Out At The Nine
Cafe Nine
New Haven
Nov. 16, 2025
Feathers, candy, tap shoes, and tons of sequins all hit the stage at Cafe Nine Sunday night as part of Burlesque Cabaret, the first installment of a new monthly series called “Out at The Nine” — queer meet-ups with fun and varied themes.
This show was even more special, as it was the return of producer, performer, and all-around artist extraordinaire Lipgloss Crisis, who has been bringing burlesque and cabaret to New Haven stages for nearly two decades. She’s coordinating the new series along with Ash. Both were on hand to welcome everyone and create an evening full of laughs, love, and inclusion.
Host Frankie Cyanide got the festivities going by reviewing a couple of burlesque rules, which included no touching of the performers and no video or photos of them in their final stages of reveal. Afterwards, Cyanide joined Lipgloss Crisis for a delightful version of the Nat King Cole classic “L.O.V.E.,” which led into an introduction of the performers. From the get go they had the audience cheering and ready for anything and everything.
And there was a bit of everything included in this show. Each performer came to the stage twice, once in each of the two sets. Kendall Marie, who Cyanide called “a perfect sweet soul with the perfect twist of sass and seduction,” added acrobatics into her first number — including high kicks, splits, flips, and backbends. Later on, she would tap dance her way across the stage as the crowd cheered her on, full of spirit and, yes, that sass.
There was Vivienne LaFlamme, who Cyanide noted had been performing burlesque for 15 years.
“This act is hot,” added Cyanide.
Hot she was as she danced her way more slowly through Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” and then kicked it up a few notches to finish with The Stones’ “Paint It Black” while the crowd also kicked up their cheering a few notches as well. In her second act, she did a sort of reverse reveal, removing the outfit she came on stage with initially and putting on another very special and intricate one. (I won’t give away what that was in case you get to see it for yourself one day, as you should.)
Lovey Dovey gave the crowd two doses of sequins and feathers, adding an old-school dramatic flair that could have fit in well in any glamorous Hollywood motion picture from the 1940s, but with a rock and roll edge. Speaking of rock and roll, Mistress Leona Starr was a rock goddess snow queen, seducing the crowd in her sparkling whites to end the first set and then ending the second with both the figurative and literal icing and sprinkles on the cake.
While the entire evening was magical, there was one performer who brought actual sleight of hand to the stage. Magician Adam Parisi offered the crowd two sets of amazing feats as well as an awful lot of laughter. From balloon animals gone wrong to an ongoing story about Five Dollar Tony, a person from Parisi’s childhood who could “make” money, he kept the audience enraptured, amazed, and smiling and laughing near nonstop.
He and Cyanide both made mention of the inclusive and supportive nature of the evening and how Out at the Nine would be an ongoing event.
“Cafe Nine: We’re an open and accepting place,” Cyanide said to ever-escalating cheers before performing his own reveal in the second act that included lip-synching to a Scatman John song. Lipgloss Crisis returned to the stage as well in the second act to perform “I Wanna Be Loved By You” not only to the crowd, but to an audience member who was celebrating a birthday. The audience member sat on stage and was treated to not only an electric and enticing serenade but also a variety of gifts that she had stashed away secretly for them (I’ll also keep that part of the act a secret because you have to see it to believe it and appreciate it).
This might be a good place for this reporter to offer full disclosure: I participated in many a Lipgloss Crisis show, both burlesque and cabaret, for many years. Acting both as the stage kitten — a role (held on this evening by Pockets) which entails helping set up, break down, and cleaning up the stage between performances as well as other activities to help the night go smoothly — and then as a performer reciting poetry and even singing at one point. It was one of the first times I participated in an event in the New Haven arts scene and allowed me the privilege of seeing these types of events from all sides. The dedication, hard work, and talent that goes into them is unparalleled. Never in my life had I felt more a part of any group, supported fully by not only the other performers but the audience as well. I highly suggest attending one of these events if you have not. You will thank me for it.
The evening ended with a curtain call and everyone on stage posed for photos for the crowd. Lipgloss Crisis also brought Ash up on stage so the two could offer their gratitude and announce their next event being held there on Dec. 21, an Ugly Sweater Party that will include local vendors as well. So, though it was the end of the night, it was also just the beginning. You can check out the Cafe Nine website for more information about that and other future events, which are also going to include karaoke and even a prom.
But you may be asking yourself, will there be more burlesque shows? That, as in the burlesque acts themselves, has yet to be revealed.
