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'Star Wars' Burlesque Show Hits The Rio Theatre (PHOTOS)

LOOK: 'Star Wars', Burlesque-Style
Geekenders

Fancy watching as Obi-Wan Kenobi uses The Force for good (or maybe bad) to divest a group of cantina dancers of their clothes?

Well get on over to "Star Wars: A Nude Hope," a burlesque take on the sci-fi classic playing Vancouver's Rio Theatre on Friday and Saturday.

The production is being staged by the Geekenders, a theatrical troupe that puts on monthly "nerdlesque" shows with a bawdy spin on popular movies.

"A Nude Hope" director Fairlith Harvey was watching Han Solo shoot Greedo's clothes off in a dance routine when reached by The Huffington Post B.C. on Wednesday.

Asked why she would stage a burlesque take on "Star Wars," her answer was simple: "Why WOULDN'T someone stage a 'Star Wars' burlesque show?"

The burlesque backdrop is perfect for a feminine spin on a heavily-gendered genre, Harvey said.

"Burlesque is really something for the geek girls, whereas a lot of geek activity is masculinely charged. [This] is something the women can appreciate and enjoy."

Check out images of this and previous Geekenders shows. The story continues after the slideshow:

Star Wars, Burlesque Style At The Rio Theatre

Darth Vader is portrayed as a young woman wearing black vinyl and thigh-high, platform stiletto boots, with stormtroopers dancing backup to "Killer Queen."

"It's probably the most sexually charged number in the show," Harvey said. "We just made Darth Vader this Jessica Rabbit dominatrix, black vinyl-clad bundle of hormones and it's worked so far for everybody."

Other numbers feature a roller derby R2D2, a star destroyer puppet and a dancing, lusty garbage compactor monster.

The show comes just a month after the Geekenders' "Chaos Theory," their riff on "Jurassic Park", where theme park mogul John Hammond opens a facility full of showgirl dinosaurs.

Cue one dancer hatching out of an egg and performing a burletta to "Walk the Dinosaur," and two Godzillas lay waste to a construction paper city.

Both "Star Wars" shows are sold out this weekend but the Rio will have 50 tickets available at the door each night for $25 each. Doors are at 7 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m.

And there's more. Depending on the audience reaction, the Geekenders may be persuaded to stage a sequel: "The Empire Strips Back."

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