SARASOTA, FL – A burlesque show scheduled for Sunday night at McCurdy’s Comedy Theater and Humor Institute Sunday night celebrates the beauty of spring.

Presented by Hard Heart Burlesque, the “Spring Fever” show brings burlesque, vaudeville, circus and other acts from all over Florida to Sarasota, as well as international performer Jezebel Express from New York.

The show also falls on Mother’s Day, which makes it a great way to honor mothers, said Marina Elaine, one of the show’s co-producers.

“I’m thrilled because most of our audience members are often women, so I thought Mother’s Day was a real opportunity for more women to come,” she told Patch. “It’s very empowering and we show all types of women, not just what you see in magazines.”

Her co-producer, Karma Kandlewick, added, “Mums like to have fun and do different things. It’s not just brunch all the time.”

The two women, who are based in Sarasota, have performed burlesque for years, traveling across the state to showcase the art form. Elaine has even traveled outside of Florida, visiting places like Georgia, New York, and Boston.

They recently started producing their own showcases, holding their first on Valentine’s Day – a sold-out show.

Kandlewick expects the Mother’s Day event to also sell out and suggests people buy tickets in advance, if possible.

She and Elaine decided to start producing shows together as the local arts scene recovered from COVID-19. The burlesque scene was dormant during the pandemic, she said. “COVID shut it down. As all these other performance arts came back, we decided to bring burlesque back to Sarasota.”

With so many events canceled due to the pandemic and people being forced to social distance, Elaine said many of those she knows are eager to see burlesque return.

“I’ve had so many people throughout COVID saying, ‘I can’t wait for a show,'” she said. “It’s exciting to see more venues opening up and ready to give burlesque a shot.”

Burlesque has ties to vaudeville, sideshows and sideshows, which means it “fits very well into the history” of Sarasota County, Kandlewick said.

Elaine added, “Sarasota being a city based on circus and art, it’s been a shame not to see burlesque since COVID. Vaudeville and burlesque go hand in hand. It’s really special. It keeps that tradition alive and makes Sarasota the art and the city of the circus.”

Tickets for Sunday’s show, which is open to ages 18 and older, are $37 and can be purchased online here.