Sunday, May 30, 2004
Rasputin
Our good friend Linda is here from Boston this weekend. She had one request:
to visit a restaurant with a Prix Fixe menu, or close. Well, Kate came up
with a Russian restaurant called Rasputin, located in Brighton Beach (@ Coney
Island Avenue and Avenue X). It featured much vodka, excellent food and an
amazing floor show that you had to be see to believe. It's somewhere between
a Broadway show and a Vegas review. Beforehand, a band played (the songs were
sung mainly in Russian) and there was much dancing (above). Since most of
the announcements were made in Russian, I really had no idea what was going
on.
Here, assumedly, is a prize winner of some sort. She seemed happy, and we
felt happy for her. Soon after this, it was time for the show:
The show consisted of a series of tributes. The pattern went something like this: a video montage appeared onscreen, then the dancing girls would strut their stuff. Pictured above is the Marilyn Monroe tribute.
I managed to get moving footage (no cracks about the barely still photos please) of the Marilyn segment before I was (nicely) asked to stop. Watch if you dare!
The other artists to whom tribute was paid included:
The Beatles (a wonderful Brazilian rendition of "Can't Buy Me Love" with the "Hey Jude "na na na's" thrown in for good measure.
The Bee Gees: an over-the-top disco medley including huge wigs and day-glo outfits.
Madonna: "Express Yourself/Vogue" medley.
Queen: a ridiculously over-the-top version of "The Show Must Go On."
Overall, an excellent show.
- posted by gene @ 9:38 AM