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Mod Vaude brings a new, edgy experience to Steamboat

After a successful first production in 2019, Mod Vaude returns with a new show for four performances in November.
Devon Barker/Courtesy photo

Mod Vaude brings it all to Old Town Pub this weekend: jazz, aerials, burlesque, comedy, skits and more.

“It’s essentially a variety show in the vaudeville style,” producer Josh Stein said. “It’s a bunch of acts made into a show, and you can experience anything.”

Friday marks the first of four shows this month, and it’s the company’s first time back on stage since before COVID-19.



Mod Vaude was created by husband-and-wife team Josh and Emily Stein in 2019.

If you go

What: Mod Vaude presents ‘A Beautiful Nightmare’

When: Doors open at 8 p.m., show begins at 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5, Saturday, Nov. 6, Nov. 12 and 13.

Where: Old Town Pub, 600 Lincoln Ave.

Tickets: ModVaude.com

“We wanted to create a positive outlet where people feel like they’re exercising creativity and producing something of value,” Stein said. “Steamboat is phenomenal for family-friendly events, which is great, but there are very few adult-minded events in town other than going to a music venue.”



Emily added that one of their main goals for the show is to create an escape.

“There are very few times as an adult that you can get to escape and experience something new, especially in a small town,” she said. “This show brings up all different types of emotions.”

Mod Vaude will perform their show “A Beautiful Nightmare” this Friday and Saturday, as well as next weekend, at Old Town Pub.
Devon Barker/Courtesy photo

After a successful opening in 2019, and with one show under their belt, the duo was planning for round two in the spring of 2020 when the pandemic struck and their plans were halted. Now though, they’re back with “A Beautiful Nightmare,” which follows dancer Kathryn Gingrich as Charlotte Sinclair taking the audience through her dream world.

Gingrich, who has been with Mod Vaude since the beginning, performs a variety of dance styles, including burlesque. Her favorite part, she said, is the confidence that it has afforded her and other dancers.

“Burlesque is unexpected,” she said. “It builds confidence in the dancers, and it definitely pushed everyone past their comfort zones. I think that’s a really important aspect of it; it pushes all of us to expand and get more confident and comfortable in our bodies.”

Mandy Quinones is another dancer, and she also helped choreograph several of the dances. This will be her first performance with Mod Vaude.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity to get outside of my comfort zone and try some new styles of dance,” she said. “And I think it’s really cool that they’ve brought something so different to Steamboat. This is something a little more risque that steps outside of the normal boundaries that you see presented here.”

While the Stein’s original plan was to host a one-night Halloween show, the production evolved into a four-day extravaganza; the first two shows will take place this weekend, followed by two more shows Nov. 12 and 13.

“As the cast evolved and people joined on, we tried to blend Halloween ideas with the current situation of what everyone is experiencing and where we’re at,” Stein said. “We’ve all been through hardships in the past year and a half and in looking at how to encompass that, a dreamworld came about — a nightmare but one that also produced some beautiful things.”

Eleven dancers — all local — will perform 14 acts, most of which were choreographed by Emily. Transition skits, comedy routines and audience games ensure there is no break in the action throughout the entire night.

“This is a way to express some of the challenges and darker experiences over the course of the pandemic,” Stein said. “In the show, you experience things that don’t make sense; it’s free form and creativity without any guidelines. I’m excited to see people’s reaction.”


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