The Flying Karamazov Brothers are not a trapeze act, and they
don’t really fly.
What the
”
flying
”
refers to are the things the juggling foursome can keep aloft
between themselves
– juggling pins, sickles, eggs and just about anything else
audience members can throw their way.
The Flying Karamazov Brothers are not a trapeze act, and they don’t really fly.
What the “flying” refers to are the things the juggling foursome can keep aloft between themselves – juggling pins, sickles, eggs and just about anything else audience members can throw their way.
Locals will get a chance to test the brothers Saturday, when the troupe performs their show “Catch!” a benefit in Watsonville for Mt. Madonna School.
The brothers, who aren’t really brothers at all, got their start as street performers in San Francisco about 30 years ago. Since then, their act, which involves a whole lot more than just juggling, has taken them around the world, including to Broadway. The Flying K’s, as they’re sometimes called, mix juggling with music, satire and puns for a vaudevillian evening of comedy.
The production should please all family members, although some of the jokes might go over the heads of the kids. Audience members can expect to see a “blend of action, and quick non-stop wit,” said Leigh Ann Clifton, a parent of a Mt. Madonna student, who has seen the show.
“It’s high-brow; it’s low-brow,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
“Catch!” is a compendium of the Flying K’s best skits from their three-decade career.
One of the skits the brothers are famous for is called “The Gamble,” Clifton said.
During that piece, one of the Karamazov brothers asks the audience to offer up three items he can juggle. The catch is, the items can be just about anything, from a slinky to spaghetti. If the brother successfully performs the task, he gets a standing ovation. If he doesn’t, he gets a pie in the face.
The Flying K’s play instruments and sing, and sometimes some dancing. Mostly, though, the show comprises silly gags and clowning around.
Mt. Madonna was able to book the performers because one of the brothers has a niece who attends the school. The brothers are squeezing the Watsonville benefit in, performing in Southern California on Friday night, in Watsonville on Saturday night and then heading back to Seattle, where they’re based, said Mt. Madonna Development Director Beth Blosser.
“We were really fortunate,” she said. “I can’t say enough about the generosity of the Karamazov Brothers to do this for us.”
The benefit is to raise money to help the school finish building a place to house the schools middle and high school students.
The group will perform at the Mello Center in Watsonville
to help Mt. Madonna raise money to finish building the new 20,000-square-foot building.
Blosser said the school needs about $750,000 more for such things as carpets and desks for the new building.
Mt. Madonna is a 25-year-old private school that serves students from pre-school through 12th grade from Santa Clara and surrounding counties.
Clifton said having the Karamazov brothers perform for the school is appropriate because the school has a strong performing arts program.
Blosser said despite the school having been around so long, many people still don’t know about it.
“I think Mt. Madonna is one of those best-kept-secret schools,” she said. “It’s really fun to have something where we can include the greater community.”
What: The comedy juggling group The Flying Karamazov Brothers perform their show “Catch!” as a benefit for Mt. Madonna School.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Henry J. Mello Center for the performing Arts in Watsonville.
Price: General admission $30,
students and seniors $25, children 12 and under $20, Gold Circle $65, Family Pack (two adults, two children) $85.
For Tickets: Call Mello Center box office at (831) 763-4047 or order online at www.mellocenter.com
