In this latest Geek Girl Burlesque show, Captain Kirk offers a correction to his (erm, her) famous opening lines—space being the final frontier “where no man will go… ever.” It turns out that indeed there are no men in this version of the Trekiverse, since Khan has once again stolen the Genesis Device and repurposed it to turn everyone into women. Somehow Kirk and Spock come to the conclusion that the only way to reverse the Device’s effects is to travel “back to the future” and get the help of the crew of the Next Generation, only to find that Picard has been assimilated into the Borg. The show’s proven formula makes plenty of room for some great stripteases and nerdy references that diehards will enjoy while still hanging onto its paper-thin plot. It’s fun to hear one-liners like “Set phasers to Stunning!” as well as see deeper cuts into the TV show’s mythology such as when a redshirted security officer refuses to follow orders because she knows she’ll die (her misguided solution, of course, is to take the shirt off). A fun interactive twist is that the dilithium crystals that power the Enterprise’s warp drive strikingly resemble twentieth-century American paper money. So if you want the show to move forward (and see more pastied boobies), bring plenty of cash and… engage. (Neal Ryan Shaw)
Geek Girl Burlesque at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 North Milwaukee, (773)598-4549. Through October 28.
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