Cover your menfolk’s eyes and your childrens’ ears - it’s time once again for the Gold Fever Follies to show off their saucy sides in the annual “Naughty Knickers Night” (formerly the “Saucy Sunday Show”). This year’s blush-enducing escapade takes place on Sunday, August 14th; with back-to-back sell-outs, advanced tickets are highly recommended.
This one-off evening takes the seasonal Follies show to a new level, adding a cabaret-style talent show, as well as a humorous spoof of this year’s regular performance, “The Race, the Voice and the Gentlewomen”. Cast member Kate Eldridge promises “a night full of talent, humour, and very little clothing.”
In previous years, the show has been wildly entertaining and hugely popular with locals, but it also gives the Follies’ cast a chance to focus on something new and exciting during their 83-performance season. “It keeps [the cast] working as a team,” Eldridge comments, “It also gives the community a glimpse of what we can do beyond the musical, be it singing, dancing or playing the guitar. We also have some high-school students in the cast, and they are getting a chance to show off some hidden talents.”
Whereas the regular show is created by Follies directors and producers, the Naughty Knickers Night cabaret is assembled, choreographed and directed completely by the cast. “It is significantly more avante garde than the show we do every day,” Eldridge notes, “There are group numbers and solo acts from each cast member, as well as pieces from modern musicals.” Everyone in the cast is a graduate of musical theatre colleges, so there is no shortage of talent and star power. The second half of the show is a spoof of the regular show, with much self-deprecation, as well as surprising and uproarious twists.
For musical fans looking for something tamer, “The Race, the Voice and the Gentlewomen” continues to play twice daily Tuesday through Saturday. The show has several intertwining plots, including a barmaid trying to woo a heartbroken piano player, a German obsessed with building railroads, and two women trying to prove themselves in a man’s world. As one would expect from Gold Fever Follies, there are dance numbers, original songs, more than a sprinkling of Rossland history, and no shortage of laughs.
Showtimes for the regular show are 3:00 and 7:30, with tickets available at the door, or as part of the Golden Ticket which includes a Museum Tour and a meal at the Flying Steamshovel. “Naughty Knickers Night” advance tickets are available for $10 at Pro Hardware or the Miners’ Hall (show venue), and at the door for $12, but if past shows are any indication you’d better get your hands on tickets early.