Denton’s musical comedy freak show, Cirque du Horror, just grew legs and is heading to the Texas Theatre in Dallas’ Oak Cliff to unleash its twisted humor on some new, unsuspecting victims.
“The Texas Theatre is the first step out of Denton,” creator and composer David Pierce said about Cirque du Horror’s expansion to Dallas. “Even though I love it being a Denton thing — well, it always will be — but I like the idea of going to these super-hip, super-artsy old venues like the Texas Theatre and performing.”
The show, which was written and scored by Pierce, is entering its sixth year in production as the grand finale of Denton’s Day of the Dead Festival this Saturday.
Presented as traditional sideshow storytelling, Cirque du Horror is filled with various styles of performance, from dancing zombies to elderly vampire Grampula’s stand-up routine to some dementedly devilish shadow puppets.
Every year, the musical is scripted and scored for all ages, with child-size chairs arranged in the best part of the house especially for kids during the Saturday and Sunday matinees. Audience members are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes to the performances.
While the past five years have been successful for the show in Denton, Pierce’s decision to expand is not financially motivated. Instead, he insists that it is about finding new audiences to thrill and entertain.
“I’m going to have to feel it out and see how much of a happening it is,” Pierce said.
When he’s not spinning scary stories for the stage, Pierce composes music professionally. He even worked on the symphonic arrangements for the Baptist Generals’ 2013 album, Jackleg Devotional to the Heart.
Rock ’n’ roll is not the only blood spurting from Pierce’s musical arteries. His varied artistic tastes have influenced how and what he writes for Cirque du Horror, and that doesn’t just include music.
“In the first year, most of the music was inspired from poetry my uncle wrote,” Pierce said. “Some of the pieces sound really old, like maybe some stuff that would come out of New Orleans. Maybe some stuff that would come out of Bulgaria or some places in Europe. Maybe they are very Americana in their approach.”
The orchestra for Cirque du Horror has an eclectic mix of what Pierce calls “heavy-hitters” who have different musical backgrounds. Some have performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, while others have played with Toby Keith.
Cirque du Horror doesn’t tell a linear story with a clear beginning, middle and end. Instead, it acts more as an anthology of tales. Between each individual piece, the crowd is kept warm by an undead emcee who waxes philosophical about drinking blood, dealing with marital problems and passing gas.
Pierce also performs in the play as a devilish ringleader who is accompanied by a band of skeletons. Other than the recurring characters, Cirque du Horror is monster-mashed with strange characters including a couple of ogres and Denton’s infamous Goatman.
Kevin Wickersham, who pulls triple duty as a director, actor and stage manager, is thrilled to debut the opening number, which he choreographed.
“We’ll see what happens when we open the show, because I do get to dance in a couple numbers and I get to play the big bad wolf,” Wickersham said.
While many members of the audience might assume that this production is treated as a seasonal offering, Wickersham says the show involves a yearlong process of writing, recruiting and planning.
“It’s all year, man, we’re thinking about Halloween. This is the exciting part because it’s almost an entire year’s culmination of work,” he said.
The show, while maintaining the same name from year to year, is an evolving piece that morphs and changes with each season. Grampula finds new jokes to tell and new ways to tease the audience. Older musical pieces are replaced with new ones, and even older ones are occasionally brought back from the dead.
According to Pierce, this process keeps the bodies at Cirque du Horror fresh for audience dissection.
“Each act is sort of its own thing, which makes it easy to always pick from different years and mix and match — instead of having to write a new show every year or using the same show every year,” Pierce said.
Cirque du Horror’s home base is at Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton. The dark atmosphere and intimate performances are important to Pierce, but he is also looking forward to bringing his art to life in a larger setting, with a potentially larger audience.
After five years at the same venue, Pierce is confident that his evil, evolving extravaganza will continue to entertain crowds in both Denton and Dallas. He credits the show’s expansion to a “nucleus” of talented and reliable artists who thrive on minimal direction.
Cirque du Horror, which is suitable for all ages, will run for three shows at Dan’s Silverleaf — 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday. It expands to the Texas Theatre with a Halloween night performance at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit www.cirqueduhorror.com .
CIRQUE DU HORROR
What: The original Halloween musical variety show by composer David Pierce grew into Denton’s Day of the Dead. The all ages show includes songs, dances, shadow puppets and ghoulish fun.
When: 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 5 p.m. on Sunday at Dan’s Silverleaf, 103 Industrial St. The 4:30 and 5 p.m. performances on Saturday and Sunday include special seating at the front of the stage expressly for children. A 7:30 p.m. Halloween performance will be at the Texas Theatre, 231 Jefferson Blvd. in Oak Cliff.
How much: $7 for ages 3 to 12 and for seniors. $15 for adults. Children under three get in for free. Space is limited at Dan’s Silverleaf; reservations are recommended. For reservations, visit www.cirqueduhorror.com
DENTON’S DAY OF THE DEAD FESTIVAL
What: A free Halloween street festival for families, with a dash of Dia De Los Muertos and a lot of Denton do-it-yourself inventiveness. Costumes are welcome. Features food, art and clothing booths; face painting and a pumpkin patch with carnival games for children; and live music on the main stage in Williams Square.
When: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday
Where: Vendor booths and the main stage are in Williams Square on Hickory Street, east of the Wells Fargo building. Coffin races are on Oak Street. Cirque du Horror takes place at Dan’s Silverleaf, 103 Industrial St. Twilight costume parade lineup is in Williams Square.
Details: Admission is free, except for Cirque du Horror performances, which require tickets.
EVENT SCHEDULE
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. — Pumpkin patch for kids, vendor booths and live music. Storytelling, dancing and daredevil side show circus acts in the pumpkin patch and on the main stage.
1 to 4 p.m. — Coffin races down East Oak Street
4:30 p.m. — Cirque du Horror at Dan’s Silverleaf
5 p.m. — Salsa cook-off
7 p.m. — Twilight costume and lantern parade. Line up at Williams Square, the lot east of Wells Fargo.
9:30 p.m. — Cirque du Horror at Dan’s Silverleaf
