Burlesque Is a Power Trip

Sparkly Underwear and Ostrich Feathers Give Me More Creative Freedom Than I’ve Ever Had Before

The song is a hokey karaoke version of Frank Sinatra’s “Witchcraft.” It’s the week of Halloween, 2012, and I’m in a theater on New York’s Upper West Side. I’m wearing a short satin skirt, bright green tights, a corset beneath a fitted velvet jacket, and an enormous witch hat covered in green glitter. For the past month, I’ve been practicing the smoothest way to peel off a pair of long, black gloves as I imitate Ol’ Blue Eyes’ croon.

Lights come up over the theater’s stage, and I part black …