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Jenny McGowan (a.k.a Miss. Saturn) is the quintessential show person. It's hard to believe this glamorous New York personality was raised in Tennessee with goats and an outhouse. Perhaps this earthy upbringing is the reason for her ease with audiences from the Big Apple to small towns across the country. She creates original performance work that combines vaudeville antics, saucy burlesque, audience interaction, impeccable timing, sparkling costumes, wigs, accents, booty shakin' music (from Le Tigre to Zorba the Greek) and up to 40 hula hoops to create of a one of a kind performance. This is why this consummate performer is a mainstay of New York City's top burlesque and vaudeville scene.
The Village Voice says, "The afternoon's highlight . . . (Miss. Saturn's) performance had the hard-to-impress crowd on its feet." Indeed, she has wowed audiences across the city in top venues such as Arlene's Grocery, ARS Nova, CBGBs, The Coral Room, The Cutting Room, Deep Dish Cabaret, Joe's Pub, La Mama, Low, The Marquee, PS 122, The Slipper Room, and The VaVa Voom Room. She's performed with Rock Bands Mattilicious, Fisherman's Xylophonic Burlesque Orchestra as well as touring the North West with The Bitter Poet where she not only performed her own material, but did multiple character scene work and back up singing. She was part of Julie Atlas Muz's Whitney Biennial performance of Treasure Box at the Coral Room. She has been a guest artist of the Wau Wau sisters, Magic Brian, Ami Goodheart and Russlo the Magician. She's headlined at The Goddess Festival with Murry Hill as well as at the New York Burlesque Festival.
She emcees variety shows throughout the city including Galapagos' Floating Vaudeville Show as well as producing her own monthly show there (Miss Saturn's Hula Hoop Review). While she can knock the socks off of the adult crowd, she brings smiles to the faces of kids at Coney Island; she co-emcees with Astro Girl evenings of hula hooping and contests. Miss. Saturn is known for her comedic antics such as getting tangled up in her hoops, naming her hula hoops (Tinny Lou, Eugene and Goldi Haun) and originating the Hula Wars where fierce and hot competition occurs. She sometimes gives fruit and toiletries away as prizes, tricks audience members into hula hooping and charms them into being a part of her act where they throw multiple hula hoops on her.
She's toured across the country with the Bindelstiff Family Cirkus' High Heels and Red Noses, which also had a three month run in Times Square at The Palace of Variety. This full length production called on Ms. Saturn's talents of physical comedy, improv, singing, and dancing. This opportunity to improv with audiences in the Cirkus resulted in the landmark moment of Miss. Saturn creating the character of Svetlana, a pseudo Russian circus superstar.
Miss. Saturn dazzles audiences of all ages. She's excellent with the late night adult crowd (variety acts, gorgeous go go dancing, background hula hooping at parties and clubs) or with families and children (teaching hula-hooping and doing walk-around as one of her characters). Her BFA in theatre performance enables her to perform in 'straight' theatre when she has a hankering for the more main stream.
You may have seen her face on the tiny screen where she hula hooped on a National Levi's commercial. She has graced the pages of Jane Magazine, Paper, the New York Times, the New Yorker and The Village Voice. But, Time Out New York says it best, "(Miss. Saturn) personifies the sequined forces of burlesque and racy comedy."
Miss. Saturn continues on in her quest to spread light, joy and love throughout the world with her big heart, easy laugh and big circles. She hopes to run into you along the way.
