filth is my politics, filth is my life’: House of Whoreors’ John Waters Tribute Burlesque

Content warning: obscenity, sexually explicit material

On the floor of a small stage, sequined garters and bras lay abandoned among a sea of dollar bills — the aftermath of House of Whoreors’ “Dreamland: A Love Letter to John Waters” at the Newport Theater.

The burlesque dancers coyly slipped straps off their shoulders, revealing bare skin and tasseled pasties — sexy yet repulsive, seductive yet vile. 

The performance was an homage to the nauseating gray area John Waters explored in his filmmaking.

Centering the show around Waters was a natural fit, according to Harley Go’Lightly, producer and co-founder of House of Whoreors. She said it was a given for fringe arts — burlesque, drag, sideshow and pole — to take inspiration from Waters because he includes camp culture and drag in his work. 

“It’s a celebration of the weird and the wonderful,” Go’Lightly said. “It’s an active indulgence in good-bad taste.”

Indulging in the taboo is exactly what dancer Millie May did in her performance honoring Waters’ 1970 film about perverse performers, “Multiple Maniacs.”

May quickly discarded her faux modesty — and fur coat — for a sultry performance set to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” She cheekily licked a rosary after pulling it out of her panties. As the song reached its climax May thrashed on top of a Bible.

“Good-bad taste” is intentionally uncomfortable, which is the main goal of the show, Go’Lightly said.

“I feel as though discomfort is a really powerful emotion, especially when you experience it live,” Go’Lightly said. “This exploration of trash and filth by way of burlesque not only offers a really unique experience for people, but it unintentionally forces people out of the box of comfort.”

Uneasiness yields its way to growth, according to Go’Lightly. Reactions don’t stem from the mundane or ordinary.

“It’s that consensual overstepping of a line that really is important to experience now and again because it re-examines your sensibilities as a person,” Go’Lightly said.

Creating a space for the tawdry, sleazy and at times downright vulgar is exactly what “Dreamland: A Love Letter to John Waters” did. With 10 different acts, performers used Waters’ films as launching pads for their own brazen art.

Prancing onto stage with big beehive hair, dancer Lilly Rascal twirled to the peppy, titular track from “Hairspray” while aptly dousing herself with the substance. 

Teasing the audience by opening one side of her girdle, Rascal saucily revealed hair curlers placed in the shape of a penis.

Accepting thunderous cheers, Rascal trotted to collect her strewn clothing before exiting the stage.

Host Jenna Delgaty returned to the stage to introduce Dancerella while the curtains jostled like a cat under a blanket.

A quickly assembled post was all Dancerella needed before coming on stage for her flirtatious pole dancing act. 

Starting on the floor, Dancerella rhythmically gyrated her hips next to the metal rod before shedding her silky black robe. Climbing up the pole like ivy, she slowly spun before inverting upside down. 

Vivi Valens followed, placing her hands against an invisible wall as she licked the air while sliding her orange jumpsuit off. Underneath the prison suit, Valens left little to the imagination as she abandoned her lingerie for pasties and a skimpy thong. 

With exuberant cheers, the audience launched wadded-up dollar bills onto the stage, before they were hastily swept to the side to lay down a disposable sheet in preparation for the coming act.

As the curtains opened, Rosemary Maybe was revealed, sitting in a plastic playpen. Parodying Walters’ 1972 film “Pink Flamingos,” the dancer removed an egg from her bra, reverently cradling it as she lip synched to Heart’s melodramatic “Alone.” 

Stepping out of her crib, Maybe ripped her teeth into the hardboiled egg, smearing it across her face as the stench of egg hung thick in the air.

“There was no other act we could end the show with,” Dalgety said. “Please tip because eggs are expensive.”

Despite the filth on stage, many of the performers said Waters served as more than the “Pope of Trash” — he’s a pioneer for acceptance of the unconventional.

Morteisha Addams, producer and co-founder of House of Whoreors, said their love of Waters stemmed from seeing people beyond the realms of conventional beauty. Addams said Waters’ ability to make the extreme and disgusting socially acceptable opened them up to new perspectives.

“It just makes things seem real simple for you when you grow up,” Addams said.

Valens said Waters’ desire to expose the underbelly of society inspires her as an artist. 

“I love just how messed up and screwed up a lot of the content is,” Valens said. “We’re all a bunch of weirdos, and if you want to appreciate other weirdos, I think that’s kind of what it’s about.”

House of Whoreors’ next production is “Velvet Bazar” Feb. 8 at the Ramova Theatre.