BATTLES OF THE BURLESQUE

The nonprofit Burlesque Hall of Fame is facing off against a breakaway burlesque show slated for June 4, the same weekend as the Hall's annual fund-raiser. The splinter group, led by two former Hall board members, named their event "Sassy Lassy" after a club that had long been associated with the Hall of Fame. The group also wooed away two of the Hall's biggest attractions: exotic dancers Dixie Evans and Tempest Storm, stalwarts of the Hall's "Legends of Burlesque" show.
The animosity between the two groups is so prevelant that the Hall of Fame in April sued the newer outfit in Las Vegas federal court for engaging in deceptive trade practices. The suit accuses Littell and Apcar of intentionally creating confusion among the burlesque industry and family. The breakaway group disputes that claim.
The Hall of Fame's executive director says the rivalry could have been avoided, and questioned why the rival group chose to do their show on the same weekend.
Mr. Littell, who is also a former boyfriend of Ms. Herbert's stated that he felt the law suit was personal and commented that there's plenty of room in Las Vegas to have multiple shows.
The spat playing out in court and on stages in two Las Vegas casinos comes at a time of peaking interest in traditional burlesque performance a type of dancing that is historically PG-13-rated, or more tease than strip, enthusiasts say.
In her most recent gigs, the 83-year-old Ms. Storm says she stripped down to lingerie and high heels while dancing.
Burlesque classes are now offered in cities like New York and San Francisco, spurred on recently by celebrities like Dita Von Teese and the 2010 film "Burlesque" that starred Cher.
The Burlesque Hall of Fame was founded in 1981 on a Mojave Desert goat farm by ex-dancer Jennie Lee, the onetime proprietor of Los Angeles's Sassy Lassy nightclub. Ms. Lee and her husband envisioned a burlesque extravaganza along Route 66 with a museum, stripping school and dancer retirement home.
Few of the plans materialized by the time Ms. Lee died in 1990. Ms. Evans, who made her name as the "Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque" in the 1950s, moved to the complex and took an active role. By then, traditional burlesque was suffering, hurt by video pornography and more risque strip clubs. During this time all of the burlesque theaters closed up, and Ms. Storm thinks that porno and total nudity had something to do with it. Ms. Storm, who became a burlesque dancer in the late 1940s, after a promoter spotted her serving patrons at a Los Angeles drive-in. Now she sports pink Jackie O suits and a flaming red bouffant. She plans to headline a cruise next spring in addition to the coming show.
In the 1990s, Ms. Evans built the Hall's collection with items like a trunk that belonged to renowned burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee and the costumes and cremated remains of various burlesque performers. Burlesque-history enthusiasts like Ms. Herbert and then-boyfriend Mr. Littell flocked to help with the collection.
Yet even as burlesque made a comeback, the Hall wasn't able to capitalize on the resurgence. In 2005, Ms. Herbert and other volunteers packed up the Hall's collection and moved it to Las Vegas. They planned to "professionalize" the hall, getting its finances in order as a tax-exempt business. Ms. Evans says she supported the plan, and moved to Las Vegas with the collection.
Ms. Herbert became the Hall's executive director, but the Las Vegas move did little to improve the Hall's finances. Its operating budget hovered at around $50,000 a year, according to Internal Revenue Service filings. These funds come mainly from the annual show and individual donations.
Ms. Evans became frustrated, because much of the collection remained in storage, among other reasons.
Mr. Littell, 37, who was by then organizing the annual show, in 2008 brought in producer Mr. Apcar. Mr. Apcar also joined the Hall's board. The show grew, but proceeds were paltry and tensions within the board mounted.
The show had other problems. Ms. Storm, in underwear and high heels, toppled over near the end of an Engelbert Humperdinck number last year, breaking her hip.
Ms. Herbert says Messrs. Littell and Apcar guaranteed the Hall $30,000 in proceeds from the show, but paid just $19,000. A lawyer for Messrs. Littell and Apcar says the promoters paid $22,479.50, and that the deal memo guaranteeing $30,000 was never signed.
Last fall, Mr. Littell negotiated a deal with the Plaza hotel in downtown Las Vegas, initially hoping the Hall would continue to let him promote the show. But Ms. Herbert organized the Hall's show this year at a different hotel, the Orleans. Having already made a deposit for the Plaza, Mr. Littell says he decided to proceed with his own, separate event.
Tensions peaked this spring. Ms. Evans aligned herself with Mr. Littell's show, which called itself Sassy Lassy. The promoters offered Ms. Storm a deal to appear exclusively at their event, which she accepted. The Hall of Fame event doesn't pay its dancers.
With pro bono help from a law firm, the Hall sued, claiming "Sassy Lassy" was the Hall's intellectual property.
The lawyer for Messrs. Littell and Apcar, argues that the Hall of Fame doesn't own the right to the "Sassy Lassy trademark. Nevertheless, Mr. Apcar last month renamed his event the Dixie Evans Burlesque Show. Other issues, such as whether Messrs. Littell and Apcar still owe the Hall money, remain in litigation.
Mr. Littell says his show has already sold out more than half its tickets. The Hall show has sold 80% of its 800 or so tickets. They say Ms. Evans is still welcome, and they don't begrudge Ms. Storm her decision to take the competitor's offer.