Circus Contraption

Several nights ago, I saw one of the most extraordinary shows I have ever seen: Circus Contraption's Grand American Traveling Dime Museum. This one-ring circus, based in Seattle, is at The Theater for the New City, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, until September 23. My dear friend Rick, who has a talent for sniffing out unconventional performances, insisted I go, and he was so right. I whooped and gasped, sighed and shrieked, laughed, and yes, shed a tear or two. The feats are truly amazing, the music is original and grand. This is not a little-kids circus; imagine Kurt Weill and the girls from the Kit Kat Club taking a trip to Coney Island, and you begin to get a hint of the flavor.

Check out the website at www.circuscontraption.com, get your tickets, and catch one of the performances. You might see me there - I am going back as soon as I can. Once you have entered the Traveling Dime Museum world, try, just try, to convince me you don't have a thought of running away to join the circus. I'd consider it myself, if they didn't already have a great singer in Sari Breznau (and she can play the trumpet, too).