THE FARTISTE 20th Anniversary Concerts to Take Place at the Laurie Beechman

20 years after its Off-Broadway run, THE FARTISTE will bring its outrageous true story back to the stage with an explosive Anniversary Concert celebration on September 28 & 29 at the Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Café.. Both shows at 7 pm. Tickets are $50 with a $25 food/beverage minimum per person. THE FARTISTE is produced by Stephen Hanks and Revive Entertainment with Christopher Scott serving as Director. The cast will be announced at a later date.

When people hear the words “Moulin Rouge” many things might come to mind. Some might remember the 1952 film starring Jose Ferrer playing legendary French artist Toulouse-Lautrec. Younger folks might recall the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film musical that has been transformed into a show currently playing on Broadway. And some people might know that the “Moulin Rouge” was an iconic late 19th-century cabaret venue in Paris, France, famous for its sensual Can-Can dancers. 

What people might not know about the original “Moulin Rouge” is that one of the club’s highest-paid performers during the 1890s was a man named Joseph Pujol, who was a sensation turning flatulence into high art. Using the stage name Le Pétomane (derived from the French verb péter, meaning "to fart," combined with “mane,” meaning "maniac"), Pujol possessed an extraordinary ability to control his abdominal and sphincter muscles, allowing him to inhale air through his anus and release it at will. At the peak of his career, Pujol’s performances—which were musical and comedic rather than purely vulgar—drew massive crowds, including members of the England’s Royal Family and intellectual figures like Sigmund Freud. Pujol’s acts included mimicking cannon fire, thunder, and musical instruments, and blowing out lit candles from several yards away using directed air bursts from his anus.