Peepshow serves up some hot Coco
Nicole “Coco” Austin
The Strip definitely just got a little sexier this month as reality TV star and longtime model Nicole “Coco” Austin takes on the starring role as Bo Peep in Planet Hollywood Resort’s adults-only revue Peepshow. Coco fills the role for the next few months and says, “It’s a chance for everyone to come see me in the flesh.” Las Vegas Magazine’s Kiko Miyasato caught up with Coco in her dressing room, and learned more about the woman getting ready to conquer Vegas.
Q: What was your first reaction when you were asked to star in a Las Vegas show?
A: My first reaction was did they mean me Coco, or a different Coco? You’re so caught off guard that you’re like, “What, really?” Also, my No. 1 thing was, “For how long?”
Q: What was the reaction of your husband, Ice T?
A: He was like, “You’ve got to go for it.” He’s like, “If I had a chance to do a Vegas show, I would be there in a heartbeat.”
Q: What did you think about the risqué content?
A: That didn’t bug me whatsoever. I mean, I’m pretty risqué on the Internet and connecting with my fans. It’s the world I come from, you know? The Playboy world back in the day. … So I’ve already gotten past that shyness. The biggest decision about me being in the show wasn’t that; it was more about me leaving New York. I could figure out the dancing, the acting and the stripping off the clothes later; the first thing was “How am I going to make this work with my real life?”
Q: What are you bringing to the role of Bo Peep?
A: First of all, I’m bringing the best Bo Peep ever! That was my inkling from the jump. If I was going to do this show, first I’ve got to have dance involved. I saw the show a couple of years ago and I remember that Bo Peep didn’t dance and I wanted to figure how I could dance in the show, because I didn’t want to be a part of a Vegas show and just walk around onstage. I wanted to really bring it and reinvent Peepshow.
Q: Is there a favorite number that you perform?
A: It has to be “Burlesque.” When the song comes on, that’s basically when my shyness leaves me and I become the woman I am. That’s when I can just bust my moves out. So, watch for that part. During the show I don’t just come busting out all naked; it takes some time … but when “Burlesque” comes on, man, that’s when it all happens!
Q: So you do get topless?
A: Yes! I’m almost naked! There’s just this little thong on. By the end of the show, I have fun with it. You definitely see Coco at the end of the show. But that’s what the acting ability is about. I have to act shy and I don’t have a man, trying to find my true love, and that’s the whole story about me trying to find myself and becoming comfortable with myself. It’s taking a character and making it your own, and I become Bo Peep. I want you to watch the show and go “that’s Coco really playing a character.” It’s not me playing myself onstage. If it was me, I’d be coming out immediately, like “Ba-bam!” in a thong the whole two hours!
