Clowning around
By Casey Gillis on Feb. 14, 2008
From staff reports
Imagine a big red button with a sign hanging from it that says, “Do Not Touch.” Imagine a clown standing next to it. What would the clown do?
That’s the way the show starts as mayhem ensues for Aga-Boom-founded by Cirque du Soleil veterans and husband-and-wife team Dimitri Bogatirev and Iryna Ivanytska.
Aga-Boom, which has appeared in theaters around the country and world, will open a few more family shows Saturday, Feb. 16, and Sunday, Feb. 17, in Lynchburg at the Academy of Fine Arts. (See box for details.)
The show, with a European theatrical style, uses clowning, slapstick, physical humor and audience participation to create a little chaos. Paper figures in the action, hence the name Aga-Boom, which is a play on the Russian word for paper, boomaga. (Bogatirev and Ivanytska are natives Ukraine.)
Four years ago, Aga-Boom was nominated for an Ovation award for best touring show, along with the Producers, 42nd Street, Lily Tomlin and Elaine Stritch.
Here’s the way the Los Angeles Times reviewed the show: “(Aga-Boom) came closer to being literally riotous - as in so funny that the audience did more than just laugh - than any theatrical experience within memory. … Infectiously silly fun.”
Dimitri Bogatirev says that after one show, “An old lady kissed my hand after show. She said, ‘You returned me to childhood.’”
IF YOU’RE GOING
WHAT: Aga-Boom
WHEN: 1 and 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, and 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17
WHERE: Academy of Fine Arts Joy and Lynch Christian Warehouse Theatre, Commerce and Fifth streets
TICKETS: $23 for adults; $20 for seniors; $13 for students
INFO: Call (434) 846-TIXX or visit http://www.AcademyFineArts.com
COMMENTS