La Maison Derrière is a burlesque house in Springfield.
History[]
The house was rumored by the local children to be owned the home of a witch, although Ralph claimed a "Frankenstein" lived there and Milhouse believed it was the home of an evil scientist who creates a race of "super-zombies." Despite them all being told to leave, Bart ventures onto the property of the house, climbs onto the roof to retrieve the model airplane, but slipped and fell after performing a dance while misspelling the word success.
Bart's fall got the attention of Belle, the property's owner. She takes him to Homer and he agreed to having Bart work there, albeit only after she threatened to come back to talk to Marge when Homer made it clear he had no intention of punishing his son. When Bart arrived at the house, he saw gambling, drinking, a burlesque show and exclaims to Belle that he had been wrongly informed about witches. Bart eventually takes on a number of odd jobs around the house, including taking over as emcee one evening, as he was the only one capable of wearing the emcee's suit.
Upon learning of its existence, Marge, Reverend Lovejoy, Flanders, and other people called a town meeting where Marge incited the town's citizens to form an angry mob which then flocked to the house to try to bulldoze it to the ground.
Maison Derrière was fortunately saved (at least in part) after Homer led the townfolk in the song "We Put the Spring in Springfield," which revealed that a lot of prominent townspeople frequented the house. However, a still-zealous Marge, who missed the song, accidentally damaged the mansion by forgetting to put the parking brake on the bulldozer while trying to sing her own response to the song. She ends up working for Belle to pay for the damage. Marge's first job for the La Maison Derrière was acting as a Ventriloquist, although her act was a bit too "wooden", causing Homer to heckle her by shouting "Take it off" and Bart, acting as a bouncer, escorting Homer off of the premises.
Employees[]
- Belle (Owner)
- Bart Simpson (former)
- Princess Kashmir (fan dancer)
- Burlesque house's employees
- Marge Simpson (former)
- Martha Quimby (former)
Customers[]
Among the people who have gone to the mansion are:
- Joe Quimby - He protests that it could be 'any mayor'.
- Seymour Skinner
- Barney Gumble - Nobody seems to be all that surprised, since Barney is a single, middle-aged man who is known to have sleazy and morally questionable habits.
- Krusty the Clown
- Clancy Wiggum - He is offended that he is shown twice in Marge's slideshow.
- Julius Hibbert
- Cletus Spuckler
- Waylon Smithers, Jr. - Apparently his parents insisted he give it a try (presumably to overcome his implied homosexuality), although it seems unlikely he's gone more than once...
- Patty Bouvier - This could be the earliest clue to Patty being a lesbian, with the exception of her comment that she has lost the last remaining traces of her heterosexuality in "Treehouse of Horror III" which is not canon.
- Lionel Hutz
- Nick Riviera
- Disco Stu
- Rich Texan
- Abraham Simpson
- Jasper Beardly
- Larry
- Sam
- Timothy Lovejoy, Sr. - to the surprise of Reverend Lovejoy
- Kent Brockman
- Herman Hermann
- President Dwight Eisenhower - there is a photo of him celebrating his anniversary (without his wife) in the hallway.
Even though Belle called it a place where she provides cheeky, fun entertainment for men, some women patrons (besides Patty) are seen. Some may be prostitutes, in Belle's employ, lesbians like Patty, on a date, or simply there to get a drink.
Behind the Laughter[]
- In French, "derrière" means both "behind" (something that is not in front of you) and "buttocks". In this episode's case, it is most likely the latter ("Maison Derrière" thus meaning "Buttocks House"). The name of Belle's house is a pun and a double-entendre.
- Belle explains to Bart in the episode that the name means "The Back House", as an attempt at child-friendly censorship.
Appearances[]
- Episode – "Bart After Dark"
- Episode – "All Singing, All Dancing"
- Book – The Simpsons Guide to Springfield
Video game – The Simpsons Road Rage
Video game – The Simpsons: Hit and Run
Video game – The Simpsons Game
Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out