Juggling for a cause

Jacob Weiss, Ted Joblin, Michael Karas and Ben Detrick--the four juggling gents of Playing By Air--open their Fringe Festival show with colorful lightworks in the darkened performance space at Dixon Place. It's a low-grade version of the kind of razzledazzle Alwin Nikolais dancers might have whipped across a stage on a much larger scale back in the day, and not the most sophisticated or promising of openings. But then, Playing By Air--both the Nashville-based troupe and its show--is clearly a throwback to an era of direct, good-natured simplicity in entertainment. What ends up being winning about this show is how sincerely, intimately human it is.

And fun. These guys are talented jugglers. Moreover, they actually do have some jaw-droppingly slick tricks up their sleeves--like Karas's ability to balance a music stand, sheet music and all, on his upper lip. And those sleeves can be very nice indeed because, as it turns out, these guys place high value on dressing to impress. Juggling may be something circus clowns do but Weiss and his crew, though amusing physical comedians, say they prefer the kind of respect stage magicians get.

Karas--based in New York, originally relocated here for an acting career--seems the most polished of the four. Even before he launched into some brief dance moves, his juggling tricks showed dancerly, choreographic chops with subtle, precise timing and a taste for the unexpected. He's the most delightful reason for dance fans to catch Playing By Air.

Besides juggling, Detrick serves as the troupe's violinist/fiddler. His playing paralleled the dexterity of the other jugglers' moves, and I began to look at his colleagues and "hear" the intricate music of their juggling.

Founded and directed by Weiss--who tells me he earned his PhD, at Vanderbilt University, in something called Biomedical Informatics--the Playing By Air organization devotes its talents to cancer awareness and the support of survivors, families and caregivers. You can learn more about this creative mission at Playing By Air Cares. Check out the show, which has a typically eccentric Fringe schedule with remaining shows running on Sunday, August 22 (8:45pm), Monday, August 23 (9:30pm), Wednesday, August 25 (2:15pm) and Saturday, August 28 (7pm).

Playing By Air

The New York International Fringe Festival

Dixon Place

161A Chrystie Street (between Rivington and Delancey Streets)

Tickets