Julie Atlas Muz (born Julie Ann Muz on May 30, 1973) is a New York City-based performance artist, dancer, burlesque artist, stage director, and actress. In 2012, she married English actor
Mat Fraser.
Muz is best known as a performer in the New York City burlesque scene and
neo-burlesque
Neo-Burlesque, or New Burlesque, is the revival and updating of the traditional American burlesque performance. Though based on the traditional burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; neo-burlesque acts can r ...
revival. She was the crown holder of the 2006
Miss Exotic World
The Miss Exotic World Pageant (officially, the Miss Exotic World Pageant and Striptease Reunion) is an annual neo-burlesque pageant and convention, and is the annual showcase event (and fundraiser for) the Burlesque Hall of Fame (formerly the E ...
and the 2006 Miss Coney Island pageants.
[Ryzik, Melena]
"A Woman of Many Parts, Some Exposed"
"The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
, February 4, 2007." The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
calls her "the royalty of burlesque.
Biography
Muz is a native of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
.
[Julie Atlas Muz, Burlesque Star/Mermaid at Gothamist.com](_blank)
She attended
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
and graduated with a degree in dance and history.
Performance
In the 2000s, Muz had a routine gig as the head mermaid at the now-defunct NYC nightclub, The Coral Room, where she performed alongside live fish in 9,000 gallon saltwater aquarium. She extended her mermaid role at the 2005 Valencia Biennial where she swam in Europe’s largest saltwater tank. Muz trained
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...
for her mermaid scenes in
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...
's 2006 film, ''
Romance and Cigarettes
''Romance & Cigarettes'' is a 2005 American musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Turturro. The film stars an ensemble cast which includes James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Mand ...
''.
Muz was among the artists featured at the 2004
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition in ...
at the
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...
. At the biennial, she and thirteen other cast members had performed her take on
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
's "The Rite of Spring" which is inspired by the life and
death of JonBenét Ramsey
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
.
In January 2007, Muz, along with
Kembra Pfahler
Kembra Pfahler (born August 4, 1961 in Hermosa Beach, California, United States) is an American filmmaker, performance artist, visual artist, adjunct professor, rock musician, and film actress.
Her film work is associated with the movement known ...
curated a mixed media art exhibition titled, ''Womanizer'', at the
Deitch Projects
Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)L.A.'s MOCA picks art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director''Los Angeles Times''. born 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects ( ...
. The show included works by E. V. Day,
Breyer P-Orridge,
Vaginal Davis
Vaginal Davis (born in Los Angeles, California) is an American performing artist, painter, independent curator, composer, filmmaker and writer. Born intersex and raised in South Central, Los Angeles, Davis gained notoriety in New York during the ...
and burlesque performer Bambi the Mermaid. Muz's contribution was "Mr. Pussy", an exhibit of photos of her genitalia in various poses and props. The exhibit also featured video of "Mr. Pussy" greeting viewers with "welcome" in multiple languages.
[Robinson, Andrew C.]
Post-Gender Pandrogyny
"''Gay City News
''Gay City News'' (stylized as ''gcn'') is a free weekly newspaper based in New York City focusing on local and national issues relating to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. It was founded in 1994 as ''Lesbian Gay New Y ...
'', January 18, 2007"
On 6 December 2017 Muz made her directorial debut with ''
Jack and the Beanstalk
"Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...
'', the first large-scale pantomime to be presented in New York for over a century, at the Playhouse Theater of the
Henry Street Settlement
The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founde ...
. Adapted from the fairy tale of the same title by Mat Fraser, the production also starred
Dirty Martini,
Matt Roper
Matt Roper is a British comedian, writer and musician.
Career
Roper made his comedy debut in London during the late-1990s and is noted for his early work in sketch comedy at the Jermyn Street Theatre and in the satirical sketch show ''Newsrevue ...
,
David Ilku
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and a cast of other downtown performers. Awarded the NYT Critic's Pick, the production closed on 23 December 2017 and enjoyed a revival the following year at the same theatre, running for three weeks during the 2018 holiday season. On 4 December 2021 a follow-up, ''Dick Rivington and The Cat'', adapted from the traditional pantomime story of ''
Dick Whittington
Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale ''Dick ...
'', was presented by the pair.
References
External links
*
*
This or That, a burlesque-themed show with Muz as co-host
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muz, Julie Atlas
American neo-burlesque performers
American female erotic dancers
American erotic dancers
American female dancers
American dancers
American vedettes
Actresses from Detroit
Living people
Oberlin College alumni
1973 births
Miss Exotic World winners
American beauty pageant winners
21st-century American women