‘Welcome To The Stage, Baby’: Cult Classic Film ‘Showgirls’ Gets Hilarious New Parody In Sin City

If you love the iconic 1995 film “Showgirls” and a good parody with nothing but laughs, a new show that recently debuted in Las Vegas is calling your name.

As “Showgirls” marks three decades since its debut, and pop culture once again turns its gaze toward fame, femininity, and excess, Majestic Repertory Theatre is stepping into the spotlight with the world premiere of “Showgirls: An Unauthorized Musical Parody.” 

The brand-new production reimagines the cult classic through an irreverent musical lens. The show boasts an entirely original score by James Edwards (Second City, Potted Potter), with book and lyrics by Troy Heard (SCREAM’D), who also directs the production. 

Tony Heard and his wife Kady Heard, who stars in the production, had time to chat with The Blast about the new show and what people can expect. 

Think back to 1995 and the first time you viewed “Showgirls.” Take that nostalgic feeling and add 30 years and tons of laughs and you get “Showgirls: An Unauthorized Musical Parody” and a memorable night out in Sin City. 

The movie follows the character of Nomi Malone and her rise through the Las Vegas showgirl hierarchy -- from hitching a ride to Vegas to pursue her dreams of becoming a showgirl to getting her dream job in the show “Goddess.” 

While chatting with Troy about the iconic film, he shared some of the backstory.

“Well, it itself has an interesting story because it was written and directed by two European filmmakers. Of course, they had some Hollywood success, but their roots were very European,” he told The Blast exclusively. “And it was their stab at making a traditional American musical and how wildly off course they veered.” 

Troy said the film quickly became the biggest NC17 rated film.

“It was gratuitous. Elizabeth Berkley’s acting was off the charts, just completely wild. But looking at it today, it’s kind of innocent and sweet at the same time with all its gratuitousness,” Troy shared. “So I wanted to dive into it and see what we could mine, what is relevant about today? And it’s the traditional story of someone coming to the town, following their dreams. And isn’t that the American myth?”

For anyone in Vegas thinking of going to the new musical, here’s what you can expect. 

“Anything everyone would love has become a musical number and it’s all original music. It’s an original score by my friend James Edwards. He was part of ‘Potted Potter’ and the music director for Second City,” Troy said. “You have some parodies and people are like oh we can just throw it together and it could be whatever, just make fun of it, no one cares. Our music has to be really good, the choreography has to be really good.”

Throughout the 85-minute production, the laughs won’t stop. You’ll get the feel of the original film with a whole different, humorous vibe attached to it. The cast of nine, each playing multiple roles, brings the film to life in a very Vegas-related way. And whether you’re a fan of the film or seeing this for the first time as the musical parody, it was created for all. 

“That’s the thing about parodies, we put deep cuts in for people who have seen the movie a hundred times, but at the same time, we also have to tell a story for the husbands who get dragged in who’ve never seen it,” Troy explained. “Because if you don’t work on different levels, you’re gonna lose an audience, and we want to try to appeal to as big an audience as we possibly can.” 

And if you’re a local or someone who visits Vegas often and knows the area well, you may pick up on the Easter eggs throughout the show.

”There's Easter eggs all throughout, for the locals,” Troy said. “We referenced the Italian American Club. We referenced Summerlin. There's a bit of choreography in the show that references the Crazy Girl statue, if you remember that.” 

Kady, who plays the coveted role of Cristal in the musical, relocated to Vegas many years ago to perform in the iconic show, “Jubilee.” 

“From ‘Jubilee,’ I just stayed out here because it was a really easy place to freelance,” she told The Blast. “People still want showgirls for conventions, or to do opening numbers for big parties and stuff like that so that’s pretty  much what I do, and added burlesque in there too when I left ‘Jubilee.’”

As for her role as Cristal in this parody, she said, “And, you know, she's the lead of her show, which, you know, in the movie is ‘Goddess,’ but in our version, it's called ‘B-tches.’ And she's been there forever. She is jaded. She is tired. She is, she's b-tchy.”

As for Troy’s background, he’s been in Vegas for the last 17 years and a director for the past 35 years. 

“I do a lot of freelance as well as have a company of my own called Majestic Repertory Theater, which we work out of a small storefront on Main Street in the Arts District, and we’ve been around for 10 years,” he told The Blast. “A few years ago, we started doing these musical parodies. We did one of ‘The Craft’ and we did ‘Scream’ which became a huge viral hit and I realized that there’s an audience hungry for that.” 

As for ‘Showgirls,’ since it celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, and being in Las Vegas, there’s a lot of nostalgia and good memories surrounding it, making it a great time to parody it. 

“The Pamela Anderson movie came out, and Taylor Swift’s last album is showgirl themed, so we’re just seeing kind of a resurgence of the showgirl trope that is kind of on a large scale gone from the city,” Troy said. “So this is our way of honoring it and making fun of it and just having a good time.” 

The Blast had the opportunity to see the new musical on Wednesday night.

A packed house, celebration with custom made cupcakes, and excitement all around set the scene. The theater is small, so it puts every audience member up close and personal with the performers. At times, the performers even interacted with the audience in hilarious ways.

If you've seen the film "Showgirls" before, you'll definitely pick up on all the jokes. If you haven't seen the film (gasp), you'll still enjoy the humor. Vegas locals will also pick up on some fun Vegas-themed Easter eggs. There's no way you're getting out of that theater without a smile on your face because the comedy just keeps on coming.

So put on your best "Versayce" and head on over to Majestic Repertory Theatre's website for show schedule, more information, and tickets. Want a little sneak peak of the show? Check this out.