The Girlie Show (Madonna)

The Girlie Show

Tour by Madonna
File:Madonnagirlieshow.jpg
Associated album	Erotica
Start date	September 25, 1993
End date	December 19, 1993
Legs	5
No. of shows	7 in Europe 12 in North America 4 in South America 8 in Australia 8 in Japan 39 Total
Madonna concert chronology

The Girlie Show World Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna, visiting the Americas, Europe and Asia. Madonna's inspiration for the name of the tour was a painting called "Girlie Show" by Edward Hopper. The 1941 oil-painting shows a burlesque dancer which represented very much the theme of the tour. It was Madonna's first tour to reach South America, Turkey, Israel and Australia.

About the Tour

Proclaiming after her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour that she would "never go on tour again", it only took her three years until she hit the road again. After that, she said that if "you ever hear me say again 'I'm never going on tour again', don't believe me."

The Girlie Show was mounted in support of Madonna's 1992 album, Erotica. The show had a central visual theme, Burlesque Circus. She said it was "a mixture of a rock concert, a fashion show, a circus performance, a cabaret act and a burlesque show". The show had a more complex stage than those from Madonna's previous tours. It had a runway/catwalk that led from the center of the main stage to a minor stage at the end, a number of elevators, three elevated platforms behind the stage and a revolving platform in the middle of the main stage.

The stage took 24 hours to be mounted properly and was directed by Madonna's brother, Christopher Ciccone.

Madonna played an uncharacteristically spare five dates in the U.S. and another three in Canada. It was speculated that this may have been related to the Erotica album's particularly low sales in that country and the backlash surrounding Madonna's book, Sex.

The tour grossed $70.3 million.

The show

The show begins with a circus fanfare, which merges into "Erotica". A clown appears from the curtain at the foot of a fireman pole, a topless female dancer moves down it provocatively. Madonna then elevates from a revolving circular lift with white spotlights surrounding the edge, she is dressed as a dominatrix with black mask, whip and long black boots. When the song finishes, Madonna moves down the long central catwalk removing her waistcoat and mask, she then performs "Fever" with two male dancers using sexually provocative choreography. They end the song with huge flames merging from the main stage.

India is the influence for the next song, "Vogue", with Madonna wearing a head dress and performing indu dance. The next song, "Rain", contains a medley with "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", ending with a dancers performance using elements from "Singin' in the Rain", during this the clown appears again.

The next section to the show is 1970s disco with Madonna appearing from the roof on a large glitter ball wearing a blonde afro wig. She performs "Express Yourself", "Deeper and Deeper" and simulates an orgy scene which merges into "Why's It So Hard". She then performs "In This Life", a song about friends who have died from AIDS. The clown watches her as she performs.

"The Beast Within" is used as an interlude with an energetic and aggressive performance from the dancers wearing army fatigue. Madonna then appears dressed in top hat and tails as Marlene Dietrich to sing "Like a Virgin" and uses elements from her song "Falling In Love Again". The clown once again appears, trying to hide from Madonna on stage. During "Bye Bye Baby", the back-up singers appear and they perform with three female dancers dressed in burlesque basques.

The next section is influenced by Latin America with Madonna performing "I'm Going Bananas" in a mock Mexican accent and "La Isla Bonita". She then changes into a long military jacket performing "Holiday" with a marching band and a 1970s funk ending.

For the encore, "Justify My Love", Madonna gives a decadent performance dressed in elaborate, Victorian tailored costumes. For the finalé "Everybody", an "Everybody Is a Star" introduction is used along with elements of "Dance to the Music" and "After the Dance". The circus fanfare then ends the show with the clown appearing for the last time, taking off his mask, revealing it to actually being Madonna all along.

Opening acts

• UNV (some USA venues)
• Yonca Evcimik and Kenan Doğulu (Istanbul)
• Peter Andre (Australia)
• Mario Pelchat (Montreal)

Setlist

1. "The Girlie Show Theme":
   Introduction
   
2. "Erotica"
3. "Fever"
4. "Vogue"
5. "Rain/Just My Imagination":
   Medley
   
6. "Express Yourself"
7. "Deeper and Deeper"
8. "Why's It So Hard"
9. "In This Life"
10. "The Beast Within":
    Interlude
    
11. "Like A Virgin"
12. "Bye Bye Baby"
13. "I'm Going Bananas"
14. "La Isla Bonita"
15. "Holiday"
16. "Justify My Love"
17. "Everybody Is A Star/Everybody":
    Medley
    
