Fringe Show Reviews

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

More Bange For Your Buck!

Written by: Christopher Bange

Presented by: The Baggy Pants / Seattle, WA

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Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

07/18/2009 7:07 PM | Comments: 0

From the moment Christopher Bange comes on stage, it’s clear the Seattle magician has something up his sleeve, or at least concealed on his suspiciously bulky person. Yet when his nimble fingers produce umbrellas out of nowhere, it still elicits oohs and ahhs from the audience.

Bange, last seen here in The Excursionists, is a Dell’arte-trained physical performer, and adds a sense of clownish haplessness to his feats of prestidigitation. “That’s an old joke,” he apologizes at one point, “but then so is my act.”

It’s true: in his ruffled tuxedo shirt and ill-fitting jacket, Bange is no David Blaine; his show relies on good, old-fashioned magic tricks (with a few twists thrown in).

The material may be hoary and the jokes hokey, but Bange’s mop-topped, bug-eyed presence is endless appealing and his delicate sleight of hand makes tricks you’ve seen a hundred times seem truly magical.

He also makes canny use of music — a man being dragged around by a levitating spongy red ball would just seem silly unless accompanied by the dramatic crescendos of The Ride of the Valkyries. Actually, it still seems silly, but it’s a silliness that’s mixed with a sense of wonder.

— Jill Wilson

From the official Fringe program:

In these uncertain economic times, prestidigitator Christopher Bange (Co-creator of The Excursionists and The Medicine Show) gives you More Bange For Your Buck!

Bange’s award-winning wizardry will bail out your boredom, banish your blues and buck up your bottom line.

His hands are quicker than your funny bone and you will laugh until coins come out of your ears!

RECOMMENDED: Family Friendly

60 min.

Venue#1 MTC Backstage at the Mainstage 174 Market Ave (Entrance on John Hirsch Pl)

Tickets: $9

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