The Gazillion Bubble Show @ New World Stages

Anyone seen this in New York yet?
The bubble man was on Regis & Kelly the other day. This and Toxic Audio were the hit of the APAP showcase this year.

I'm previewing it on March 3rd and was looking for some feedback.

Thanks
Gazillion Bubble Show

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Here's a better look at Fan, the bubble man!
Newsday.com article

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don't waste your time with this - trailer trash basically covered all of the bad points.

I felt like the show was meant to be put on for people in a communist nation where people were mainly confined to their houses everyday and had no view on the outside world. Audience members are supposed to be amazed at some things but we just looked at each other and giggled at the kid-like performance.

The technology he uses is 20 years old or older - maybe that's another thing that bothered me. He had such huge build-ups for some parts and then when that exciting part finally came I was thinking, "I can totally order that machine from my Oriental Trading magazine.

Did anyone else think that the "Noel" segment was hilarious for the wrong reasons?

Anyone else catch the bit about how "bubbles do not discriminate?"

I hate to sound so negative...I guess though on the plus side, the kids in the audience really seemed to enjoy themselves...So I guess that I'm not his target market.

I'm seeing it Sunday - I'll be sure to post my thoughts for you.

Bubbles tickle on your birthday suit. But, sorry this one is rated G.

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I forgot to mention his hilarious costume changes...

It seems to me that the real primary mistake -- other than the lack of a director with an American sensibility -- is that the current "concept" is to tell the story of Fan Yang. The problem with that is that no one here knows Fan Yang, so no one cares. And the way that it's told, you'd think he cured cancer with nothing but a child's imagination and some suds. The fact is, people who go to this just want to see tons of bubbles and bubble tricks, not have to applaud after each of the numerous bubble-making achievements is explained (repeatedly) over the loud speaker.

Also, sometimes the narrator on the recordings is Fan Yang, who has a distinctive accent, but there are times another narrator speaks in the first person (as Fang Yan)g with no accent at all. Clearly it's not him though, so it's a jarring continuity problem.

I read one review that mentioned that it would've been a lot better without any chit chat or intrusive music (he failed to mention the background of fake Christmas trees). I have to agree.

G-d! Clearly, I am so disturbed by the craziness of this show!! I think I may need therapy. I'll be sending the bill to Fan Yang.

Thanks for this info, those of you who have seen it! I wanted to see this because I thought it was just going to be lots of fun bubbles all over the place, and I was curious to see that played out- I almost went to see this as one of my "20 at 20" shows even- but there's no way I'm going to enjoy what y'all are describing.

Although- "Kathie-Lee Funship hell" is totally brill, I might have to steal that description the next time I am trapped in something like that!

Wow, I work there and haven't gone in to see this one yet. After reading Trailer Trash's review, I'm dying to see it-thanks TT!

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OK, well once again, I went to see the Gazillion Bubble Show with my bro from out of town and his kids. I have to say I was pretty psyched to check it out again and I was NOT disappointed! PB ENT., I see Fang Yang and the management got right on top of the "constructive criticisms" made here last year.

I kid. The show was exactly the same, but this time with Fan Yang's wife Anna, who was so sweet and enthusiastic, you couldn't help but root for her to do well. Unfortunately, she is not quite the bubble-master her hubby is, but that didn't matter. Lucky for us, she used all of his old tricks. She even told the bizarre and contrived "beautiful story" about the niece in Bangkok (featuring a bewildered little girl she had just plucked from the audience) who had never seen snow...blah, blah...Anna made her some bubbles....the niece's lifelong dream of seeing snow was inexplicably fulfilled...the end. Mind you, all of the audience participation moments are crafted to promote the Fang Yang bubble products sold in the lobby after the show, since they give different ones out to the participants after each event.

From a directorial standpoint, one big problem is that the tricks are repetitive and the level of complexity is mixed up, so it can get boring to see very simple tricks after you've seen more impressive ones, so there is no climax. But I digress....direction be damned! All of the important elements remain in tact. Clearly, Fan taught Anna the critical moves, like milking the audience for applause after every single bubble pops out and constantly ordering your confused participants to "smile." We are still assaulted with cheesy synth music, ridiculous screen prompt questions like "would you like to see a tower of bubbles?" and my favorite, the underwater fantasy, which consists of slimy, wet bubbles shooting straight into your eyes while a green laser blinds you.

Oh, I almost forgot, there is a whole video about the magic and the life-changing effects of bubbles. This will make you laugh til you cry.

I just cannot believe this thing is still running! We were in hysterics throughout! You must see it to believe it. Think of it as a night of cruise-ship comedy and sit in the first few rows center for the full effect. My brother wisely brought a windbreaker which shielded him from the vast majority of slime, so keep that in mind. Also, I definitely recommend volunteering as an audience participant, since you get free swag. She mostly asks for kids but there is one time she asks for a male/female couple.

Thanks for indulging me, as I am a little obsessed with this thing. PS: the kids had a good time, especially after they were slimed.

Updated On: 2/9/08 at 10:45 PM

"The show is now running for at least a year and has no plans to close, so I guess they don't feel that they need to change it much."

Maybe, or maybe that's the reason there were only about 30 people in the audience when we saw it!

"Maybe, or maybe that's the reason there were only about 30 people in the audience when we saw it! "

Some performances have that size audience, others are packed. That's the way it's been for over a year.

I'm not sure if you like the show or not, since you've already gone twice and are obsessed. If it changes, you may not like it as much.

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