Legit Circus Review
Zoppe Italian Family Circus
Redwood City, CA
Seen October 14, performances run through November 27
tickets $15 to $25.00
Note: the Zoppe website does not list the names of performers, nor has a message I sent them requesting such yet been answered.
How do you review a circus so different, one that comes at you eccentrically poised, surprises you in small subtle ways and leaves you not missing tired old cliches it has wisely left behind.
On paper, the lineup is inarguably slim. Yet in action, a number of winning assets — classic clowning, novel programing surprises, and a few popping good acts wrapped in a warm family spirit — combine to make this a delightful confection greater than the sum of its parts.
Zoppe shuns strobe lights and motor bikes and droning musical soundtracks. It leaves behind three humdrum bargain basement yawners (aka: filler), seen too often on too many shows these tepid days, items I could forever go without: Clunky roller skating on pedestals, sleep-inducing rollovers on “bed sheets” (Kenny Dodd’s nickname for the fabrics); and hula hoops ad nauseam. Here is a show with no patience (or space) for motorcycles in a cage — blame my indifference to this thriller on the Chinese having spoiled me in Shanghai with eight bikes in motion. Eight.
Under their 500-seat tent, Zoppe unfolds over a simpler, older fashioned ring, which gives it an other-worldly mystique of its own. You are not in any old arena. Nor in a chic designer tent. Best of all, you are patronizing a company that favors domestic animals, doubly impressive to the point of unthinkable, here in the State of Insanity. Here where the nearby San Jose Mercury News (in an unrelated news item) smugly culture signals its support for “animal free circuses.” The same Silicon Valley social media giants who are inflaming the world with live streaming of murder and rape and mayhem -- and wreaking unconscionable havoc on countless young lives.
Show owner Giovanni Zoppe, above, who plays Nino the clown, embraces you upon entering his festive village. From atop a small stage, he regales early comers with his family’s history through time up and down old sawdust trails.
And on the midway, you may feel his warm heart, too, when you are ready to lay down four or five for a bottle of water, and are changed only a buck. You might also be doubly impressed by his far above average restroom accommodations on wheels. Best I’ve ever seen.
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* Clowning takes off with a hat that has a will of its own, sometimes sitting on Nino’s head, other times on the tip of his hat stick, or down on the ground playing hide and seek. A little kid (or plant from the front row) is lifted into a hug and carried off to help Nino find his hat. It’s perfectly charming.
* Kiddie star for the kiddies: A little boy, likely a Zoppe, turning into a rag doll to play Pinocchio, ending up in a round ball of arms and legs tightly wound, rolling over and over. Priceless.
* This being a real circus which also shuns robotic animals, here you’ll get a team of very real, very talented dogs, under the deft direction of their trainer. Their big moment is truly big: a walking four-high mount behind a fifth member in the lead — a pony rearing up on its hind legs. There you go again, animal kingdom — stealing the show!
Quirky abstract images tickle the imagination.
* Nino tickles the crowd after getting hoisted by the seat of his pants up to a high bar, from which he executes hand stands. A work up to: How can I get back down? His only exit is to jump. Down below, a small pad is being inflated into a big billowing pillow while Nino is shivering aloft in fear, the audience egging him on. Finally , he takes the plunge, instantly flattening the pillow (first gag) out of which (second gag) explodes a sea of paper confetti, showering the audience. I was knocked over by the fun of it all, my trousers white-flecked. Might this be what Juliet Feld calls an “immersive” moment (my iPhone failed to record).
* A fiercely accomplished ball bouncing juggler. And not a single flub.
A tip of the hat from their kindly and silent ringmaster, who holds gentle court spreading cheer on the sidelines. He's a keeper.
* After a brief intermission during which photo ops with a pony are sold, the slow-motion poetry of today’s ballet circus makes a cameo in the figure of a young contortionist, above, bending and posturing with elegant grace. Purist fans of this genre should find him fulfilling.
* Another amusing trick. Three acrobats banging away on drums while erecting an obstacle gate of bars — how low can one of them go under the lowest bar without his body touching it? The smallest among them shimmies horizontally through, and I shimmed out a giggle. Cracking good.
A few of Zoppe’s variable offerings fail to click: Among them, labored Chinese pole climbing never really takes off – show is woefully weak on acrobatics. A bicycle rider, above, has no challenges to meet. Most disappointing of all, solo horse riding all too basic and brief. And yet, and yet – out of this last entry before finale, in symbolism alone, my soul was deeply touched by the surreal image of the lone horse and rider with flaring American flag, circling the ring and keeping it as true now as it was back when Astley began circling it for the circus he gave us. So very fitting for today.
Paul Binder often spoke of wanting to foster a joyful connection between artist an audience. And now I feel what he means. You’ll find it under this tent. I was left wanting to see this remarkable troupe again, if only they weren’t so far away. How long has it been since I have felt that urge?
We are living through an age of competing delivery systems for circus acts, legit big tops offering all the three staples, to slices of circus during symphony hall concerts, on cruise ships and stages. In performance art. Summer parks. Strip clubs. TV. Zoppe has 80 performances slated for Redwood City, in the library parking lot where it has shown for 16 seasons in a row. Last year they ended up adding another week. How I would love to see this show before a full house. These performers poured their hearts out to us, as if the tent was packed.
Au Revoir, Zoppe Family Circus.
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