Naked Girls Reading (Erotica!): A New Genre Comes to DC’s Performance Art Scene

If you’re looking for performance art with an erotic twist (and sometimes an Oliver Twist), then look up your friendly neighborhood burlesque dancers and their new D.C. chapter of “Naked Girls Reading.”

Burlesque enthusiasts moaning about Red Palace and H Street Playhouse closing need only stroll further up the Northeast H Street Corridor to Little Miss Whiskey's Golden Dollar, where the show has moved from its original reading room at the District of Columbia Arts Center in Adams Morgan.

The show is like an adult bedtime story, true to its tagline: “You can’t spell ‘literature’ without ‘T & A’.” A woman walks on a stage with nothing but a book in her hand and heels on her feet, sits in a chair, and reads to you – which is enough to either titillate a date into a hookup or weed out a stiff.

With monthly readings of ghost stories and fairy tales in an intimate and interactive setting, “Naked Girls Reading” de-claws eroticism without pretentiousness and presents sexuality sans seediness.

This month's theme is Erotica, with a heavy dose of sexual empowerment, set in Little Miss Whiskey’s lush lounge with a private bartender.  Performers include D.C. starlets Cherokee Rose, Gigi Holliday, and Cherie Sweetbottom; Roma Mafia of Baltimore; and Lucy Flawless, Chicago’s “porcelain provocateur.” From dominance/submissive tales that turn the tables on rigid gender roles to simple stories of seduction, the Erotica show would be perfect for people who want some sex with their stage reading… and lesbian bachelorette parties.

The performances started in Chicago in 2009 with a Chi-town burlesque starlet and her musician husband. Since then, it has popped up in 18 cities across the United States, Canada, and recently across the Atlantic.

Chicago-native Cherokee Rose sorely missed the Windy City’s naked performance art scene after she moved to the District two years ago. So she brought Naked Girls Reading to D.C. in October to shake up the buttoned-down District.

“People truly adore being read to, but most haven't been able to enjoy it since they were children. They often don’t realize how much they miss being read to until they come to our show,” Rose said.

Naked Girls Reading Erotica is on Friday, Jan. 18. Doors open at 7 p.m.; the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 presale and $25 at the door. Sorry, kids – this show is adults only (21+).