Gazillions of Guffaws

Lewd late-night lounge offers wicked fun

By Mary Damiano

The Gazillionaire both offends and delights audiences in his raunchy lounge act.

The Gazillionaire’s Late Nite Lounge might be the only place in town where a straight man can get a lap dance from a bearded trombonist in a gold thong and have it not be the strangest part of the show.

Welcome to the world of the Gazillionaire, the sleazy, lizardy, leering star of the cabaret show at Spiegelworld in Miami Beach, and make no mistake about it: The moment you walk through the door, you are entering his world, which is like something you might see in a surreal, airport Holiday Inn, or on a bizarre game show from an alternate universe. It’s a worthy complement to Spiegelworld’s main show, Absinthe, the naughty circus that’s been playing to sold-out crowds for weeks.

The Gazillionaire (the alter ego of comic Voki Kalfayan) dresses in black high-water pants, a white ruffled shirt, white jacket with gold lapels and gold shoes, sporting a black shellacked comb-over and showing off a gold tooth in the center of his lascivious buck-toothed grin. He also flaunts a ridiculously large bulge beneath his cummerbund, from which he extracts a deck of playing cards and a wad of cash during the course of the show.

His sidekick, Penny (singer Anais Thomassian), spends most of the show dressed in a child’s party dress that looks just a tad big on her, as if it were a hand-me-down from an older sister. Her outfit includes white tights, gold ballet slippers and a gold headband adorned with an enormous gold rose. She looks fragile, like a china doll, which makes it all the more delicious when you discover that her little girl voice comes from such a potty mouth.

There are several performers, including the Gazillionettes — three scantily clad dance-hall girls with attitude — and Frank, a milquetoast type who does an interpretive dance to Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” all backed by the band Fish Circus. One act cannot be adequately described in print — trust me, you wouldn’t believe it anyway. Let’s just say it involves a woman’s naked torso and gives new meaning to the phrase “read my lips.” The Gazillionaire’s Late Nite Lounge switches gears at the end, with Penny taking center stage and unleashing her inner vixen.

The audience is a big part of the show, because the Gazillionaire demands its participation, goading them, dragging them into the spotlight. In fact, as unique as the show is, much of it depends on the amount of fun the audience is willing to have, and how far it is willing to go. This is not for the prudish or faint of heart, so if you go, prepare to be heckled, asked to display your genitals and have a rollicking good time. Who knows? There might even be a lap dance in it for you.

The Gazillionaire’s Late Nite Lounge runs through Feb. 17 at the Spiegeltent in Collins Park, at 21st Street and Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. Showtimes are at 10 p.m. on Thursdays and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are $20-$25. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.spiegelworld.com.

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