People Are Strange

Freaks on a leash: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
will host magicians Wade Live (left) and Wacky Chad during the
inaugural rendition of the Naughty Little Pig Show, a showcase of
quixotic acts.

“Initially, the idea was to do a carnival for adults,” says Jess Miller,
emcee and coordinator of the Pig Show, and also a girl Friday at the
Dino since 2002. “We had a vision of it being a modern Vaudeville, but
it quickly snowballed out of our hands as each new character joined in
and it took on a life of its own.” 

Miller describes it as being a
fast-paced and visually appealing show. Five feature acts will open up
their cabinet of wonders in succession on stage while a ballyhoo motley
crew of entertainers perform their shtick amid the marveling onlookers.

“This is going to be a constantly moving
show,” continues Miller. “I will be making sure there’s no dead time
between the acts as emcee {bewitchingly becoming Lil’ Jess when she’s behind the mike} and the performers working the crowd will all add to the carnival-like vibe.”

The first taste of freak begins at 9:30
p.m. with an art gallery featuring dark designs from local artists set
up throughout the Dino. Mentalists, a caricature artist and magicians
will also be floating around the crowd, and will continue to do so
after the Pig Show begins.

The stage show begins at 10 p.m. and among the feature acts slated, in no particular order, are: magicians Wacky Chad and Wade Live; the Hipnotic belly dancing troupe; The Half Nude Interlude,
a string quartet of Syracuse University music department babes playing
covers of Heart and Led Zeppelin in nothing but what they might wear
under the covers; and headliner Denis Donahue, a Manhattan-based comedian who has appeared on Howard Stern’s radio show and just released his first CD, Unholy War (Next Round Entertainment).

Aside from Donohue, all of the
performers taking part in the show are from around the area, because as
Miller says, “Syracuse has such a vast, untapped pool of talent and a
lot of these types of performers do not have a lot of venues to
showcase their unique talents.”

The idea for the show originally came from John Stage,
owner of the Dinosaur. Since opening up a third location in New York
City, Stage became hooked on the ubiquitous vaudeville and burlesque
shows around the Big Apple, and wanted to incorporate a little of that
atmosphere into his restaurant. 

“John knew I had been working in improv
comedy and thought this was a tailor-made venture for me to helm in
Syracuse,” Miller says. “And along with Scott Sterling {manager of the Dino}, we are bringing something to Syracuse that a lot of people might not encounter otherwise.

After attending the Newhouse School of
Public Communications at SU, Miller spent last summer training at the
legendary Second City comedy school in Toronto, Canada. After the
initial concept of the Pig Show was conceived, she took out a couple
ads and created a Craigslist and Myspace page on the Internet to try to
recruit talent for the proposed monthly spectacular.

She initially experienced a tough time
generating buzz to recruit performers and get the show on the road. “It
wasn’t until a mailman told me there’s a guy on his route who can
balance a shopping cart on his nose that turned out to be Wacky Chad,”
she notes. “Then through meeting up with Chad, I found Wade Live and
from that point on, just asking people and the word-of-mouth method
became the most effective way.”

Wade Live and Wacky Chad tour the
country playing theme parks and other oddball venues while also making
the local party and entertainment circuit. Noting that he doesn’t want
to give all his tricks away, Wade Live was willing to share one
shenanigan he’ll be performing Wednesday night at the Dino: “I’m going
to have someone from the audience come up and sign a paintball so they
know the stunt is real,” he professes. “Then that paintball will be
fired out of a paintball gun, traveling at 300 feet per second, which I
will catch in my mouth and spit out in a cup.” 

“This is something new and exciting for
Syracuse and the Dinosaur,” Miller sums up. “We wanted to create
something that’s more of a happening and expand the entertainment hook
out of the blues to try something different. And there’s no real way to
predict what’s going to happen.”

Performers are still being sought for
upcoming Naughty Little Pig Shows, so if you have a special talent or
can achieve a feat that you think is unique to yourself, email
pigshow@gmail.com for information on how you can be a part of it.
Admission to the show is free. For more information, call 476-4937.

—Tom Kahley

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