Every first Monday of the month, the Bindlestiff Open Stage Variety Show takes place at Dixon Place downtown in the East Village. I ventured in to see what was described online as a “non-stop variety show experience that may include world famous magicians, gender bending jugglers, circus legends, trained rats, clown bands, aerial artists, wire walkers, sideshow performers, stripping clowns, living cartoons, physical comedy, contortionists, performance artists, emerging burlesque starlets, and more.” Could there really be more?
In the lobby bar before the show, I overheard two men talking. One said he was performing in an ice show in Washington. The other mentioned that he was travelling to Christchurch, New Zealand for a show in January. In our seats, the young lady next to us wasn’t performing that night but had come to show support for her fellow artists. I have always been attracted to stories of the circus, its people and its history. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn is one of my favorite novels. Side Show is an underappreciated, spectacularly fine Broadway musical. Ladies and gentlemen, let the show begin.
Keith Nelson is the host of this show, introducing the acts and performing in between them. His spinning top routine made a strong case for the toy as a rediscovered classic, not that anyone could replicate what he did. A recent guest on The Late, Late Show with James Corden, Mr. Nelson was equally talented and funny. The acts he introduces change with each performance. This particular evening opened with an aerial modern dance by Jennifer Anne Kovacs. Dixon Place is big enough that these artists have ample room to dazzle in many forms.
Acts performed at the Bindlestiff variety show may be works in progress or developmental experiments. All one has to do is sign up for a timeslot. Over the course of two hours I saw Donald Trump dancing with and defiling an Earth balloon (Glen Heroy), an operatic singing trapeze act (Elizabeth Munn) and Zeroboy as Johnny Z, a Corleone-style gangster with impressive sound effects. Wearing her undersea gear and flippers, Eva Lansberry presented a small round suitcase puppet show as a visual aid during her aquatic dance. I was instantly reminded that is has been a long time since I’ve watched Creature From the Black Lagoon.
Tanya Solomon opened the second half of the show with what seemed to be a simple variation on a boardwalk magic ball and cups trick, only to surprise and delight with a great finish. There’s an air of dress rehearsal to some of these performances but the risk taking is what drives the energy in the room. At nearly two hours long with a ticket price of $12.00, the entertainment value is, to quote the defiler, “huuuuge.”
The audience was filled with performers who are invited to share what they are doing and where they are performing next in a short group chat after intermission. The ice show man going to Washington, it turns out, is in the Cirque de Soleil show, Crystal. Other venues mentioned include the Muse in Brooklyn, the Spiegeltent, The Tank and Nut/Cracked, the holiday show at the Flea Theater. Artists plugging their gigs and sharing their talents with their community. While Ringling Brothers may have shuttered, the circus is definitely alive all over New York City and at prices that scream “come inside, curiosity satisfied.” Start spreading the news…