Lazer Vaudeville Show Spotlights Huntsville

Broadway Theatre League is bringing a flashy Lazer Vaudeville show to Huntsville at VBC Concert Hall on April 1, 2005 with two 50-minute student performances at 9:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and one two-hour family show at 7:00 p.m. Lazer Vaudeville combines high-tech laser magic with the traditional arts of vaudeville to create an original theatrical production.Complete with superlative juggling, black light illusion, acrobatics, zany comedy, and audience participation, Lazer Vaudeville offers clean, classy fun for the entire family.

A cast of fantastical characters leads the audience on a journey through the imagination as a wizard performs magical illusions with laser beams, a neon cowboy kicks up a luminescent rope-spinning display, and an audience member escapes from a straitjacket. The master of ceremonies is a seven-foot tall, fluorescent, fire-breathing dragon named Alfonzo.

Founded in 1987, the touring company fulfills Carter Brown's dream of bringing vaudeville back to the stages. Contemporary lighting and sound effects have made Lazer Vaudeville successful with the T.V. generation. "Kids are used to video and film, so they really respond to this," Brown says. "Part of our mission is to introduce young audiences to the art of live performance."

Internationally acclaimed as a master of his craft, Brown demonstrates the lost art of hoop rolling. In an astonishing visual display, the hoops roll around his body and circle the stage as if taking on a life of their own. Brown manipulates up to ten wooden bicycle rims of various sizes; some are antiques. Brown and fellow performers Jeffrey Daymont and Cindy Marvell also juggle modern items such as plungers, machetes, and running chain saws.

Together the troupe creates pinwheel illusions and percussive sounds with South American bolas, bounces balls off airborne drums in a mesmerizing ensemble piece, and defies the laws of probability by passing up to ten clubs in an engaging display of buffoonery and expertise. "The kind of juggling we do blows away everybody's concept of what juggling is about," Brown comments. The P.B.S. series “Center Stage” recently focused on Lazer Vaudeville’s blend of vaudeville and technology in an episode filmed at the Paramount in Austin, TX.

Composer Jesse Manno of the University of Colorado in Boulder has created an original soundtrack that captures the show’s special effects and vaudeville spirit. The music mixes electronic sound with Turkish guitar, Macedonian tambura, Greek bouzouki, Australian didjeridu, and Irish fiddle. The troupe sells this lively and lyrical recording on CD.

Designer Maia Robbins-Zust of Berkshire Production Resources in Richmond, MA has added original fiber-optic scenery. A floating castle lights up the stage and monument valley glows in the evanescent moonlight. Imaginative costumes by Jennifer Johanos add extra sparkle to the performance.

Cindy Marvell, the first woman ever to win the International Juggling Association’s Championship, “juggles like a poet" and performs with "a compelling mix of pragmatism and magic," according to Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times. Marvell also dresses up like a chef and teaches children from the audience to spin plates. Master manipulator and comedian Jeffrey Daymont keeps his crazy antics going throughout the show. With razor-sharp timing he gleefully intercepts clubs as Brown and Marvell send them whizzing by at precarious angles.

All three performers became interested in vaudeville skills at a young age. Brown was born to a theatrical family and led the University of Vermont's mime troupe, "The Silent Company," while majoring in theater and art. After attending the Ringling Bros. Clown College in Sarasota, he toured with Ringling Bros. for two years, then went on to perform his solo juggling act with Carden International Circus and the Monte Carlo Festival du Cirque.

Marvell embarked upon an international juggling career after graduating from Oberlin College. She grew up in New York City and attended the Antic Arts Academy at SUNY Purchase. As a teenager, she performed regularly around the city including events at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. A former member of San Francisco's Pickle Family Circus, Marvell has collaborated with modern dance companies in New York City and worked solo in Japan. P.B.S. specials include “Sesame Street’s 25th Anniversary” and “Children and the Bomb” with Elizabeth Swados.

"The technical level we perform at is very high," says Marvell, now in her lucky seventh season with the show. "We explore the frontiers of the art in a way that still appeals to kids and enthralls adults."

Born on New Year’s Day in a Chicago suburb, Daymont’s international career has taken him to new levels of coordinated cacophony. His breathtaking cigar box manipulations won the People’s Choice Award at the International Jugglers Festival. In his adopted city of Los Angeles, he juggled his way into NBC’s “Days of our Lives” the L.A. Comedy Cabaret, and Hollywood’s Universal Studios. From variety theatres in Montreal and Berlin to Renaissance Festivals across the U.S., “Jeffrey the Traveling Juggler” captures hearts and jogs funny bones with his buoyant savoir-faire.

In addition to presenting over 150 theatre shows annually, Lazer Vaudeville runs an Arts-in-Education Outreach program designed to bring live performances to the schools. "We teach kids about the history of vaudeville in America," Daymont says. "Most of them can't imagine popular entertainment before the invention of T.V. and movies." The company recently took its act overseas, performing in England and Saudi Arabia for six weeks. Past international tours have included theatre festivals in Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, and Bermuda. The first 15 minutes of the show are in black light, so latecomers will not be admitted during this part. Attendees are asked to allow themselves time to be seated before the show begins at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for this family evening are $14.00, $12.00, $10.00 and $8.00 depending on seat location and may be purchased by calling Broadway Theatre League at 256-518-6155 or through a Ticketmaster outlet.