Up in the Air

Four guys who can juggle fish heads, chocolate pies and unwrapped sticks of butter -- among other things -- are a natural fit for Las Vegas.

Surprisingly, the Flying Karamazov Brothers have never performed on a local stage, even though the troupe has been around since 1973. The foursome, who don't fly and are not real brothers, are scheduled for their public Las Vegas debut at the Orleans Showroom on Saturday and Sunday.

The comedy/juggling act takes its name from the Fyodor Dostoevsky novel, "The Brothers Karamazov." The 90-minute show, says Paul Magid, the only remaining original member of the troupe, features juggling, music, fun and comedy appropriate for all ages. A recent run in New York received such positive reviews, they're going back for another in June.

Those who aren't familiar with the group should know, the Karamazov Brothers are not your average jugglers.

"What we do is very postmodern," Magid says. "We think of it as theater." 

When the Brothers started, juggling was a dying art. Magid and the other co-founders, all of whom have retired, took a musical approach to juggling. It's a rhythmic activity based on symmetry, a concept that influences all of their work, he says.

"When we started, it was a very unexplored world," Magid says. "It opened up a whole new world as an art form. We never juggle just for the juggling of it. That would be boring."

The group is anything but boring, especially when performing its trademark act The Gamble.

The public is invited to bring items, three of which are then selected by the audience. Spectators may bring whatever item they like, Magid says, so long as it is heavier than 1 ounce, lighter than 10 pounds, smaller than a bread box and will not endanger his life. He gets three tries and three modifications and must juggle the items for 10 beats.

"My average has been good lately," he says.

People seem to relish the opportunity to trip him up so they bring some outrageous things, Magid says. In the past, he has juggled a lamb's head, fish, octopus and other smelly, slimy objects. During a recent New York show, Magid juggled an unwrapped stick of butter, a slice of pizza and a cupcake. But those weren't among the strangest.

"The weirdest thing I ever did was at Lincoln Center," Magid says. "Someone brought a bag of dead frogs in formaldehyde. Someone else brought a chocolate cream pie and another had a slinky. Of everything I've ever juggled, that was the most incredible. It was a pretty amazing sight to see those frogs flying out of the bag."

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564.