Circus Tweet

Today marks the first official day of spring, so why not celebrate by watching circus performers bounce like Tigger, fly like butterflies, and curl their bodies up like harassed caterpillars? Check out Cirque Mechanics’ Off-Broadway performance Birdhouse Factory, a 90-minute acrobatic joyride inspired by Mexican artist Diego Rivera and cartoonist Rube Goldberg, along with Charlie Chaplin’s movie Modern Times. Chris Lashua, the former BMX rider and Birdhouse’s creative director, came up with the concept and is also credited with birthing Cirque du Soleil’s German Wheel act. (You know the one, where the guy stands spread-eagle in a giant wheel and spins until his face is nearly parallel to the floor.) Anyhow, the Birdhouse storyline follows a bunch of factory workers going about their day like cogs in the machine—yes, this may hit a little close to home—until a little birdie breaks through to shake things up. Expect to see unicyclists, trapeze artists, clowns, and contortionists performing familiar acts in unexpected ways, using machinery you’ve only fantasized about.

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More About

• Rube Goldberg
• Diego Rivera
• Chris Lashua
• Theater
• Off-Broadway

Report to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts’ Au-Rene Theater at 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale to see today's 8 p.m. show. Tickets cost $25 to $65. Call 954-462-0222, or visit browardcenter.org.
Fri., March 20, 8 p.m., 2009