Her name is Amy Saunders, but you may know her as Miss Behave, the sword-swallowing, sarcastic comedian who’s produced some of the most racy and riveting shows to ever grace this city’s stages. If you’re already familiar with Saunders’ wonderful work (which you should be), then you’ll be delighted to know she’s back and better than ever in her show’s latest iteration, Miss Behave’s Mavericks.
Photo by: Angie Ortaliza Photography
Saunders kicked off her nightlife career busking in London’s West End in the ’90s and taught herself to swallow swords after reading about the unique specialty act, just to eventually become the world record holder for most swords swallowed simultaneously by a woman in 1999, swallowing five swords. She then broke her own record twice, swallowing six swords in 2001 and seven in 2004!
With world records under her belt, Saunders later created the Miss Behave character and began producing her own variety shows, each with its own unique twists and innovations but clearly influenced by the cabaret star’s point of view. Miss Behave’s tongue stays firmly planted in her cheek as she toes the line of raunchy, but not too raunchy. Bitey, but not too bitey. Chaotic, but not too chaotic. She breaks all the rules in just the right ways, and it’s thrilling to see unfold. Oh, and one last thing to know about Miss Behave: She keeps incredibly talented company that’s just as weird and wonderful as she is.
Las Vegas has seen the talents of Saunders and her crew a few times over the years with hits like The Miss Behave Gameshow at Horseshoe Las Vegas (which was Bally’s at the time) and Miss Behave’s Mavericks at Cheapshot, a quaint downtown bar that offered an incredibly intimate setting for shenanigans. Now she’s in the Plaza showroom, and if you’ve seen the Cheapshot version of Mavericks, you’ll likely see some familiar faces. But the performers in the Plaza version rotate, so there’s truly no telling who or what you’ll see. To give you an idea of what you might see, here’s a taste of the crew on opening night:
Photo by: Angie Ortaliza Photography
Burlesque babe Julie Atlas Muz performed a racy number with a severed hand and appeared as Officer Donut for a number that’s so funny, yet so sexy, it ought to be criminal. There’s always a certain level of “WTF?” that comes with a Saunders production, and the crowd got plenty with the oh-so-hilarious hula-hooping chicken dancer Tanya Gange.
Two contortionists accomplished some near-impossible feats of balance and flexibility, each act having its own flair. TJ Santiago pulled off a very sultry display of the male body by incorporating a bit of strip tease into his number, while Scarlett Business wowed the audience performing some steamy hand balancing in full drag.
Bringing plenty of weird to the production, ballet dancer Bella Schleiker stunned the audience with her hilariously uncomfortable swan dance. And it’s only fitting that this one-of-a-kind romp features the only water dump in town (think Flashdance), courtesy of the beautiful Alexandria Beauregard.
Plaza. mavericksdtlv.com
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