Burlesque Hall of Fame museum unveiled for first time

Sequins and feather boas are as much a part of Las Vegas' history as mobsters and neon, and now a museum celebrating part of that culture has made downtown Las Vegas its home.

The Burlesque Hall of Fame has taken over a small space in the newly christened Emergency Arts building on Fremont Street, across from the El Cortez.

It's a small space -- think studio apartment -- and it was jammed full of people Friday for its grand opening, which coincides with the annual Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend.

"This is where we'd like to start," said Laurenn McCubbin, the museum's associate director. "We've had shows here before, but this is the first time we've had a public space that's so accessible."

The first exhibit is "Sequins in the Sand: Celebrating 20 Years of Miss Exotic World," an annual striptease contest that's part of the Hall of Fame weekend.

The contest, and the exhibit, celebrate a certain era in the history of men watching women take off their clothes -- an era of sequins and feathers and pasties and, as anyone in the burlesque world will tell you, a time when striptease emphasized the "tease."

"It's one of the only truly American art forms. This, and the blues," McCubbin said. "It's progressed from something that used to be thought of as raunchy and risque to something that now is joyful expression."

The exhibit is mostly a collection of photographs from contests past, as well as letters, fliers, programs and signs.

There's a lot more in the museum's collection, McCubbin said -- costumes and stage props and memorabilia -- and eventually they hope to raise enough money for adequate display space.

Space was definitely in short supply Friday, as at least 150 to 200 people crowded into the museum and the adjacent cafe and spilled onto the sidewalk outside.

Among them were Dangerous Curves Ahead, a five-member traveling burlesque troupe from New York.

One member, who dances as Clams Casino, said burlesque is "sex and comedy," and she says she's been drawn to that world since she was a teenager.

"I'm really shy, naturally," said Casino, who was standing in the afternoon heat wearing a tight, high-cut bodysuit and heels. "I am! Someone gave me a chance to try it, and the rest is history."

Part of the burlesque world is a much broader beauty standard than conventional views, and it was on full display Friday -- there were women tall and short, young, middle-age and senior, those who were very petite and many whose cleavage overflowed.

"It's a female driven art form," Casino said. "When you step on stage, you are determining what's sexy, what's attractive, what's beautiful, what the standard is."

For the official opening, Holly Madison of Peepshow and Playboy fame joined other burlesque performers and Mayor Oscar Goodman for a ceremonial cutting of a feather boa.

Goodman was without his usual showgirl entourage because the place was already full of replacements.

"All these beautiful women," Goodman said. "Now all I need is a drink."