Imagine the story of Cinderella told in a burlesque cabaret. The stage has been transposed to the more hedonistic, libertine times of Louis XIV, and the evil Step Mother is a 6-foot-5 drag queen who looks like the love child of Naomi Campbell and Grace Jones -- with a sexy six-pack.
If that's not enough to ignite your curiosity, the Company XIV's baroque retelling of the classic Charles Perrault fairy tale will change your deepest childhood memories, bringing back some dark eroticism to a plot we all know by heart: A young orphan abused by her stepfamily, who's transformed into starlet for one night only, and woos in the beautiful, single-and-looking Prince.
Conceived, choreographed, and directed by Austin McCormick, this new staging is Cinderella like you've never seen before, brilliantly merging burlesque performances and slapstick humor tricks used in vaudeville: The storytelling is mainly done through blackboard cue cards, held by high-heeled, thong-clad dancers of both sexes, all gorgeous.
Here, one of Cinderella's mean half-sisters turns out to be a dazzling pole dancer who belts out operatic arias without flinching; and the Prince is a handsome redhead, all-ass out in his red heels, who's introduced to us in his bathtub, singing a song in Russian. 
There's also smart references to pop culture, with the Fairy godmother (the stunning, velvet-voiced Katrina Cunningham) who enters the stage singing Lana del Rey's "Born To Die," and the two step-sisters get the party going with their version of Lorde's "Royals." As in some of the better Disney movies, there's a thousand ideas going on everywhere you look, from the body-centric costuming to the beautiful stage design, both conceived by Zane Pihlstrom.
If you're in for some eye candy (the show is 16+ only) you'll get satisfaction all the way through, even during the intermissions, when the cast members interact with the audience via short vaudeville numbers, and encourage you to share your pictures of the show using #companyxiv. But there's also some must-watch talent, in particular Cinderella's terrific (and terrifying) Step Mother, played by Davon Rainey, who gives the best Broadway queens a run for their money.
Cinderella runs through Nov. 15 at Minetta Lane Theatre, New York, NY. For latest updates and show times, visit CompanyXIV.com.