18. "The Girlie Show Theme":
    Reprise
    

Source:

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Europe
September 25 1993	London	United Kingdom	Wembley Stadium
September 26 1993
September 28 1993	Paris	France	Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy
September 29 1993
October 1 1993
Middle East
October 4 1993	Tel Aviv	Israel	Park Hayarkon
October 7 1993	Istanbul	Turkey	Inonu Stadium
North America
October 11 1993	Toronto	Canada	SkyDome
October 12 1993
October 14 1993	New York	United States	Madison Square Garden
October 15 1993
October 17 1993
October 19 1993	Philadelphia	United States	The Spectrum
October 21 1993	Auburn Hills	United States	The Palace of Auburn Hills
October 23 1993	Montreal	Canada	Olympic Stadium
Latin America
October 26 1993	Bayamón	Puerto Rico	Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel
October 30 1993	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Estadio River Plate
October 31 1993
November 3 1993	São Paulo	Brazil	Estádio do Morumbi
November 6 1993	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	Estádio do Maracanã
November 10 1993	Mexico City	Mexico	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
November 12 1993
November 13 1993
Australia
November 19 1993 (date when it was filmed)	Sydney	Australia	Sydney Cricket Ground
November 24 1993	Brisbane	Australia	ANZ Stadium
November 26 1993	Melbourne	Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground
November 27 1993
November 29 1993
December 1 1993	Adelaide	Australia	Adelaide Oval
December 3 1993	Sydney	Australia	Sydney Cricket Ground
December 4 1993
Japan
December 7 1993	Fukuoka	Japan	Fukuoka Dome
December 8 1993
December 9 1993
December 13 1993	Tokyo	Japan	Tokyo Dome
December 14 1993
December 16 1993
December 17 1993
December 19 1993

Additional Notes

Cancellations:

• October 2 Festhalle Stadium, Frankfurt, Germany
• November 20 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia (rescheduled for December 4th)
• The November 20th show was originally planned to be filmed and broadcasted live on HBO. Due to the cancelation, the November 19th show (which was filmed as a back-up) was broadcasted and later released onto VHS and later, DVD.

Personnel

• Director and Production Designer: Christopher Ciccone
• Musical Director: Jai Winding
• Stage Production: Jeffrey Hornaday
• Lighting Designer: Peter Morse
• Costume Design: Dolce & Gabbana and Rob Saduski
• Choreographers: Alex Magno, Keith Young , Michelle Johnston and Niki Haris

Band

• Keyboards: Jai Winding, Michael Beardon and Mike McKnight
• Guitar: Paul Pesco
• Bass: Victor Baley
• Drums: Omar Hakim
• Percussion: Luis Conte
• Backing Vocalist: Niki Haris, Donna DeLory
• Dancers: Ungela Brockman, Christopher Childers, Michael Gregory, Carrie Ann Inaba, Jill Nicklaus, Ruth Inchaustegui, Luca Tommassini and Carlton Wilborn

Public response

The Girlie Show was a substantial success.

Uproar developed in Puerto Rico after Madonna rubbed the Puerto Rican flag between her legs on stage. A German politician called for a boycott of Madonna's only German show in Frankfurt (which was already sold out) because of nudity and pornographic content. The date was eventually canceled, but, according to a spokesperson of Madonna, the cancellation was due to stage set-up problems and had nothing to do with the proposed boycott. Similar problems in Israel occurred when Orthodox Jews staged protests to force the cancellation of the singer's first-ever show in that country. The protests were unsuccessful as the show was sold out and went on as scheduled.

Many critics accused the show of failing to reach the standards set by her previous Blond Ambition tour. Madonna's brother and artistic collaborator, Christopher Ciccone, stated that although the stage appears simpler at the front, it is by far more complicated than anything Madonna has done from the back.

Broadcasts and recordings

Main article: The Girlie Show - Live Down Under

Initially, the November 20, 1993 show, the second of two dates at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, was to be filmed and aired on HBO in the United States. However, a massive storm forced the cancellation of the show, so the November 19 show (which had been filmed as a "safety show") was aired instead. This show was released worldwide on VHS and Laserdisc on April 26, 1994 as The Girlie Show - Live Down Under. Another recording was made during the Japanese leg of the tour and shown only on Japanese television; Live in Japan 1993 - The Girlie Show. This version has never had a commercial release.

The video for the tour, The Girlie Show - Live Down Under, was nominated for the Grammy Award of Best Long Form Music Video in 1995.