In Fringe’s Biblical burlesque, ‘the holy and the sensual meet’

Remember being an adolescent on the cusp of puberty and being bored bored to tears during weekly services at synagogue or church Nuthin else to do but flip through the holy book in the pew and then wow there it was the Song of Songs What The curves of your thighs are like wrought rings the handiwork of a master Your navel a crescent bowl let mixed wine never lack Your belly a mound of wheat hedged about with lilies Your two breasts like two fawns twins of a gazelle Your stature was like a palm tree and your breasts were like clusters I thought I will climb the palm I will grasp its stalks and let your breasts be like grape clusters Really In the Bible Wow Who knows what uplifting response young Jesse Bernstein may have had as an adolescent upon reading The Song of Songs in Hebrew school but when he became artistic director of Theatre Ariel he was determined to turn the erotic poem into a burlesque and stage it at the Philadelphia Fringe The end is Gazelles Garters A Song of Songs Burlesque starring well-known Philly drag queen Eric Jaffe as the master mistress maven of ceremonies I sought to defy people s stereotypical ideas of Jewish theater Bernstein noted It s not all Fiddler on the Roof It s not all Borscht Belt It s not all trauma I think Song of Songs is one of the largest part beautiful pieces of romantic poetry ever written and I wished to celebrate it Bernstein reported I had this thought Wouldn t it be fun to do a Song of Songs burlesque One performer will read the text and others including Jaffe will perform parodies Lots of scholars have weighed in on the meaning of Song of Songs also known as Song of Solomon A few say it s an allegory of God s love for his people Particular say it s an erotic poem celebrating human love Either way sensual dialogues descriptions and dreams abound Isa Ardiente Turquoise and Selene Rose Fuchsia are part of the cast for Gazelles and Garters Photo by Joe Mac I ve inevitably been fascinated about where what we call the holy and what we call the profane intertwine Bernstein stated For me this show is exactly that It is the place where the holy and the sensual meet I find that to be very exciting and theatrical Jaffe reminisced about discovering the Song of Songs in Hebrew school I remember the room being full of giggles all of us being fascinated that this horny text was considered biblical Jaffe commented I remember being intrigued that there was nothing too gender specific about it and that particular of it was queer For years Jaffe has been a fixture in Philly s nightlife drag scene I used to have a drag show called My Big Gay Jewish Drag Show Jaffe noted with a different show for every holiday I hope people will come and see this and find that there is sensuality in ancient texts and that Jews can be horny Why not Jaffe commented Even back in the old times people were writing about each other s breasts and were yearning for each other in a deeply sexual way If it s been happening since the beginning of tim what s wrong with that Bernstein revealed audience members can pay what they wish but those purchasing a ticket get to sit in the front row ready for whatever interaction may come along People should bring cash to tip the performers The ultimate goal Bernstein disclosed is for people to come have fun and experience the steamy side of the Bible Somebody say Amen FYI Gazelles Garters Theatre Ariel through the Fringe festival s Cannonball hub Sept at p m Sept at and p m on Sept and Asian Arts Initiative Black Box Theater Vine St Phila The post In Fringe s Biblical burlesque the holy and the sensual meet appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY