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| - "Cats on bicycles!" This is what I was promised at the Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre. My friend Patricia had seen ads on the Jumbotron at the Las Vegas airport for Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, Penn & Teller. Yawn, yawn and yawn. But cats on bicycles! "I can't even get my cats to come when I want them."
The first show I ever saw in Las Vegas was Showgirls of Magic, in which scantily clad ecdysiasts performed feats of illusion, accompanied by a 300 lb. drag queen and a Peruvian dwarf. No lie. I have yet to see a true headliner, but these quirky out-of-the-way acts are just what I crave. Cats on bicycles sounded just up my alley.
Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre did not disappoint.
Gregory Popovich once toured with the Moscow Circus. As he puts it, "Once upon a time there was a country called the Soviet Union. Now it is Russia." He was a juggler by trade, but a clown at heart. And his juggling is amazing. At one point during the show, he juggles clubs while balancing at the top of a free standing ladder. Much of the first part of the show is dedicated to standard circus -- though even during the juggling, a house cat keeps running in and out between his legs. Unnerving.
The show should be called the Popovich FAMILY Comedy Pet Theatre, because Popovich is accompanied by four other humans -- two male, two female -- who may not actually be related to him, but certainly should be. They perform in a series of other acts, including a rope jumping act during which on man jumps standing on his hands, and another jumps with his arms and legs intertwined, contortionist style.
But you came for the pets. In addition to the cats, there are dogs, birds, and ferrets. What makes them special is that the dogs and cats, at least, are all rescue animals. Popovich has gotten all of his performers from animal shelters, and has given them a new "leash" on life. (Sorry.) As he explains -- he talks to the audience a lot -- you don't really train cats, you just give them an opporunity to do what they like to do. These cats apparently like jumping through hoops, pushing strollers, and pulling themselves along with their front legs while hanging between parallel bars. No cat actually rides a bicycle, though one does balance on a ball as he/she/it walks it across the stage.
The dogs are a bit more trainable, so they perform in more acts, including one extended scene set in a classroom, in which the dogs answer math and geography questions, pull practical jokes, and ride a scooter (perhaps the mythical bicycle of the ad). Speaking of trains, the show opens with the animals boarding the train for Las Vegas. The dogs, cats, mice and birds give their tickets to the conductor and enter their various cars. One dog even plays an elephant, in full costume. If your own pet is stuck for a costume idea for Halloween, this might be just the thing.
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