41-4,p20

ENTERTAINERS

Karamazovs Offer More Of The Best New Vaudeville

by Bill Giduz

The Karamazov Brothers have tossed out the funny pants, but the rest of their current show, "Club," is still a vintage VaudevilIe extravaganza. It's an evolution in their style rather than a revolution. The jokes are new, but delivered with the same quick back-and-forth, punny rhythm as always. There's stilI musical juggling, just more of it. But two of their most successful old saws remain -- the jazz club passing piece and the Audience Challenge juggle.

In a recent Raleigh, N.C., appearance, the group proved to a packed house they operate just as effectively as a quartet as they did as a quintet. Randy Nelson has left for employment with Next Computer company, but Patterson, Paul Magid, Sam Williams and Tim Furst carryon without missing a beat. As Furst explained, the group has always done four-person shows when one person needed to be away.

A handsome new backdrop sets an appropriate tone for the evening. Their trademark flying heart is supported by a collonade of five giant clubs, all painted stark white. The performers enter and exit through curtains between the clubs.

The show begins with a demonstration of silent skilI, as the FKB execute a complicated four-person weave that gets faster and faster without saying a word.

But the silence doesn't last long. They follow with three-club, two person take aways with a rapid patter that recalls the famous Abbott and Costello "Who's on first?" routine. Music is introduced as Furst solos with clubs while the others accompany him hilariously on horns. The audience can't help but giggle as Williams tries to pick up a dropped sombrero while keeping his tempo on the tuba.

From that "Solo" introduction, Patterson and Magid segue into a "Duo" demonstration of two person club passing while joking about glasnost, arms reduction and the Karamazov Passing System. The "war of bodily coordination" escalates to a promised demonstration of -- get this - simultaneous singing, marimba playing, harmonica blowing, tap dancing, juggling and gum chewing. The absurd, but admirable, demonstration proceeds to the tune of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," and ends neatly with just that, a blown bubblegum bubble.

The "Trio" segment is carried with the theme of "see no evil, speak no evil, smell no evil," with giant ears as props and appropriate ape-like movement. Williams begins the tale of their juggling exploits, which flows into a "Quartet" song a la Gilbert and Sullivan. The jaunty chorus of "We're the very model of a modem vaudeville juggling troupe!" may be delivered in a selfdeprecating, silly style, but many audience members realize the truth in the message!

Next the audience gets to challenge Patterson with their wildest offerings of impossible juggling props. On this particular evening, the challengers offered up blocks of ice, an inflatable dinosaur, a Slinky, pancakes, a chain, a sheet cake, tofu and more. The selection process, buildup, mess-making and final triumph of the champ stretched on for almost 20 minutes.

It was on to hardware juggling with sickles, battle axes, Sufi swords and cleavers -- a routine that left body parts on the floor, blades embedded in bodies and everyone out for the count. They revived briefly, however, to deliver a clever intermission sales pitch to the tune of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

The second act began with the melancholy sight of winos dozing in the streets and a bluesy trombone solo by Patterson. Williams emerges from the random scene as a hard-nose detective who tells the tale of the "Maltese Flagon." The story evolves with Furst as a janitor who ends up -- after some skillfull line passing -- with his chin under a tall, balanced tower of glasses and plates, topped by the flagon.

The "Jazz" club passing routine comes next, with many familiar gags and a highlight of continuous bounce passes from the others to feedee Magid, who catches just about everything. Williams provided constant comedy commentary as the feeder in the middle.

They end with a buildup of musical juggling demonstrations. High-tech computerized transmission between sensors on their suits and amplifiers and synthesizers offstage give the performers the freedom to move around the stage while still creating their music.

The demonstration starts with the brothers donning helmets that respond with musical notes when struck by clubs. Again, the absurd becomes miraculous as the Kararnazovs do a four-person weave passing pattem while bashing themselves in the head with clubs to create the classical tune, "Ode to Joy."

The finale includes Williams playing back drums, Furst bouncing balls off an oversized floor piano, Magid playing regular drums with clubs and Patterson creating tunes with ball bouncing off a full body suit. Their collaboration in lyric and tune is a song of environmental concern with the chorus, "The whole world's going to learn to juggle." While we can all hope that comes true, it's hard to believe many of the globe's citizens will ever put their juggling skills into as entertaining and creative a package as the Karamazov Brothers. Their 1990 schedule so far includes a January-to-April residency at the ACT Theatre in Seattle, an April trip to Alaska and May performances in St. Paul, Akron, Manchester, N.H., Peekskill, N.Y., and Wayne, N.J.