The Lido, famed for its spectacularly extravagant performances featuring spectacularly undressed performers, has long been a mecca for pleasure seekers in Paris. In a city whose music-hall and cabaret fare is unrivaled anywhere in the world, the Lido--like the statuesque mannequins who add breath-taking background to les spectacles--is head and shoulders above the competition. Artist LeRoy Neiman, Playboy's roving ambassador with portfolio (and himself something of a Parisian--since his career as itinerant impressionist has led him to complement his New York and London studios with another in Paris) had long regarded the Lido an eminently paletteable subject. Recently he gathered pad and charcoals to spend a Parisian week (seven nights and one day) in the Lido's huge Champs élysées quarters, sketching a behind-the-scenes kaleidoscope of plumes, sequins, bosoms and bottoms. He reports: "Backstage at the Lido is pure mayhem--but, somehow, perfectly coordinated mayhem. All is business. The show--which runs nightly from 11:15 to 2:30, with only a half-hour break--is a genuinely tony production, whose split-second timing leaves no room for sloppiness. The management believes in its performers' artistry--and rightfully so. The mannequins are tall, leggy, personable and proud of their figures; their nudity is enhanced by creative costumes which are treated lovingly by the girls and their wardrobe mistresses. English is almost the universal language backstage, since many of the girls--such as the Bluebells--are British, and many others American. The Bluebells, incidentally, are fully clad--in costumes ranging from Indian headdresses to Gains-borough hats. Only the mannequins, who don't dance, are nude. The Lido is one of those rare places frequented by crowned heads and workingmen alike--all seeking, and finding, the very best in music-hall entertainment and, of course, the most beautiful girls in Paris. For the artist, backstage is even more interesting than out front. It's more active and more colorful than the audience area--and the girls are closer as well."
