PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

Badia Masabni announces various acts in the advertisement shown below, including a female impersonator named Monsieur Marton.

All three pictures on the right side of the advertisement below show Monsieur Marton in some of his many characters and costumes. The photo on the left is Badia.

Click on the image below to see the advertisement in more detail.

Casino Badia

Beginning on Thursday, July 27, 1933 until Wednesday August 2

At The Former Fantazio in Giza

Tuesday and Friday Delighting You With Her Singing And Her Oud Playing, The Princess Of Tarab:

Nadra

The Remaining Weekdays She Will Perform the New Play Written By El Oustaz Bade3 Khairy:

Ama Warta (What a Huge Problem)

For The First Time, The Artistic Show About The World Of Love With Costumes and Sets Designed Especially For It:

Abtal El Hob (The Heroes of Love)

Mark Anthony And Cleopatra
Quas and Layla
Romeo and Juliet
Antir and Abla

Written By El Oustaz Abou El Se3oud El Ebiary, Composed By El Oustaz Ezat el Gahli
Directed by El Oustaz Jouly

The 4th Competition of Badia's Competition Series:

The Beautiful Eyes Contest **See footnote

Participating In The Entire Program With Her Troupe Members, The Queen of Slimness, The Artist:

Madame Badia Masabni

Beba,
Fathya Mahmoud,
Bahiya Amer,
Fathya Sherif,
Kawsar Farid,
Sara,
Abdel El Nabi Mohamed
Miss KiKi,
Hussein Ibrahim,
Mahmoud El Touni,
Fahmi Aman,
Ezat el Gahli

Tuesday A Matinee for Women, Friday and Sunday For All Audiences at 6:30 pm

Caption under the Left Picture:

Queen Of The Slim Madame Badia Masabni

Beginning on Thursday August 3 And On The Following Days

The Queen Of The Slim Madame Badia Masabni will Present to Audiences

Monsieur Marton

The Man — The Woman

His Clothes Are Worth 12 Thousand Pounds

Caption Under The Center Picture:

Monsieur Marton

This Astounding Man Transports Himself Between the Countries Of The World In 15 Minutes

He changes clothes very quickly without ever leaving the stage. You will see him once as a Turkish Woman and Once As a Spanish Woman Etc. 

And in that short time period you will feel that you've spent a lengthy time in between European and Middle Eastern countries even though he stays in one spot. It's like dreaming, but it's actually an amazing reality. When you leave after having watched him, you will want to see him for a second and a third time, and for the entire time that he'll be working at the casino. 

**Editor's Note: The August 16, 1933 issue of Al Aroussa magazine reported on who won the "Most Beautiful Eyes in Egypt" competition on August 2. Click here to read the article that reveals who won!

The Full Advertisement:

Closeups of the Two Pages:

• Beba Ezz el-Din Wins Beauty Contest at Badia's Summer Club in Giza. This article says that Beba was the winner of The Beautiful Eyes contest that the above advertisement promoted.
• Ad for Badia Masabni's Show in 1938 Titled Chokehold. This play relied on gender confusion for some of its laughs.

• Ad for Show in Asyut (Assuit), Egypt by the Rushdie Sisters. Advertisement for another show featuring a female impersonator, this one in Asyut, Egypt.
• Articles and Advertisements Featuring Badia Masabni and Her Businesses. An index to other resources on this web site.

Priscilla is a dancer of Lebanese heritage who enjoys researching the Golden Era of Egyptian dance. She owns a collection of more than one hundred classic black and white Egyptian films which is continually expanding.

Priscilla has also gathered a large library of dance related articles and clippings from Middle Eastern magazines and newspapers, many of which she has translated from the original Arabic to both English and Spanish.

Priscilla currently resides in Central America where she is a dance instructor.