If you like YouTube or TikTok, chances are, you’ll like vaudeville.
At least Don Griswold, owner of Ridgefield’s Old Liberty Theater, sees the connection.
The internet video sites provide light entertainment in brief bursts. Vaudeville features short acts by magicians, acrobats, comedians, jugglers and other performers.
“I’ve always liked vaudeville,” Griswold said. “I don’t know if it’s my short attention span or what.”
He intends to make vaudeville shows a monthly feature at his theater. At the Feb. 29 “Cowboy & Mustache” show, Curtis Carlyle (the mustache) will juggle, and Leapin’ Louie (the cowboy) will spin his lasso, all amid a patter of comedy.
A vaudeville revival has been underway for the past three decades, David Lichtenstein said. He would know. The 56-year-old Portland resident has made his living as Leapin’ Louie for the past 25 years.
If You Go
What: “Cowboy & Mustache,” family-friendly comedy, juggling and vaudeville stunts.
When: 7 p.m. Feb. 29; doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Where: Old Liberty Theater, 115 N. Main Ave., Ridgefield.
Tickets: $15 for one, or $20 for two tickets.
Information: 360-887-7260; www.oldlibertytheater.com
“I was obsessed with trick-roping,” Lichtenstein said. The skill harkens to one of the original vaudeville stars, Will Rogers, who made his mark with lasso feats.
Even before Lichtenstein added lasso tricks and the cowboy comedian persona, he performed a juggling act. He travels the world as Leapin’ Louie, including stints with Clowns Without Borders, which promotes “resilience through laughter” by performing in refugee camps, as well as in conflict and disaster zones.
Carlyle has made his living as a juggler for 15 years. Although he now lives in Portland, he graduated from Fort Vancouver High School.
“When I turned 21, I wanted to learn to do something besides drink,” he said. So he taught himself to juggle. He and a friend launched the Vanillatown Vaudevillians, which at one point performed with the Portland-based Do Jump! ensemble on Broadway in New York. The other half of the comedy duo went on to become an electrician, but Carlyle stayed in the biz. He said he performs 200 to 300 shows a year at festivals, carnivals, school shows and venues like the Old Liberty.
“Older folks come for the nostalgia and the shared experience of community,” said Carlyle, 40. “Young folks are brought by their parents to introduce them to theater. It’s a good entry point for a young child.”
Or for anyone, Griswold said.
“It’s not a long, long show — about an hour — and it moves quick to keep the people entertained,” he said.
The Old Liberty first opened in 1946, after the glory days of vaudeville, which stretched from the mid-1890s until the early 1930s. The Great Depression and the rise of radio led to vaudeville’s decline.
The theater closed in 1956 and was used as a storage facility until April 1975, when it reopened only to close again two years later.
Griswold and his wife bought the building in 1995. They opened a coffee shop there in 1998. They worked to rehabilitate the building’s 200-seat theater and in 2001 opened it as a performing arts space.
The Old Liberty hosts a variety of events. The upcoming calendar includes the monthly Meaningful Movies documentary showing and discussion, as well as performances by mandolin player Tim Connell, Celtic band St. James’s Gate, and cellists Quinn Kun Liu and Deborah Shuster.
“I enjoy working with the artists,” Griswold said. “I want them to know this is a place where they can work their craft.”
