“Not Your Average Showgirl!” Teyana Taylor Revived Her Dirty Rose Burlesque Show Ahead of the Met Gala

Late on Saturday night, a crowd including Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts, and the Williams sisters checked in, so to speak, to The Dirty Rose. While they may have actually been inside the confines of Paradise Club at The Times Square EDITION—for a few hours, they were under Teyana Taylor’s lock and key. (And so were their camera lenses.) Ahead of the Met Gala, the quadruple threat—actor, singer, dancer, and creative director–revived her aprés hours burlesque concept in a room that had enough energy to power a 42nd Street billboard.

With people dressed in everything from slinky dresses, sunglasses, and embossed suits to fur coats (in May!) and cowboy and Kangol hats as they milled about greeting one another, the glamorous and sexy scene had the look and feel—and anticipation—of people gathering to watch an old-school boxing match.

After dutifully sealing their phones up in pouches, everyone had to find their friends the analog way. Baz Luhrmann was front and center, welcoming guests to his clique. Paulson—in a top hat—and a sequin-clad Watts were joined by Daniella Kallmeyer. Alex Consani reclined on a couch with Irina Shayk and Ludovic de Saint Sernin. Haider Ackermann hugged Odessa A’zion. Burberry’s Daniel Lee and Romeo Beckham sat on the banquette to get a better look. And Law Roach, Marc Jacobs, CT Hedden, and Lisa Rinna all gathered front row. Nightclub tables were laden with bottles of Don Julio 1942 and Crown Royal Marquis whisky, as well as tassel-adorned key rings and ashtrays featuring Taylor in her full Dirty Rose regalia; a sign of things to come.

Acting as a ringleader-meets-proprietress, Niecy Nash—Taylor’s All’s Fair co-star—appeared on stage around 11:45 p.m. to kick things off, kitted out in a red sequin romper and feather headdress. “Hello miss Gayle King! Are you ready for this,” the actress announced, waving to the morning TV anchor.

What unfolded was the freshest take on burlesque imaginable—with everything from death drops and duck walks to slick ballet and tap dancing sequences—all orchestrated by the indomitable Taylor. Now in its third iteration, The Dirty Rose name nods to her fellow Harlemite Tupac Shakur’s The Rose That Grew From Concrete, but the immersive experience modeled around a stylized motel, which blends dance, fashion, music, performance art, lighting, and storytelling, is entirely her own.

Danielle Brooks also joined the fold as a surprise interlude, introducing acts as varied as they were scintillating. Think: 1920s flappers and gun molls, very hot hotel bel hops, aerial artists, and a trio of NSFW pink pussycats who romped on top of the bar. Every once in a while, Taylor would return as Grayla Greathouse, a hell-hath-no-fury woman on the run from The Dirty Rose and determined not to be slowed down.

It’s been ten years since the music video for Kanye West’s Fade catapulted Taylor to household name status—and when the heavy bass beats of the track dropped and she launched into the now-infamous routine, well, the roof nearly came off the place. (Speaking of too hot to handle—mid-way through a sequence showcasing The Dirty Rose Hot-line call center, one person in the crowd even felt the need to light up a cigarette.)

At 1:30 a.m., Grayla was back in the spotlight to wrap things up—in her second crystalized custom Calvin Klein Collection look of the night—and thank Kaytranda for epically soundtracking the whole thing. The audience members were already sipping lemon drop cocktails from Dirty Rose-etched hip flasks that guys in red boiler suits had handed out, but she had another trick up her sleeve: chicken and fries from Raising Canes, and slippers, so that the after party could continue until well past 4 a.m.

As t-shirts worn by production staff and publicists in the room said: You Just Had To Be There.