After the murderous ditties of Shockheaded Peter, off-Broadway's family-oriented New Victory Theatre will now offer a gentler kind of nuttiness. Canadian lunatic Tomas Kubinek, a hit at the venue last season, returns to the New Victory, Nov. 5-14, with more props and acrobatics.
Among Kubinek's special talents: somersaulting with a wine glass on his head, flying across the stage and playing the ukelele while clucking like a chicken. The 75-minute show is titled, "Tomas Kubinek -- The Maestro Returns."
Kubinek and his family defected from his native Czechoslovakia to Canada when he was young. Inspired by a circus he'd in Toronto, Kubinek began performing at age nine.
Upcoming shows at the New Victory will include:
€ Nov. 18-28: Suzanne Farrell (ballet) € Dec. 3-Jan. 2, 2000: Kim Walker directs the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, a young, percussion-backed troupe of contortionists, balancers, jugglers and trapeze artists.
€ Feb. 4-13, 2000: England's Travelling Light Theatre Company arrives with Tir Na n'Og, the tale of two youngsters whose lives are changed by a magical white horse. Three actors play all the roles and are backed by two musicians.
€ Feb. 18-27, 2000: Get ready for The Flaming Idiots. No, not the Presidential candidates, we're talking about three guys -- "Gyro, Pyro and Walter" -- from Austin, TX, who juggle swords, fire, bean bag chairs, three-foot balloons and bullwhips.
€ March 3-12, 2000: From Glasgow comes the Visible Fictions Theatre Company and their adaptation of the Academy Award-winning film, "The Red Balloon." It's about a lonely little boy who plays hide and seek with his red balloon -- until bullies try to steal it from him.
€ March 17-26, 2000: the Chicago-based Trinity Irish Dance Company
€ March 31-April 9, 2000: It's time for Frogs, Lizards, Orbs and Slinkys. Courtesy of Portland, OR's Imago Theatre troupe, this Mummenschanz-ish entertainment features its performers as "dancing worms, scampering monkeys and devilishly destructive orbs that wreak havoc in the audience."
€ April 14-30, 2000: Also from Portland comes Extremely Physical Theatre in "Do Jump!", mixing athletics, acrobatics and comedy.
€ May 5-21, 2000: From Rotterdam, 28 life-sized puppets are featured in this look at a dog's life in St. Tropez. The Ro Theatre performers are costumed as the human counterparts of the canine puppets they manipulate.
The New Victory was the first theatre to reopen its doors under the multi-million dollar rehabilitation of 42nd Street, which also includes the renovation and 1997 reopening of Ziegfeld's old New Amsterdam Theatre (just across the street from the New Victory) as the throne of Disney's new theatre empire.
For subscription and ticket information for the New Victory season call (212) 382-4020.
-- By David Lefkowitz
