ACT Theatre is thrilled to welcome back The Flying Karamazov Brothers (FKB) February 2 -12 in the Falls Theatre. Fresh from a year Off-Broadway, a summer in London’s West End, a month in Madrid, and a weekend in Peoria, their critically incriminating show arrives just in time to warm up Seattle audiences. This year, FKB performs 12 shows over two weeks as part of ACT’s Central Heating Lab. The group also celebrates the 30th anniversary of their first engagement with ACT, considered their home venue in the Northwest.
Promising to “wash away your winter blues with red fire and yellow yolk,” these clever pranksters dance, prance, pun, dunce, sing, aspire, perspire, and mesmerize their way through an evening of reinvention. Their act is accessible and will delight audiences of all ages. Attendees are invited to bring objects to the theatre for The Champ to keep airborne in a real challenge that ends either with a pie in the face or a standing ovation. Not-so-fine-print: Objects must be heavier than an ounce, less than 10 pounds and no bigger than a breadbox. The Champ will not juggle a live animal or anything that may prevent The Champ from continuing to be a live animal.
Their variety show is a unique blend of music, comedy, dance, theater, and juggling that dazzles. The Flying Ks are certainly at the apex of their ambidextrous and alliterative ability. Their performances are a combination of physical and verbal humor and range from high brow to low brow to mono brow. Each event proving that chaos and unexpected events are the very best part of being human.
Named after the characters of Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, the current lineup includes founding members Dmitri (Paul Magid), Alexi (Mark Ettinger), Pavel (Rod Kimball) and Zossima (Stephen Bent). Each of the Brothers brings his area of expertise to the enterprise. Mark Ettinger is the resident musician, composer, and conductor. Rod Kimball is the master juggler. Paul Magid is the writer, director, and founder. Stephen Bent is exceptionally tall.
The FKBs had their genesis nearly forty years ago in 1973 when Paul and Howard discovered each other living across the hall in the dorms of the University of California at Santa Cruz. They met up with Randy Nelson (who had acted with Paul in high school), and the three hitchhiked to Spokane to perform at the World's Fair in 1974. During this trip, Howard was reading the classic Russian novel. He noticed how the book's characters fit their own personalities, and thus, the FKBs were born. (Randy performed under the moniker Alyosha, and first attempted to retire after having his pocket picked in Seattle.) After they wandered together and separately over North America, they eventually graduated from college, moved to San Francisco in 1976 and began to perform regularly as a trio.
Since its inception, the FKB have been on many shows including, "The Tonight Show," "Ellen," "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood," "The Today Show" and "Seinfeld," and they have collaborated and performed with many stars, including Frank Sinatra, The Grateful Dead, Dolly Parton, The Smothers Brothers and The Who. They were also part of the movie "The Jewel of the Nile," alongside Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.
Tickets for The Flying Karamazov Brothers at ACT Theatre are on sale now and available at www.acttheatre.org or 206.292.7676.
