More Theater Articles
- Spotlight: West Side Story No rumbles reported at musical revival (Dec 21, 2005)
- Spotlight: Macbeth Trouble underneath the kilt of the Scottish play (Dec 14, 2005)
- Spotlight: The Miracle Worker (Dec 7, 2005)
- Off The Cliff Gremlin's 'On the Verge' stumbles through time (Dec 7, 2005)
- Prince Unplugged Jeune Lune's spartan 'Little Prince' (Nov 30, 2005)
- Spotlight: The Dumb Waiter Nogoodniks gab absurdly in Pinter classic (Nov 30, 2005)
- Saints and Sinners Interactive jazz history; hardcover ghost stories (Nov 23, 2005)
- Spotlight: That's Mister Benchley to You, Mrs. Parker (Nov 23, 2005)
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Ditch your family and run away to the circus
Spotlight: Magical 4th Street
Image: Tim Benko
This second annual variety festival offers up some light entertainment during this brief, end-of-the-year respite (in which the grind of routine abates somewhat and consideration of heavy matters is not high on the agenda). Each night features a different combination of three half-hour acts, both local and from out of town, and the focus is distinctly vaudevillian. Geoff Williams, for instance, plies comedy magic with the audience-pleasing highlight of shrinking his own head (just think of the savings on his therapist bills). Mikael Rudolph works with nonverbal physical comedy (go ahead, call it mime), evoking Euro street cabaret with magic thrown into the mix through the use of prop illusions. Bret Blackshear will perform magic with stage partner Jayna Lee, who contributes acrobatics, juggling, and contortion. On the musical side, Colorado's the Muses play Celtic music on exotic instruments. Perhaps most intriguing is Dextre Tripp (pictured), who promises rope walking and "amazingly stupid stunts." (Anyone making such a claim in the post-Jackass age must realize that the ante has been irrevocably upped.) And that's not all! (That's just all we have room to include here.) The overall desired tone seems to be a sort of twisted gentleness, and its placement in the holiday schedule suggests its utility as a diversion when attacking or otherwise disposing of one's loved ones might seem the only other viable option. It's a public service, then.
About Quinton Skinner
From the Archive
- Spotlight: West Side Story No rumbles reported at musical revival (Theater - Dec 21, 2005)
- Spotlight: Macbeth Trouble underneath the kilt of the Scottish play (Theater - Dec 14, 2005)
- The Year in Theater The Greeks, the geeks, the freaks, the dualistic representations of the Argentine distaff underclass--all the best of Twin Cities drama circa 2005 (Arts Feature - Dec 7, 2005)
- Spotlight: The Miracle Worker (Theater - Dec 7, 2005)
- Off The Cliff Gremlin's 'On the Verge' stumbles through time (Theater - Dec 7, 2005)
- Spotlight: The Dumb Waiter Nogoodniks gab absurdly in Pinter classic (Theater - Nov 30, 2005)
- Prince Unplugged Jeune Lune's spartan 'Little Prince' (Theater - Nov 30, 2005)
- Saints and Sinners Interactive jazz history; hardcover ghost stories (Theater - Nov 23, 2005)
- More articles from the Quinton Skinner Archive...
