Review: Company XIV Brings Petite Rouge to Brooklyn with Playful Acts and Lavish Sips

Beyond the graffiti-splashed exterior, Bushwick's Théâtre XIV entices with its dimly lit, smoky ambiance as burlesque performers in fur coats welcome you and pour bespoke cocktails and bubbles at the bar. This is the place known for Company XIV’s popular shows, including Queen of Hearts and the holiday staple, Nutcracker Rouge. Now, the space offers a brand-new performance to add to its shiny roster, with the world premiere of Petite Rouge. 

Celebrating its 20th anniversary season in true Company XIV fashion, the show revisits Charles Perrault’s Little Red Riding Hood and makes it its own as a Baroque Burlesque vision. Tackling the notions of awakening and innocence, Petite Rouge incorporates lust and desire, with a bit of danger that is often cheeky, especially in the grandma wolves scene, but is always alluring and stunning. 

Be sure to arrive early to try a unique lipstick reading, where a resident clairvoyant gives you insight into who you are and what’s to come, all revealed by your kiss. You’re provided a lipstick that you put on in a mirror before kissing a cocktail napkin, and the fun begins. Everything from the way you put on your lipstick to how you press your lips against the napkin comes into play. 

This company always delights its audience with gorgeous costumes and sparkling sequins, aerial acrobatics, and impressive choreography, and this latest addition is no different, highlighting the best at what Company XIV can do.

“I was drawn to reimagine Little Red Riding Hood not as a victim, but as a young woman intoxicated by experience, one who claims her sensuality and power,” says Founder and Artistic Director Austin Mccormick. “Cara Seymour and I share a desire to portray her as a heroine who is strong, cunning, and shamelessly appetite-driven.”

Speaking of appetites, McCormick has curated a menu to coincide with the show. To start, the cocktails are indulgent, glitzy, and delicious. The Lady in Red is a must for anyone channeling their inner Little Red Riding Hood, made with champagne brut, French black raspberry liqueur, sparkling cranberry lollipop, and, of course, doused with some edible glitter. 

Other standouts (and not just for the names) are the vodka espresso martini-style Granny’s Nightcap and the Little Pig crafted with a rose-infused gin, candied lemon peel, and an “aphrodisiac spritz.” Of course, you can’t go wrong with a glass or two of the Paul Laurent champagne or the booze-free sparkling rosé if you prefer. 

If you get hungry for a snack during intermission, there are sweet and salty treats to try off the Bonbon menu, including the Black truffle potato chips, chocolate truffle box, and a personal favorite, the lemon-stuffed green olives. 

“Petite Rouge is a celebration of indulgence. We invite the audience not merely to watch, but to shed their own hoods, step into the forest, and lose themselves in a lush, seductive dreamscape,” says McCormick. “We've done our jobs when the audience feels transported, inspired and turned on—bathed in Champagne and deliciously undone.”

Petit Rouge is now playing at Théâtre XIV, located at 383 Troutman Street, Brooklyn, NY 11237. For tickets and more info, please visit https://companyxiv.com/about/shows/petite-rouge/. 

(Photos courtesy of Théâtre XIV, Luis Suarez, and Deneka Peniston)