The Lap Dance Kid

As a family, my mom, my sister and I stood with my dad in front of the remodeled club an hour before the grand opening. As dusk faded to night, my dad yelled out to some unseen person, “Okay!” We all looked up as the enormous red-neon sign flickered to life. And there it was, in big bold bright letters, announcing to the world that SID KING’S CRAZY HORSE BAR had officially opened. We all stood in awe, mesmerized by the marquee, bathed and trapped in a red glow of light.

For me, there was no place to hide. Kids were talking about it at school, people stared or pointed at me, some gave me the thumbs up while others thumbs down. The low point was the row of strippers in the congregation at my Bar Mitzvah. They wore tight red and pink low-cut dresses. Later, friends jokingly called it, “King’s Bar Titzvah.” I smiled, trying to be a sport, going along with the joke, but inside I was ashamed and hurt. I wished my father had never opened the place. 

My resentment faded with time as I continued to be amazed by the pride and love he had for what he did. People loved being around him, feeling his energy, his love of life. He made them feel better about themselves. Indeed, it was strange that a man who owned a hugely popular strip club could have brought such a Zen thing to his audience. But that’s the message of our musical, it doesn’t matter so much what you do in life, as long as you do it with love and joy. My dad taught me how important it was to find love in who you are, even if that love makes you different.

In October of 2021, after performances at The Duplex and The Opera Center, The Lap Dance Kid presented its premiere, cabaret-style performance at Broadway’s beloved 54 Below. This is the latest and greatest in our path towards fully developing this story into what we know it is, and can be.