Lazer Vaudeville Beams Into Fulton Opera

Emceed by a seven foot tall, fluorescent, fire-breathing dragon named Alfonzo, Lazer Vaudeville offers a combination of spectacular lighting effects, juggling, zany comedy and audience participation that’s perfect for the entire family. Audiences will thrill to the sight of a wizard who creates magical illusions with laser beams, a neon cowboy kicking up a luminescent rope-spinning display, and an audience member who magically escapes from a straitjacket.

Lazer Vaudeville is the brainchild of Carter Brown who created the show and began touring with it in 1987. With the help of fellow performers Cindy Marvel and Nicholas Flair, Brown keeps audiences on the edge of their seats with such utterly unique spectacles as indoor kite flying, chainsaw juggling and Brown’s own specialty, hoop rolling. A world-renowned practitioner of his craft, Brown amazes audiences by setting up to ten hoops spinning independently around himself and the stage in intricate patterns that have to be seen to be believed.

“Lazer Vaudeville is part of the Fulton’s ongoing effort to present Lancaster area residents with a broad range of unique live theatrical experiences,” says the Fulton’s Managing Director Aaron Young. “This show has captivated audiences of all ages around the world and we’re thrilled to be able to bring it to Lancaster as part of our Fulton Family Theatre Series.”

Lazer Vaudeville is performed to an original soundtrack written specifically for the show by composer Jesse Manno. Manno mixes electronic sounds with Turkish guitar, Macedonian tambura, Greek bouzouki, Australian didjeridu, and Irish fiddle to perfectly complement the show’s unique blend of special effects and vaudevillian spirit.

The show’s spectacular fiber-optic scenery, including a floating castle and monument valley glowing in evanescent moonlight is the creation of designer Maia Robbins-Zust of Berkshire Production Resources in Richmond, MA. And Jennifer Johanos has contributed a host of imaginative costumes that add extra sparkle to the performance.

Carter 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. A graduate of the Ringling Bros. Clown College in Sarasota, he toured with Ringling Bros. Circus for two years, then went on to perform his solo juggling act with Carden International Circus and the Monte Carlo Festival du Cirque.

Cindy Marvell, a native New Yorker, embarked on an international juggling career after graduating from Oberlin College with honors in 1988. As a teenager, she trained at the Antic Arts Academy at SUNY Purchase and performed regularly around the city including events at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. She has toured with San Francisco's Pickle Family Circus, collaborated with modern dance companies in New York, and worked solo in Japan. P.B.S. specials include Sesame Street’s 25th Anniversary and Children and the Bomb with Elizabeth Swados. Off stage, Marvell has written articles about her field for The New York Times and for Juggle, Spectacle and Kaskade magazines. Marvell and Brown are also featured in the DVD A Juggling Journey (www.dube.com). “The technical level we perform at is very high,” says Marvell, now in her tenth season with the company, “and we explore the frontiers of the art in a way that still appeals to kids and enthralls adults.”

Nicholas Flair got hooked on juggling as a high school student in Ithaca, NY. As a math major at Brown University, he founded the Out of Hand Juggling Club and performed with Misnomer Dance Theater. After graduating in 1998, he trained at the National Circus School of Montreal. His signature cigar box routine combines demanding technique with aerial acrobatics, dance, and flamenco rhythms. New York credits include productions with the Metropolitan Opera, New York Theater Ballet, and variety theater shows in Madison Square Garden and Times Square. His solo act has taken to the waves with Holland America cruise lines and hit the airwaves on FOX TV’s 30 Seconds to Fame. Collaborations have taken him to the International Jazz Festival of Montreal and the Summer Festival of Quebec. Flair recently completed a seven-month tour of Switzerland with Circus Starlight.

Lazer Vaudeville is based in Colorado at the Boulder Circus Center, which offers juggling and aerial classes. LV’s touring Arts-in-Education Outreach program is designed to bring live performances to students and teachers. "We focus on the history of vaudeville in America," Brown says. "Most students can't imagine popular entertainment before the invention of T.V. and movies." -- www.atthefulton.org