Luke Warm

Luke Warm is the stage persona of longtime burlesque producer Cory Royer, who has been producing burlesque shows and festivals since 2012. While Cory takes considerable pride in producing polished, high-quality live events, Luke Warm was created with a considerably lower standard in mind. The name was born in 2016 when Cory suddenly found himself needing to fill in as an emcee. Knowing the bar had been set considerably higher by the person he was replacing, he decided the safest strategy was obvious: keep expectations low and deliver slightly higher. And thus, Luke Warm was born. Luke specializes in warming up a crowd without ever quite bringing them to a boil. His signature style combines lukewarm dad jokes, intentionally questionable punchlines, occasional jokes that almost land, and the kind of awkward charm that leaves an audience wondering whether they should laugh, groan, or politely check their drinks. Since then, Luke Warm has appeared on stage throughout numerous Vermont Burlesque Festival productions and side shows, reliably keeping the entertainment level somewhere just above cold. Cory may hold his productions to a high standard. Luke makes no such promise. And occasionally delivers slightly more than that.