Review
Oakland Tribune
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April 18, 2002
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Same planet, charming 'L'Universe'
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'L'UNIVERSE,'.the Flying Karamazov Brothers' latest production, blends
science, juggling, music and comedy.
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By Chad Jones STAFF WRITER
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Amid all the high-tech A gadgetry and comic non-sense going on in the new Flying Karamazov Brothers show, one mighty special effect just refuses to play along: gravity - it's such a drag.
This rambunctious quartet of jugglers has created a nifty new act called "L'Universe. in which, among other things, they attempt to unlock the secrets of the universe through-what else?-juggling.
The opening-night show Tuesday at Berkeley's Roda Theatre demonstrated the ample talents of the Karamazovs and showed off some truly astonishing technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab. Just because these guys are funny, talented and amazingly entertaining doesn't mean they don't drop things.
Somehow, though, they make even the gaffes funny.
Among the world's finest jugglers, the Flying Karamazov Brothers are neither Russian nor brothers. They do many incredible things, but they do not fly. Born on the streets of San Francisco in 1973, this act centers on breathtaking feats of juggling laced with comedy of both the high and low variety as well as some quite joyful music making.
Only two founding flying K's are left in the act, Paul Magid and Howard Jay Patterson, and they just happened to write this brainy new show. The two new guys, Mark Ettinger and Roderick Kimball, are both terrific, and' in true Karamazov fashion, play a mean accordion and trumpet, respectively.
Although the meat of this two-hour show involves very low-tech plastic pins that are hurled about in amazingly fluid, though hardly flawless, fashion, some smarty-pants gimmicks on display turn out to be great fun.
The most interesting is the MIT invention called the "etherphone," which is far too complicated to explain. Suffice it to say that the four performers (and one lucky audience volunteerã yes, it's that kind of show) wear devices that allow them to create musical sounds through their movement. Where they are on stage determines what kind of sound they make and which note, in a six-octave range, the master computer allows them to play.
The result of all this gimmickry is a lovely waltz (music composed by Ettinger and Douglas Wieselman) in which the music itself becomes a dance.
Another gorgeous sequence involves five metal bells that swing pendulum-style across the stage. Ducking, dodging and skittering about Christopher Barreca's scaffolding-dominated set, the performers manage to avoid being killed by the bells while they make some enchanting music.
Less life-threatening is the splendid visual trick involving a rear projection screen and the illusion of two performers playing volleyball with the moon.
Director Carys Kresny never lets the whiz-bang machinery or scientific babbling overwhelm the charmingly human aspects of the show. Though there's a lot of discussion of Aristotle, Newton, Galileo and Einstein as well as high-brow concepts like relativity, quantum mechanics and unified field theory, it all comes down to four guys playing instruments, bouncing balls and juggling lust about anything they can get their hands on.
Kids and adults alike will be charmed by the flying Karamazov Brothers. This is family-friendly entertainment that doesn't pander or preach.
During its scientific moments, the show discusses how certain events present a perfect picture of the universe at that moment.
Take a picture of the Karamazovs' audience, which is something that actually happens during the show. and you'll see a whole lot of people who seem quite happy to be visiting the Karamazov universe.
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