Exclusive pictures have drawn back the curtains and offered a sneak peak inside New York City’s premier burlesque club: Duane Park.
Lady Gaga, Paloma Faith and Janet Jackson have all graced the stage at the intimate venue while celebrities from Scarlett Johansson to Harvey Keitel have filled the audience.
Launched in 2008, Duane Park is ‘New York’s answer to the Moulin Rouge’ offering guests a gourmet four-course meal while a rotating cast of star dancers and singers perform each night.
The club was set up in its current home at 308 Bowery by Marisa Ferrarin with custom-made interiors designed by British artist Paul Etienne Lincoln.
Ferrarin told DailyMail.com: ‘You never know who is going to turn up, you never know who is going to get up on stage.’
Exclusive pictures have offered a sneak peak inside New York City’s premier burlesque club: Duane Park
Launched in 2008, Duane Park is ‘New York’s answer to the Moulin Rouge’ with a rotating cast of star dancers, singers and performers each night
The club started off as a restaurant in the Tribeca neighborhood of the city, but when it outgrew the space Ferrarin decided to move to Bowery in Lower Manhattan.
She said: ‘It’s really old school New York. The Bowery was famous for burlesque in the 1920s and 1930s, so we’re continuing that legacy.’
They started putting on shows once a week with off-duty dancer and singer friends getting up on stage to perform.
But soon ‘it went crazy’, Ferrarin said, ‘we were fully booked every night’.
They expanded the number of shows, drawing in top international performers from across the US and Europe.
Ferrarin said: ‘Our singers are all top-class singers. They have been in Broadway shows, one of them was in the Scissor Sisters.’
Every night there is a rolling cast of singers, dancers and variety performers ranging from aerial acrobats to magicians.
The club started off as a restaurant in the Tribeca neighborhood of the city, but when it outgrew the space, Ferrarin decided to move to Bowery in Lower Manhattan
Owner, Marisa Ferrarin, said: ‘It’s really old school New York. The Bowery was famous for burlesque in the 1920s and 1930s, so we’re continuing that legacy.’
After word spread, they started to draw in big stars for surprise performances.
One day, Lady Gaga came in with Jazz musician Brian Newman and gave an impromptu performance.
‘She was friends with Brian Newman, who was the first person to perform at Duane Park, Newman and his band were how it all began,’ Ferrarin said.
‘She came in one night and performed and it was so exciting for everyone.
‘She sang Someone to Watch Over Me. It was a surprise for the audience.’
Then came Paloma Faith, Ferrarin said: ‘She came in quite a lot and then one night she came in with her backing singer and performed.’
After word spread, they started to draw in big name performers for surprise performances
Every space in the club was custom designed and built by artist Paul Etienne Lincoln
Ferrarin keeps audiences to maximum 60 people a night to maintain the intimate feel of the performances.
She said: ‘We give everyone a unique experience from the beginning to the end, with the food, the hospitality, the performers.’
Guests have to adhere to a glamorous dress code, which strictly prohibits jeans and t-shirts. Ferrarin said: ‘No one is ever overdressed at Duane Park.’
Every space in the club was custom designed and built by artist Lincoln.
There is a special hydraulic stage for the dancers, a one-of-a-kind cage which dispenses Maltesers, and the wallpaper was designed by Lincoln and handmade in Italy.
Ferrarin said: ‘We always say, it’s a night you will remember, because no one else does it quite like we do it.’