Assume you can (figuratively) get your hands on four lovely young ladies who want to take their clothes off on stage in front of strangers. If you had this unbelievable good fortune, you certainly wouldn't want to waste it, would you?

The essential premise of the routine is that you have a theatrically cliché top-hatted and tailed magician, and his four provocatively-dressed assistants: Miss Spades, Miss Diamonds, Miss Clubs and Miss Hearts. Each assistant has their own distinct character, as well as a set of sequined pasties in the shape of their suit. This is all carried out to music, and so no dialogue takes place at all.

The magician attempts four magic tricks, each one using a different assistant, but because of his incompetence, his tricks go wrong, and whilst he's recovering (picking up his cards, wrestling with his props), his devious assistants each perform a trick on him. The strutting of their sexy stuff then follows, and the pattern repeats with the next lady.

So what's needed are four effects, visual ones that will work on stage, which are in fitting with the lady in question. I've got the characterisation for The Four Miss Suits down as follows:

Miss Spades - A very austere and dominant character. She wears a top-hat. I was thinking the magician might attempt some trick which involves restraining her to something, perhaps with handcuffs, and whilst he's readying the rest of the trick she slips them and puts them on him. She gives him a playful smack before taking centre stage, peeling off a layer or two, then releasing him so the act can continue.

Miss Diamonds - I figure a hustler/cardsharp-type character. She wears a trilby hat. She approaches the magician with a deck of cards, performs some flourishes, then passes them to him. He proceeds to drop them, and whilst he's picking up the deck, she produces cash, personal valuables and various tawdry bits of bling from about his person, particularly from his hat which is first shown to be empty. He's none the wiser.

Miss Clubs - Strikes me as a demure, geek-chic librarianish character, bespectacled and sporting a bowler hat. Here's where I admit to being stumped for ideas as to what Miss Clubs can do. "Librarianish" doesn't lend itself well to grand, visual, dialogue-free effects.

Miss Hearts - Warm, cute, caring and slightly naive, topped with a fedora. The most obvious trick for her to do would be to pull an unfeasibly large stuffed toy rabbit out of the magician's hat and then give it a big hug, whilst he looks on in despair at his act going horribly wrong. It's big, it's visual and it requires no explanation.

That's more or less where the idea's up to. Any ideas for other potential effects to stick in would be appreciated. Big and visual are the watchwords.

Suggestions, opinions and improvements welcome.


Rikk

Video it. This I wanna see.

Since Miss Clubs is like a librarian...perhaps she could take a book off the magicians table, flip through a few pages to show the audience it's just a book. Then, from inside the pages of the book she could produce a ten foot pole, flourecent light, or any of the other "appearing" long objects...maybe she could make multiple things appear!

Here's what you got out of me.

The girls don't need to be all that scantly dressed. I like having each girl represent a fundamental nature that women share. You can have the sexy dominatrix (she beats you) [clubs], the woman who takes all your money (she pick-pockets your items) [spades], vanity (center of attention - misdirecting you) [diamonds] and the cat-like jealous figure (she fights the other girls and toys with you)[hearts]. They can all work together to "play" you.

After the interactions you coax the dominate one into an assistants revenge. The girls are "under your command"; but in a mocking way on the girls' parts. Switch is made and they go off together,(to the bathroom, probably???), and leave you hanging.

I like your premise. If I were ever in the position to have 4 girls working for me, may I play with this?

Sure. I think you'd probably be going in a different direction to me with it anyway, but the four-girls/four-suits thing, play with it all you like. Let me know if it ever comes to fruition. It'd be interesting to see.

Believe it or not bunky, BDC is just that lucky! I work a lot of burlesque shows, and in particular Lady & The Tramps.

I was a burlesque dancer for 2 years. I still choreograph for Burlesque groups around the country. Let me know if this idea actually happens...I'm intersted in being part of it:-)

If it does happen, it'll be somewhere in the UK. I'm still just beginning to squeeze myself into the Burlesque scene, but it's a definite avenue of interest that I intend to go down.