Surprisingly, the best part about Shadowbox Live's new show, "Burlesque de Voyage," is not the scenes in which beautiful women dance in their lacy black underwear. The real panty-dropper is the delivery of the show's awesomely written, gratuitous sex puns.
The first half of the show slowly introduces the storyline: A traveling burlesque troupe in a postmodern steampunk setting works its way through the trials, tribulations and titillations of the art form.
The second act, though, is when things get really hot. It is a show within a show -- the troupe has reached its destination and we get to watch. Led by Busty Slingshot (Julie Klein), the members of the team perform a roundup of short comedy skits and burlesque dances, where the art of the tease is in full and well-edited effect.
It's an exhibition of what makes Shadowbox so great. The band is seamless, especially during Katy Psenicka's darling performance of "If I Can't Sell It." JT Walker III's voice during "Sweet Dreams" will give you goose bumps. And the comedic chemistry between Jimmy Mak and David Whitehouse is deserving of its own show; humor is Shadowbox's sweet spot.
The end of the voyage -- where we're back to witnessing the inner workings of the burlesque troupe (with an awesome finale to a Mutemath song) -- is a little awkward, but it doesn't matter. You'll be glad you came.