Folies-Bergère - Paris Nightlife

The Folies-Bergère has been an institution since 1869. Josephine Baker, the African-American singer who danced in a banana skirt and threw bananas into the audience, became "the toast of Paris" here. According to legend, the first GI to reach Paris at the 1944 Liberation asked for directions to the club. Don't expect the naughty and slyly permissive, skin-and-glitter revue that used to be the trademark of this place. In 1993, that all ended with a radical restoration of the theater and a reopening under new management. Today, it's a conventional 1,600-seat theater devoted to a frequently changing roster of big-stage performances in French, many of which are adaptations of Broadway blockbusters. Recent examples have included restagings of Fame and Saturday Night Fever, and a revue of male strippers inspired by America's Chippendales. There's even been a relatively highbrow reenactment of one of the classics of the French-language repertory, L'Arlésienne, by 19th-century playwright Alphonse Daudet. True, there's always an acknowledgment of the nostalgia value of the old-time, much naughtier Folies-Bergère, and endless nods to the stars of yesterday (especially Josephine Baker and her topless act with bananas), but if you're looking for artful nudity presented with unabashed Parisian permissiveness, head for the Crazy Horse Saloon or the Lido. An on-site restaurant serves dinners in one of the theater's salons, but most spectators opt just for the show, and not the meal. Shows are usually given Tuesday to Saturday at 9pm and Sunday at 3pm.