New vaudeville act brings magic and an Oberlin alum

Lazer Vaudeville, an eclectic neo-vaudevillian act, including juggling, black lights, lasers and a seven-foot-tall fire-breathing dragon emcee, performs Saturday night at Finney.

The group was founded in 1987 and performs at over 150 venues annually. Its main goal, said founder Charter Brown, is to revive Vaudeville as a popular form of entertainment. Lazer Vaudeville runs an "Arts-in-Education Outreach" program in order to bring the medium to children of the TV and film era. "Part of our mission is to introduce young audiences to the art of live performance," Brown said.

Assistant director of the Student Union Tina Zwegat said that she likes to book Oberlin alumni to perform whenever possible.

One of the group members, Cindy Marvell, is an alumnus (OC 88). She began juggling at 12 and, at 15, was the youngest student ever to attend the Antic Arts Academy at State University of New York at Purchase.

She graduated from Oberlin as an English major and now juggles, among other things, running chain-saws, plungers and machetes.

Her in her home town of New York include Lady Fingers  at Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Young People's Concerts  at Avery Fisher Hall, work with Circus Luscious, "Sesame Street" and the New York Renaissance Festival. At one point, she taught at the Big Apple Circus School, and was a member of San Francisco's Pickle Family Circus. She was the first and only woman to win the International Juggling Association's Championship.

Vaudeville has worked to find a specific following. The group's special brand of Vaudeville aims quite unabashedly at a younger audience. Zwegat likens Lazer Vaudeville to the famous Flying Karamazov Brothers. "Kids are used to TV and film," Brown said, "so they really respond to this."

Lasers and other high-tech effects spice up Lazer Vaudeville's show. They also employ black lights, illuminated rope spinning, acrobatics and magic to add to the show's fantastical quality. This is definitely a unique brew of Vaudeville. "

This has been taken to an artistic level rarely seen in the field," Brown said. Marvell added, "We try to explore the frontiers of the art in a way that still appeals to kids and enthralls adults."

Lazer Vaudeville will perform their magic on Nov. 16 in Finney Chapel. Tickets are $4 with OCID, $8 other.