With each draw of the curtain, we saw a series of visually decadent and tonally unique burlesque acts.I should admit that I’m not the biggest fan of “Star Wars,” nor am I that familiar with burlesque. But when I agreed to cover this show, I thought that perhaps this was just the intro that I needed to the “Star Wars” canon — which is how I ended up front and center at one of the most memorable and impressive live performances I’ve ever seen.
Production of The Empire Strips Back at the Great Star Theater in San Francisco, Calif. on July 14, 2022.To start off, emcee Eric Newton, an Oakland comedian with glittery, onyx-black nails and pastel-blue cape, introduced each dance with energy, candor and razor-sharp wit.
The “Empire Strips Back” has plenty of laughs, but it isn’t afraid to embrace its dancers’ raw talent either, which shines in some of the moodier routines. I nearly fainted when performer Cecilia Qu’in portrayed a Jedi with acrobatic precision to “Angel” by Massive Attack — a certified ’90s banger that’s just as bewitching as the performers bringing it to life.
Camp aside, performing in masks, heavy costumes and full-fledged Chewbacca outfits is difficult for even the most classically trained dancer.Jin Kim, who played Han Solo, left his support role at Facebook to pursue dancing as a career. “I just hit a point where I was like, you know, this isn't what I love to do,” he says from his apartment in an interview via Zoom.
, he says his partner, Isa Musni — who played Princess Leia in the number with R2-D2 — pushed him to apply for a part in “The Empire Strips Back.”