August 4-10, 2005

mixpicks

Freaks and Geeks

sex potluck

The monthly Peek-A-Boo Revue offers more than a sexually charged cabaret of striptease, bondage and drag; it brings on the golden showers. "For one show, [performer] Christa D'Agostino managed to convince the audience that she was urinating on them," says co-host Scott Johnston. "The front row ran like hell. We break down the wall between onstage characters and ourselves — self-spoof if you will." No topic is too taboo and no shows are the same, which partly explains the troupe's longevity. The Five Spot has hosted Peek-A-Boo since 1999, well before Suicide Girls made sex objects out of tattooed chicks. Club owner Philip Cohen created the night as a way to showcase a variety of acts, including magicians, jugglers, ventriloquists and belly dancers. Since then, the one constant has been the group's attitude: Each performer has to "do whatever the show itself dictates," be it suggestively peeling off layers of clothing or drumming up subversive political commentary. This year's show includes a performance from The Full Monty and a puppet-led reinterpretation of Jeff Waynes' musical interpretation of The War of the Worlds. "The reason we stand alone is we're fucking nuts," says Johnston. "Other audiences don't receive the zazz and zowie we hurl at our audiences. The bastards expect it."

Peek-A-Boo Revue, Fri.-Sat., Aug. 5-6, 9 p.m., $15, The Five Spot, 5 S. Bank St., 215-574-0070, www.peekaboorevue.com.

—Andrew Parks