Boffo Box Office

The sweet things at The Boston Babydolls have teamed up with the sweet-thing makers at Finale dessert in a benefit evening to support burlesque performers around the country.

On Monday, February 5, “Boston’s Best Burlesque Troupe” present Boffo Box Office, an evening of education, ecdysiasts, and edibles. Beginning at 7:30 p.m., the burlesque dance troupe will be at The Coolidge Corner Theatre where the evening begins Boston historian David Kruh and a lecture and slide show on The Old Howard, Boston’s most significant burlesque hall.

Following the lecture is a screening of the 1943 film noir classic Lady of Burlesque, starring Barbara Stanwyck. The film was based on the novel The G-String Murders by Gypsy Rose Lee, possibly the most famous ‘lady of burlesque.’ After the credits roll, The Boston Babydolls take the stage to give you a little taste of heaven, right in Brookline. If your sweet tooth isn’t satisfied by burlesque dance, the party moves around the corner to Finale (1306 Beacon Street) for a buffet of tempting treats.

The evening is a benefit for The Professional Burlesque Society, a non-profit educational organization that helps burlesque, sideshow, and vaudeville performers educate themselves — both about their performance skills, but also about the realities of doing business. The P.B.S. is the producer of The Great Boston Burlesque Exposition, a international gathering of burlesque performers and educators, that takes place February 16-19, 2007 at The John Hancock Conference Center. Notable participants include Saturday night’s host, Jai Rodriguez (Queer Eye for The Straight Guy) and Sunday night’s mistress of ceremonies, Lily Ann Rose, who was a burlesque dancer in Boston in the 1940s.