“This or That”
America’s Favorite Burlesque Game
Show
“This or That” is billed as America’s Favorite Burlesque Game Show with
one reviewer referring to host Great Fredini and cohost Julie Altas Muz as Burlesque's "Pat & Vanna." While there is a wheel that gets spun, Fred
suits are a bit louder than Pat’s and Julie’s costumes are a bit briefer than Vanna’s gowns. Were there phrases to be completed, they
would not pass muster on broadcast TV. But then, the show is taped before a
live audience for broadcast on a Manhattan cable TV channel at midnight on Sundays.
I caught the show several
times at Coney
Island
over the summer as well as in Manhattan at the Belt Theatre. The format of
the show is pretty straightforward. Fisherman provides banter and percussive
punctuation for Fredini while he interacts with the
audience and Julie smiles with an incredible variety of expressions. Six members of the audience compete to fill
the two contestant slots by engaging in a bit of onstage acting (think of Sally
in Katz’s Deli). Once selected, the two contestants engage in various activities to compete for totally worthless This or That bucks and the right to pick the acts lie behind “This” or “That” curtain. The acts feature the This or
That girls – Bambi, the Mermaid, and Bunny Luv – and
a host of guest stars from the Burlesque and Variety stage. The contestant with
the most worthless bucks at the end of the show gets to choose from the
shopping cart of gifts rolled out by Julie.
.
Photos Copyright by Ed Barnas. All rights reserved. .
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Page updated 20 December 2004