'Most-wanted men' to ignite W-B

Lead Chippendale Kevin Cornell had the November slot in the troupe's 2011 calendar.

Chippendales, Fri., Jan. 13, 9 p.m., Genetti’s (77 E. Market St., Wilkes-Barre) Tickets: $30 via Chippendales.com, 888.913.3377

by Nikki M. Mascali
Weekender Editor

There are many reasons a man becomes a Chippendale. He could be looking for a new, more exciting career, for one. He could also be looking to travel the country — and the world — or he could just want to work for an immensely successful international company.

But for Kevin Cornell, he was just listening to his mom.

“She went to go see one of the shows, and she was really impressed by what it was,” Cornell recalls during a phone call from his Las Vegas home. “She came home and was just bothering the hell out of me. ‘Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, you’ve got to be a Chippendale!’

“I told her she was crazy, because I think like a lot of people, I had a preconceived notion of what (Chippendales) was,” Cornell continues. “She just wouldn’t stop bothering me, and I said, ‘Alright, I’ll go to one audition. If I make it, cool. If I don’t, don’t ever bring it up again.’”

But Cornell did make the cut, and now, eight years later, the former bartender is a lead Chippendale. Cornell and his agile, able-bodied cohorts will invade Wilkes-Barre Friday, Jan. 13 with a performance at Genetti’s.

These “most-wanted men,” according to “The Insider” on “Entertainment Tonight,” have been riling up women across the globe since 1978. For the past seven years, Chippendales calls its custom-built, $10 million theater inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas home.

On stage, the cast acts out many fantasies for those in attendance via striptease costumes like cowboys, doctors, firemen and the troupe’s classic uniform: A bow tie and shirt cuffs sans shirts.

“It’s funny, when we’re on the road, we’re always asking where the wardrobe section is, and people are like, ‘Why do you need wardrobe? It’s just G-strings,’” Cornell says. “We have more wardrobe than Madonna and Britney Spears; they change clothes like three times a show — we’re constantly changing all the time.”

While the job of a Chippendale is to whip his audience up into a frenzy, the screaming ladies aren’t the only ones who end up feeling adrenalized.

“I’m pretty wound up after the show,” Cornell shares. “I’m always ready to party, and it’s not easy to just go back to the hotel room and just fall asleep. We usually end up having some kind of after party or what have you.”

Touring six to eight months a year can be rough, but Cornell, who is currently single, does enjoy coming back home for some downtime.

“Usually, I try to get acquainted with my couch because I don’t get to see it very often,” he says with a laugh. “I get home, and I’m able to work out and cook for myself and see my friends back here in Vegas and things like that.”