Quick Take
In its third winter in Santa Cruz County, the traveling Flynn Creek Circus arrives with not just a regular family-friendly show, but with a racy and more sophisticated adult show, with more skin, more salty language and more irreverence.
When you go around calling yourself a “circus,” well, there are many assumptions and connotations attached to that term. Chief among those is that a circus is an opportunity for wholesome, family-friendly entertainment.
And, for the most part, Flynn Creek Circus, now performing in Capitola for the third consecutive December, is exactly that: humorous and enchanting storytelling wrapped up in theatricality, stagecraft and, most of all, astounding acrobatics. In fact, a Flynn Creek show is not merely safe for the youngest audience members, it is designed specifically around that sense of wonder and magic we all associate with childhood.
But sometimes, there’s just a different sense of possibilities after the kiddies have gone to bed.
The Flynn Creek Circus is opening this weekend with the first of 29 performances through Jan. 5 in its big top at the Capitola Mall. Five of those performances, including Saturday night’s show, are designated as “adults only” performances.
What does that mean? And, wait, is there an elephant in this room?
“There is some nudity,” said Blaze Birge, the troupe’s artistic director and one of its featured performers. “The closest thing I can compare it to is maybe a stand-up comedy show you wouldn’t want to bring your kid to.”
Of course, the promise of exposing more skin can lead into another briar patch of assumptions and expectations. Birge wants to be clear that the adult shows are not just about naked or near-naked bodies, though they do contain dramatic elements of traditional burlesque.
“This is not a sex show,” she said before a rehearsal Wednesday night. “I think people get confused when you say ‘adults only.’ But it’s more of a comedy show.”
That “adult” label can mean more than just more skin. This year’s show is called “The Heavy Drift” and it borrows heavily from the tropes and themes of classic film noir. Of course, just getting the references and the nods to film noir archetypes is, in a way, an adult enterprise. The adult show also has its fair share of salty language, drug references, sophisticated humor and other elements that are the purview and the privilege of grown-ups — to quote an overrated 1990s sitcom, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The bones of the adult show, however, are the same as those of what we can call the regular show: acts of acrobatic athleticism that carry a strong sense of artistic grace. Just as the songs are the whole point of a Broadway musical, the acrobatics are what makes the Flynn Creek Circus experience hum. And by acrobatics, we mean a wide variety of art forms beyond the abilities of the vast majority of humanity — juggling, gymnastics, trapeze, ropes, rings, even knife throwing.
Flynn Creek Circus hails from remote Mendocino County and travels most of the year throughout Oregon and Northern California. Santa Cruz County has been a dependable touchstone for the company in recent years. And the homey, neo-cabaret vibe they create from their makeshift tent in the south end of the Capitola Mall parking lot is nearly as impressive as their stage show.
Each year, Flynn Creek writes and creates its own show for the three-week Capitola run, themed not necessarily on the holidays, but often on the change of seasons and the winter solstice. The 17 performers also double as crew and staff, the small number and versatility of the performers harkening back to the plucky let’s-put-on-a-show resourcefulness of traveling circuses throughout history. “Even our lights guy,” said Birge, “he builds a lot of the props and does many of the voiceovers and acting. So, yeah, basically, everybody does everything.”
The adult show varies slightly in plot from the regular show. “It’s a little bit of a rewrite, because we’re ‘adult-ifying’ it. But you’re still going to see the circus.”
The adult version of the show has been a hit on the Flynn Creek circuit with, for instance, bachelorette parties and other adult-oriented celebrations. “It’s definitely a party atmosphere,” said Birge.
Adults-only shows (21 and over) of “The Heavy Drift” take place Dec. 21, 26, 28, 31 and Jan. 3 at the Flynn Creek Circus big-top at the Capitola Mall, 41st Avenue and Capitola Road in Capitola. Tickets for those shows and the family-friendly shows are on sale now.
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