A vaudeville comeback

Juggling, acrobatics, tap dancing, court jesters, and burlesque are alive and well, and coming back to a familiar venue.

The Regent Theatre in Arlington was founded in 1916, and to celebrate its 90th anniversary, the theater will showcase the most popular form of entertainment at that time -- vaudeville.

``In its heyday, vaudeville was where it was at," said Leland Stein , the Regent's director of marketing and promotion .

Popular from the late 1800s through the 1920s, before cinema, radio, and television, this type of entertainment features variety acts ranging from the comedic and eye-popping to the bizarre.

Vaudeville fits in well with the Regent's variety of offerings over the years. ``We have such an eclectic mix to begin with," said Stein, citing events for all ages. This weekend's event, ``Voltaic Vaudeville" will be ``kind of a microcosm of what the Regent does," he said.

``It's a real mix of old-fashioned vaudeville with cutting edge, or avant-garde vaudeville," Stein said of the 20 acts that will appear in five shows.

Several juggling and balancing acts will perform, including The Airborne Comedians ' Dan Foley , who juggles lawn chairs and machetes, among an assortment of odd objects.

Nate Cooper will bounce on a pogo stick wearing platform heels while juggling knives.

Some dance and music highlights include Germany's ``Tap and Tray ," a.k.a. Kurt Albert and Klaus Bleis , who enthusiastically tap dance in blueberry-colored suits while spinning large silver trays.

Stein said ``Voltaic Vaudeville" primarily showcases Boston area performers, while acts like ``Tap and Tray" give the shows a bit of an ``international flavor."

Traditional Russian gypsy song and dance will be performed by Via Romen , while Canadian soprano Anne Harley will showcase her knowledge of Baroque-era music, as well as contemporary opera.

The Beat Circus Vaudeville Orchestra will be on stage for most of the non musical acts, playing early 20th-century music, including parlor, burlesque, and circus tunes. Stein said an element of vaudeville was having one live band accompanying several acts.

The orchestra's leader and composer is Boston-based Brian Carpenter , a trumpeter, toy piano player, and vocalist, to name a few of his specialties.

The host will be Evan O'Television , a.k.a. Evan O'Sullivan. When he isn't emcee-ing, he'll perform a routine in which he argues with himself on television.

``It's very much modeled on old-style comedy teams, except it's just me and me," said O'Sullivan, a 35-year-old Watertown resident who has been doing this act for 11 years.

O'Sullivan said he was an unsuccessful stand-up comic until he found inspiration in a short gag by comedian Ernie Kovacs , in which he used a recorded version of himself. ``I just tried it as a little trick, and people enjoyed it," he said.

He believes the Regent Theatre's anniversary comes at an ideal time for artists like himself. ``It kind of converged with a period of time where there's this critical mass where there are all these performers that fit into a new category."

O'Sullivan said that his act often fits into comedy circuits, and he's performed it at art shows, as well. He has also produced shows, working with performers like the Beat Circus's Carpenter.

``There isn't really a vaudeville circuit, the vaudeville that once dominated America," O'Sullivan explained about the Regent's show, citing other acts that don't fit into traditional performances. Instead, today's performers are ``inventing their own circuits and performing at a wide variety of shows."

Stein echoed similar sentiments. ``This is really a way to showcase those great performers who are kind of tucked away in clubs," he said .

The sequence of the ``Voltaic Vaudeville" lineup won't be announced in advance, providing an element of surprise, said Stein. Each of the five shows will differ slightly, and run about 2 1/2 hours straight through, sans intermission.

``The whole idea is to make it non stop entertainment. Everything is the ``wow factor,' " said Stein.

The matinees will be more family-friendly, while performers like burlesque dancer Molly Crabapple will appear at the 8 p.m. shows.

``There's definitely a cream of the crop factor with this show," said O'Sullivan. ``It's gonna be easy to host because it's gonna be easy to watch."