Cirque Couple Postpones Wedding to Perform at New Vic 11/12-28

By: Oct. 06, 2010
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Talk about sacrificing for your art! Two performers in the neo-vaudevillian circus troupe, Handsome Little Devils -- who are engaged to be married -- went so far as to postpone their wedding so their show, Squirm Burpee, could run at The New Victory Theater from November 12 through 28.
"It was a big decision. But for a small company from Denver like ours to get the chance to perform at a New York City theater like The New Victory... it was just too fantastic. We couldn't pass it up," said Mike Huling, one half of the engaged couple and the company's artistic director. "Performing at The New Victory is exactly what we need to do to go up to the next level with our show," he added.

Squirm Burpee is a family-friendly "vaudevillian melodrama" that features comedy for all ages, circus acts like juggling and acrobatics, dance, a lot of fast-paced comedy and a melodrama plot: there's a good guy, a bad guy, and a damsel in distress. Mike the Handsome (Mike Huling), Dashing Dave (Dave Clay) and Lovely Little Lolo (Cole Schneider, Mr. Huling's fiancé) play a beloved circus trio that must outwit the dastardly Baron Vegan Von Hamburger (Jason Knauf) in order perform for their adoring fans.

If the wacky antics and hijinks in Squirm Burpee are reminiscent of classic cartoons, that's no accident. "Rocky and Bullwinkle are major sources of inspiration for us. Whenever we're trying to come up with new material, we'll just sit and watch old cartoons for at least an hour a day during the development process," said Ms. Schneider.

Handsome Little Devils recently made theater headlines for its successful foray into crowd-funding - the internet-based model for raising money - to help support the New Victory run of Squirm Burpee. "We did a 30-day fundraiser, and right now, we're half way there. By October 12 when our month is up, I think we'll be in good shape."
So when are Cole and Mike finally getting hitched? "July 16, 2011. We've been dating for six years, so pushing it back a bit is okay."



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