Two years ago, three women in Boston threw on some feathers, slapped on pasties, and painted their faces all theatrical-like. They shimmied on stage under names like Rosie Cheeks and Lola Freebush and declared themselves the Burlesque Revival Association, or — tee-hee! — the BRA. Today, you can consider the 1940s variety-show performance officially revived. Similar troupes have formed across the country from New York to Los Angeles. An annual festival called Tease-O-Rama was launched a little over a year ago in order to bring together the best of the best in burlesque. And this Friday, the grandes dames of the movement, New York’s World Famous Pontani Sisters, will be joining forces with the BRA and DJ Brother Cleve at the Paradise for Boston’s biggest burlesque blowout to date.

" In the last two years, there’s been an explosion, " says BRA co-founder Trista Beard, who goes by the stage name Charlotte Charles. " This kind of sexy but very funny entertainment is enjoyable. There really is a national burlesque community. It’s amazing! "

The Pontani Sisters are emblematic of the success that the new burlesque movement has achieved. The three women, who actually are sisters, have elicited critical attention from the New Yorker, the Village Voice, and Bust and earned a spot on the couch at countless television talk shows. At the Paradise, they will perform some of their stylized, synchronized moves in a sort of historical medley of dirty dancing, mixing up some 1960s shimmy-shimmy with 1930s-vintage French cancan and that sideshow staple, the naughty fan dance.

Hewing to historical accuracy, the BRA folks aren’t just about T&A: their vision of burlesque encompasses the form’s vaudeville variety-show trappings. As such, they plan to revisit some of the acts they’ve been, shall we say, unveiling at local residencies in such places as the Lizard Lounge and the Jorge Hernández Cultural Center. At the Paradise, the performances will include a puppet show by Jake the Puppetmaster, comedy acts, and a musical group — complete with a saw player — performing jazz standards.

And yes, a few women will take the stage to do striptease numbers while assuming playful personas. " We’re doing a Little Red Riding Hood, a Gal Mechanic, a Catholic Schoolgirl, " says Beard, who will be performing an Army Girl strip tease of her own. (Be sure to salute!) Throughout, the MC will be Karen Swallows. ( " Very slutty, " Beard laughs.) Later in the evening, after all of the lovely ladies have done their worst on stage, neo-lounge specialist Brother Cleve will man the turntables for a go-go after-party.

Beard expects to see some of the BRA’s regular attendees, a group that includes a contingent of Boston septuagenarians who like to reminisce about the good old days. They’re old enough to remember when Scollay Square — before it was torn down to make way for Government Center — supported a thriving red-light district of strip clubs and burlesque houses. " They come up and say, ‘I saw Tempest Storm dance here!’  " As for everyone else, " unless they’re in their 70s, this is going to be fresh for them. "

Although a few of the women do plan on stripping down to their skivvies, the BRA remains true to burlesque’s relatively (by today’s standards) modest roots, Beard points out. They may not get completely nude, but they’re refreshingly au naturel — don’t expect the liposuctioned, tanning-booth-and-implants human blow-up dolls you’d find at a Route One strip joint. The BRA ladies embody the pre-Playboy stag-mag look, with an abundance of womanly curves and a proclivity for shaking ’em — a throwback to the days when a strip was just a tease.

The Pontani Sisters, the Boston Revival Association, and Brother Cleve perform this Friday, July 26, at the Paradise, 969 Comm Ave. It’s a 9 p.m., 21-plus show, and tickets are $10. Call (617) 562-8800.