The femme fatale on stage is resplendent, with arresting makeup and a dazzling costume that's quite revealing. She dances, she lip-syncs and maybe even acts out the lyrics. Her appreciative audience claps and hollers.

Not exactly. This is burlesque. Sometimes called ?neo-burlesque? in deference to the fact it's a revival and not a wholly new movement, burlesque combines storytelling, comedy, dance and sex appeal in a style completely unlike what's usually considered ?adult entertainment.? It's naughty-nice, funny-sexy, highbrow-lowbrow.

And more often then not, it's queer. Not always gay, but almost never completely straight, burlesque performances inhabit a world of rather fluid sexuality. What's more, the shows are often emceed by drag queens.

Rose Wood, who hosts Starshine Burlesque at Rafifi in the East Village about once a month, says the combination of drag queen emcee and female performers works because they balance each other.

In-demand ?drag? personality Scotty the Blue Bunny is famous for his outrageous rabbit-inspired Lycra getups. As an emcee, he works the microphone as hard as he works his satiny bunny ears, fluffy tail and platform heels.

A veteran of the New York sideshow and burlesque scenes for more than 10 years, he frequently hosts Saturday night shows at the Slipper Room in the Lower East Side, among other venues.

Scotty also says that many performers are gay or bisexual. But unlike drag performance, burlesque doesn't necessarily require a public declaration of sexuality.

Rose Wood finds this heterogeneous quality appealing. As an emcee, she inhabits a few drag/TV characters, depending on the venue and evening's theme. She portrays a whole range of personas, both male and female, even a closeted gay nun. She appreciates the inherent variety in burlesque's performers and audiences, and believes the theatrical context allows ordinary people to be more receptive to differences.

Murray Hill, New York's foremost male persona burlesque host, says burlesque performances draw a remarkably diverse fanbase, yet satisfy all comers.

This is cache, read story here