Newspaper Article: A Tom Kitty at the Katbox

by Anndrea Daniels

 

September 4, 2003

By Summer O'Malley, Campus Comment Staff Writer

Since 1953 the Katbox Kabaret has been an entertainment institution at State University. And every year since 1953, the Kabaret fields a new lineup of Katbox Kittens, a group of half a dozen comely chorus girls. But now there is a new kitty in the litter, and this kitty is a tom!

Senior drama major Brian ('Brianna') Davis is going boldly where no man has gone before; joining one of the few remaining bastions of unabashed femininity at State. Beginning this Saturday, Davis will become a Katbox Kitten.

The Kittens, who put the wiggle and jiggle into the twice a month Vaudeville-style reviews at Katzenburg Theater, are known for showing lots of leg and cleavage in skimpy, but often dazzling outfits. In a world where even cheerleaders seem to have become more like tough cyber chicks than sex symbols, the Kittens exude spicy sexuality and upfront girlishness.

I first caught up with Davis and the other Kittens at a rehearsal for their season-opening show. Davis, looking very much like an 'Brianna,' fit in well with the other five attractive girls in their dance togs. A curvaceous feminine figure and full mane of hair made a bold and unmistakably feminine statement. Davis' shaved legs, manicured nails, pierced ears and three-inch heels enhanced that effect.

Campus Context: How on earth did you ever come to be a Katbox Kitten?

Davis: It was not all that strange, actually. Last year I did a project for my Special Topics in Drama class. The project required me to dress and act as a girl for two weeks around Halloween. It came off pretty well, so my faculty adviser, Anne Malone, suggested I might consider doing a few minor female roles, as well as a dance class. Well, I loved it and even got a little encouragement to try out for the Kittens. I probably wouldn't have even given it a thought, except that Kelli Truaxe, who is the director at the Katbox, was pretty enthusiastic. When I tried out, she let all the other girls know that there was a chance that I'd be a Kitten, and if any of them had a problem with that, she wanted to hear about it sooner rather than later. As it turns out, it doesn't seem to be any big deal.

CC: You said "all the other girls." Do you really get treated like all the other girls?

Davis: I really do. Everyone is just very cool about including me and not treating me any different than anyone else.

CC: Except of course that you are a guy.

Davis: Yeah, but we try to minimize that.

CC: You certainly are very successful at presenting a feminine appearance. How do you do it?

Davis: [Laughing] I have lots of help. The hardest things I have to do are to watch my weight and learn the routines. And of course it takes me a little longer to get into costume than everyone else.

* *

So I tagged along to the first dress rehearsal to learn what it takes to make a college guy into a showgirl. The answer is that it takes a lot. I feel certain most guys would never consider it.

Davis, who has a very slim figure on a 5'7" frame, has to keep his body well shaved. And before shows, just like any other Katbox Kitten, he has to submit to a bikini wax.

"That is definitely my least favorite part," he admits. "I'm lucky that I'm not very hairy, or it could be a real pain."

And just like the other Kittens, before every show he needs to have a full set of acrylic nails and a pedicure, with polish that matches the outfits the girls will be wearing. All the Kittens get together at Nails'n'Tails boutique on Thursday night before a show to begin their glamorizing.

At all rehearsals, Davis shows up in his female figure: breast forms, a waist cincher and a device called a 'gaffe' are crucial to mold a male physique into a female figure. The gaffe is basically a modified g-string, which tucks the male plumbing away and replaces it with very realistic female genitalia. The very realistic breast forms get glued directly onto the chest. With a little makeup artistry, Davis has a terrific set of boobs.

Does it seem strange to see yourself with a female body? I ask.

"It sure did at first," Davis laughs. "But now I'm so used to it that I sometimes stay in the femme role for a few days at a time. Once it is all glued on, it isn't that easy to take everything off again. So sometimes I'll just stay in the role for a while."

Davis seems so comfortable in "the role" that he blends into the Kitten dressing room without a second thought. The dressing room would be a feast for male fantasy, if Davis' transformation weren't so complete. Leggy young women in various states of undress are seated at makeup tables, daubing on paint, powder and lip-gloss. Davis, topless in tap pants joins right in. The makeup is heavy and the talk, mostly about guys, tend toward the racy. Davis seems quite comfortable, observing that "she" likes guys who "match my outfit."

As she progresses through foundation, eyeliner, blush and lipstick, one can notice "her" becoming more and more feminine in voice and mannerisms. By the time Davis has highlighted "her" cleavage and glued on "her" false eyelashes, her face looks identical to the other five women who are busy struggling into the brilliantly sequined outfits for the first number.

Davis pulls on panty hose like a seasoned professional and steps into the sparkling red and gold outfit. Another girl zips Brianna into the fitted sheath and – va-voom!– a show-stopping figure. As with the other Kittens, the outfits leave little to the imagination: lots of leg, a great deal of cleavage and creamy breasts provocatively on display. Politically correct? Definitely not! What the audience expects? Definitely hot!

For this opening number outfit the Kittens wear their hair down, with their trademark 'Kitten-ears.' Davis, who describes his natural hair color as 'mouse brown,' now sports spectacularly rich bottle-blonde tresses, which get regular salon treatment. Earrings, jewelry, high heels -- and local boy has become one incredibly sexy babe.

As I watch the Kittens line up back stage for the first run-through, I'm thinking that it would be very difficult for someone not in-the-know to pick the "guy" out of the line up of six gorgeous girls. But that is what makes this year's edition of the Katbox Kittens just a little different. Slightly spicy. A bit exotic. An awful lot of fun. Brianna Davis? She's feline, feminine and just about purr-fect.

  

  

  

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