A legendary vaudeville and burlesque theatre in Mexico City is slated to be torn down by developers, so a troupe of dancers, novelty performers and operators promiscuously mobilize to save their beloved theatre from demolition. That’s the subject of this cool documentary which will be screening Saturday September 28 at the Velaslavasay Panorama in Los Angeles.
Loosely based on the true story of the last days of the Tívoli, an infamous variety theatre which had its heyday in the 1940s and early 1950s in Mexico City, the film, as its opening text claims, rather than give an historical account, aspires to evocate, in a nostalgic and humorous way, the atmosphere of the lively nightlife of that period, “which has disappeared forever.” Interweaved with burlesque performances with colorful costumes and sets, seductive stripteases and comedic variety acts, the film’s main plot tells how a plan to tear down the theater by politicians, city officials, and property developers is met with resistance by the entertainers
TIVOLI is the second of three curated Mexico-themed motion pictures to mark a fun summer’s-end series as the Velasvalasay Panorama in Pico Union, just north of the campus of USC.
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VAUDEVILLIAN PERFORMANCE PRECEDES EACH SCREENING
September 28th: Naomi & Alison ! (The Perfect Women)
Two sin-tillating dancers will introduce a mood of risqué fun on the stage before the legendary Tívoli is projected on our screen in the final installment of this edition of Film-In-Residence.
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It’s the Panorama’s Films-In-Residence: Mexico City, Saturday-afternoon series accompanied by exhibits and/or performances that highlight important themes of the films and link everyday life in Mexico City to the lives of North Americans. Those areas of convergence, say curators Sara Velas and Ruby Carlson, include fading public transit, demolition of cultural icons, previously esteemed entertainments and street vending. There’s several “short subjects” accompanying the feature film, fascinating footage of streetcar life disappeared in both Mexico City and Los Angeles. Here is a slide show we made about the first movie in the series that too few people spent time looking at. So, look now!
The remaining film in the series is Lola, by María Novaro.
TIVOLI | Velaslavasay Panorama | A film by Alberto Isaac | Saturday Sept 28 4:00 pm, stageshow 3:45 pm