PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Rick Delaup
Producer
Dollie Rivas
 Choreogapher
Patricia Gorman
Costumer

Matt Bell
Bandleader

 Wild Cherry
Consultant
Rick Delaup, a New Orleans native, is the producer and creator of Bustout Burlesque. Delaup has been researching the history of New Orleans burlesque for nearly 15 years. He has interviewed dozens of former dancers, comics, and musicians, and has spoken on the subject at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, The Tennessee Williams Festival, Tease-O-Rama, and other events. Delaup, who is also an established filmmaker, created Bustout Burlesque in 2005.
Dollie Rivas, a native of Crowley, Louisiana, is the choreographer of Bustout Burlesque. Formerly, she was a Las Vegas showgirl who opened the long-running Jubilee! at the MGM Grand. Rivas also performed in Wayland Flowers's Madam Goes To Harlem at the Sahara Hotel, which featured the famous Nicholas Brothers. She was also a JET Magazine centerfold. Outside of Bustout Burlesque, Rivas works as a dance educator and movement instructor at the grade school and college levels.
Patricia Gorman is an accomplished costume designer and seamstress. A former go-go dancer with the Sophisticats, she is in her element when making costumes for striptease artists. She specalizes in outfitting dancers, performers, and musicians, has a boutique clothing line and makes bespoke pieces for individuals and film/television productions. She works out of her home studio in the funky Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans.
Following an ever-growing thirst for music, deep rooted and real, Matt Bell has found his place in New Orleans. A musician for 17 years, he harbors a fondness for collaborating with artists of different disciplines. Bell has participated musically in groups ranging from tribal belly dance to circus, to theater and cabaret. It is no surprise to find Matt now filling the musical chair of bandleader, guitarist, and arranger of the Bustout Burlesque jazz band.
Wild Cherry was raised in a circus family, and began dancing in the girlie shows in the carnival circuit. In the late 1950s, Cherry worked as an exotic dancer in the nightclubs on Bourbon Street. She specialized in "oriental" and Afro-Cuban dancing during her striptease performances. Wild Cherry danced until her mid-forties. She currently can be seen performing her comedic routine and autographing her old publicity photos at the Bustout Burlesque show.


Bustout Burlesque premiered on March 13, 2005 at One Eyed Jacks in the French Quarter. It ran weekly for 3 months. Local and international celebrities were among the throngs of attendees. The show was also a critical success. Three former burlesque dancers, Evangeline the Oyster Girl, Tajmah, and Wild Cherry were on hand to sign autographs at the show and provide guidance to the dancers. In September of 2005, Bustout Burlesque was scheduled to move into its new home at The Parish at the House of Blues with new dancers and a new band. Hurricane Katrina had other plans, and in August of 2005 all of the costumes and props were destroyed along with the home of the show's producer, Rick Delaup. Cast and crew, many of whom also suffered much damage, were spread out across the country. In October of 2005, Delaup returned to New Orleans and made plans to rebuild the show from scratch. After regrouping with remaining cast and crew, Delaup opened the new edition of Bustout Burlesque at Tipitina's French Quarter with a new costumer, new emcee, new dancers, and a new band. The show opened March 4, 2006, and performed two shows every Saturday night. Again, the show was a critical success. Amazingly, the show kept afloat for 10 months post-Katrina when many French Quarter businesses were closed or in the process of closing. Unexpectedly, attendance peaked with the hurricane season in the summer of 2006. After a two-weekend Christmas edition, Bustout Burlesque closed at Tipitina's on December 16, 2006. In March 2007, Bustout Burlesque moved to the main stage at House of Blues. On June 16, 2007, Bustout Burlesque sold-out the House of Blues with 900 people in attendance. Bustout Burlesque has headlined the House of Blues ten times.

Bustout Burlesque would like to thank:
Max Bernardi, Jonathan Bertucelli (Studio 3), Jim Bowman, David Cuthbert, Will Coviello, Debbie Davis, Dr. Maria Delaup, Bill DeTurk, Davey Diederich, Brad Edelman, House of Blues New Orleans, Kim Hunter, Anais St. John, Ingrid Lucia, Carlton Mickle, Judi and Frank Newman, Sandy Quinn, Johnny Rock, Sonny Schneidau, Patrick Shannon, Ken Shields, Zack Smith, Jeff Snopel, Tajmah, Charlie Varley, Tim Watson, Chris Wecklein, Kitty West, Wild Cherry, Diane Yeager, and the entire cast and crew of show.