Metro Weekly

Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club

The loopy, lunatic Elvis' Birthday Fight Club features costumed characters duking it out through "seven rounds of flimflam fisticuffs."

Elivis' Birthday Fight Club: Kittie Glitter and Elvis -- Photo: StereoVision
Elivis’ Birthday Fight Club: Kittie Glitter and Elvis — Photo: StereoVision

Elvis Presley would have turned 88 this month. Maybe that’s not something you’ve ever really celebrated, and maybe you can’t imagine that you ever will. If you were to get a wild hair, though, you’d be hard-pressed to find a wilder and wackier, not to mention more absurd, tribute than the one produced by Astro Pop Events.

Every year, Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club features costumed characters duking it out through “seven rounds of flimflam fisticuffs…and in between, bouts of burlesque performances offer a sexy reprieve from the cartoon-esque violence.” The proceedings are overseen by a Presley impersonator and his sardonic sidekick and femcee Kitty Glitter, providing “a little more conversation” in the form of color commentary as show hosts.

What did boxing and fighting have to do with the original King of Rock & Roll, you may wonder? Ultimately, very little, and nothing of consequence. The whole concept came into being after a venue booked Astro Pop producers for a new event of their own devising one year on January 8.

Elivis' Birthday Fight Club: Putin v. Donkey Kong
Elivis’ Birthday Fight Club: Putin v. Donkey Kong — Photo: StereoVision

Presley became the overarching theme once they learned that that date was his birthday. From there, they concocted an elaborate ruse out of whole cloth, creating a legend that Elvis’s dying wish was for a commemorative nightclub — except that his caregivers got it all shook up, thinking he said “fight club.”

And thus it came to pass that Presley’s legacy lives on here as an “action-packed, punch-drunk, below-the-belt, hilarious night of lowbrow theater” — presented annually, although not necessarily on his actual birthdate.

The first decade of events is cataloged in a 240-page collection with photos of every fighter and burlesque performer to take the stage, plus additional insight into how the absurdist event’s origin story as shared through excerpts of show scripts and quotes from cast members.

As in previous years, details about this year’s presentation, including who or what might be on the roster of performers and characters, are a closely guarded secret. Over the years, Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club has featured matchups that are even a hoot on paper: Princess Leia vs. Xena Warrior Princess, My Little Pony vs. Leatherface, Freddie Mercury vs. The Queen of England, and Dr. Frankenfurter vs. Dr. Phil.

Friday, Jan. 13, and Saturday, Jan. 14, at 7 and 10 p.m. GALA Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW.

Also Friday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. at Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. Tickets are $30 to $42. Visit www.astropopevents.com.

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