Snickers bars and hard candy won't be the only thing to unwrap this Halloween. The Dustbowl Dolls Burlesque troupe is holding its Spookabilly Burlesque show at the Blue Note Saturday night.

Like the burlesque shows of old, the Dustbowl Dolls are striving for more than a flesh factory. They boast a steamy singer, "Blonde Dolly," and skits that range from silly to fetishistic, many with their own fair share of bloodshed.

"My ideal skit involves a lot of blood and someone getting hurt," said peformer "Tits Galore." "It changes from day to day who it is and how they get hurt."

Their 4-foot, 3 inch-tall emcee, "Lil' Mike Cook" comes dressed in a pinstriped suit. He's the only one of the troupe who has previous experience, having worked with other burlesque troupes in Tulsa. The other performers were all models for a local art/erotica Web site, toxicgoddess.com.

MORE THAN STRIPPING
With The Dustbowl Dolls, and other revivals of old-style burlesque, the show and the tease are the name of the game. The troupe said that over time, many such acts replaced big costumes, big hair and big personalities, with more direct salesmanship.

"They got rid of the tease and served you the please instead," said "Dreamboat Annie," one of the Dustbowl performers. "Burlesque evolved out of vaudeville, and vaudeville is all about the variety, therefore burlesque has a lot of variety in it so you have to do more than just strip." "Charles Martin