The Show to End All Shows

Circus Contraption, Seattles premiere one-ring traveling circus, triumphantly caps its tenth year with its first full-length production since The Grand American Traveling Dime Museum. The SHOW to End All SHOWS debuts this May at Theo Chocolate in Fremont. A departure from Circus Contraptions usual turn-of-the-century fare, The SHOW to End All SHOWS imagines a family-owned circus with all of the glamour and glitz of the 70s and 80s. The time, however, is now, or even slightly in the future, and the glamour shows signs of decay. A sense of imminent destruction looms as things begin to go awry under the tent. The Ringmaster, (a Jim Jones-style patriarch), insists upon the willful denial of their worlds demise by not only his progeny, but also the audience. This joyful romp to oblivion will draw inspiration from the circuses of excess in those decades of decadence, and feature traditional circus acts such as ball balancing seals, aerial mermaids, and pink poodles, all re-imagined by their human counterparts in Circus Contraption and scored by the incredible Circus Contraption Band, (A lurid hurdy-gurdy hybrid of Fellini soundtracks and Tom Waits The Stranger) Their latest twisted take on Americana also tells the story of the show that must go on, despite all evidence that the show, maybe even the world, will be extinguished before the closing act.

For ten years, Circus Contraption has been at the forefront of the modern circus movement. After six years at Sand Point Magnuson Park, Circus Contraption returns to its birthplace, Fremont, to transform the old Red Hook Brewery warehouse, (the south end of Theo Chocolate), into Seattles own alternative big-top. And for the first time, Circus Contraption is collaborating with a team of top-flight theater professionals: director Erin Brindley (a recent New York import), scenic designer Jennifer Zeyl, lighting designer Ben Zamora, and costume designer Christine Tschirgi.