Life’s a drag for Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

The all-male drag dance troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo flew into The Auditorium Theatre on February 11, 2023, for one night only to appease their ravenous fans. It had been a long time coming for the companies' return after 25 years since their last appearance at this same historic venue in Chicago.

The Trocks, for those that aren't familiar, are a traveling band of brothers that play sisters onstage while parodying classical works of ballet.

Before the night kicked off with high extensions, a lengthy introduction over the sound system announced a few program changes. Swan Lake was on the chopping block and Le Lac Des Cygnes was about to lose its head.

The arc of each reenactment starts with some fancy footwork, picks a few poses and then things slowly unravel into bawdy physical comedy from the dancers. While listening to Tchaikovsky, viewers could witness the hilarious expressions and over-the-top reactions from the performers throughout this ensemble's continuous capers while wearing tutus.

This kind of slapstick humor would be difficult for any performer to sustain for a two-hour running time even while being divided into two 15-minute intermissions. These happy hoofers had the time to soar but instead, crashed because their duck tales were not fully explored and fleshed out.

The audience was forced to invent a backstory in their heads since there was no dialogue or proper plot for them to follow. Many questions go unanswered such as “who is the biggest diva in the Lake” and “why is this chick molting so much?”

Onlookers don't know who to root for when they see the bird of prey attacking a dancer because they don't know the reason why. It seems to be every diva for themselves in this competition for attention. The only things missing were their marbles to roll the steps like in Showgirls!

Even though these birds act more like cats, there was plenty to admire within this fragmented French fairy tale. To truly make a strong parody the source material needs to be well executed before it can be dissected and sabotaged. The talented Trocks make that part look easy and hometown hero Duane Gosa was clearly a standout during several mesmerizing sequences.

Ballet is an art form that begs to be torn down because of the pretentiousness and attitude associated with it over the years. Ticket holders who went on a journey to the Lake and were able to see the good, the bad and the ugly.

Their talents were obviously en pointe but the humor just didn't rise enough to the occasion to make a smooth flight. Much could be mended by beefing up the masculinity to juxtapose femininity and showing some backstage drama similar to the play Noise Off.

Their cheeky humor and long extensions cannot be denied though and made for an enjoyable evening out on the town. These stellar swans should swing into Chicago more often judging from their strong fanbase on Ida B. Wells Drive that evening. The popular show packed the house and certainly deserved a longer run than only one night.

Flock over to truckadero.org to follow these birds wherever they roam in the future. The Trockaderos will be breaking hearts in North Carolina for Valentine's Day!