Variety Pack
Variety Pack: Asheville Vaudeville is as strange as it gets--in a good way
Keep Asheville Weird.” That aphorism, found on bumper stickers around town, is a point of pride among many who live here. And it’s groups like Asheville Vaudeville that are adhering to the call. Defined as light, comic theater that incorporates a variety of acts, vaudeville is Asheville’s excuse to show off its bizarre, magical, and off-the-wall underbelly. According to Artistic Director Brian Sneeden (otherwise known as your host Bon Von Sneeden when clad in coattails and a top hat), the group consists of as many as 70 performers who produce 15 acts per show—from acrobatics to cabaret to slapstick humor and feats of skill and illusion. Though the troupe, which began performing at the BeBe Theater in Asheville five years ago, has been on hiatus, a comeback is imminent. A big show is in the works for October 29 and 30 at Asheville Community Theatre. And when you witness performances by groups like Forty Fingers and the Missing Tooth jugglers or Sophie the Wonder Dog, you’ll relish just how weird Asheville truly is. www.ashevillevaudeville.com