A few months ago, I went to a gay strip club in NYC with a couple of gay friends. It was called the Gaiety Burlesque. Located right across from the Marriott Times Square Hotel.
I had never been to anything like it before and it was kind of cheesy. It was packed with foreigners, mostly Asian business men.
The "dancers" looked like homeless runaways on drugs, or just homeless mental patients for the most part. Most of the younger guys had really sad looks in their eyes that they were doing this work.
Dancing was definitely not their forte. At one point this dude strolled out naked with half a hardon and began to gyrate to music that was popular, maybe 10 years ago. He was awful!! He looked like he was having a seizure. I started laughing, not to be disrespectful, but it was bizarre. I couldn't stop laughing. The management asked me to leave!! I was freakin' mortified!! My buddies were pissed at me and decided to stay in the theater while I was escorted out. I waited outside for about 30 minutes before they came out.
Needless to say, not a good experience, at all.
gaiety closed sometime in 2004 / 2005.
how do i know? i never danced there, but have been going there since i was 14 (i'm 39 now) and my friends used to DJ there, and i used to work with many of the guys who used to dance there. i also have been producing gaiety-type private events for like 20 years now.
in it's heyday, it was a fun place, seedy, sexy, dirty. the women at the front were sisters who ran the place, though one of them originally stole the structure, dancers and clientele from the eros down the street where she used to work. the eros was left with dancers who were completely really rough trade and that place was a cesspool of filth. dark, and dirty (not in the fun way either)
quite a few of the guys did gay porn, and escorted at the gaiety since it was easy to find the businessmen who were interested in a "private show". at one time, these "private shows" were going on RIGHT BACKSTAGE while the strip shows and pornfilms were going on out front. when the officials started to crack down more (the owner was still doing some payola to the cops etc to keep things going), the escorts were booking rooms at the mariott across the street.
steven meisel used the location in 1992 for the famed "sex" book by madonna. in that way, it sorta still lives on (if you have the limited edition book), though what was shot for that book isn't a good representation of the actual place, dancers, clientele, vibe, etc.
at the end of the gaiety's run though, it was "str8" guys from canada who were willing to dance for $20 a set. all of the other guys moved on to better paying gigs.
i'm actually going to be bringing that type of presentation back, though in more of a 21st century format, starting with a couple of private events in NYC. so if there are any men who are showoffs out there who are fun, have a good look and a nice cock and/or a nice ass (of any ethnicity and ages 18-50) and who want to show off on front of an all-male audience (sorry ladies, its men only at my parties), feel free to let me know!