On and Off Broadway

‘Gazillion Bubble Show’

Review by Elyse Trevers

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We continued a family tradition this month. Years ago I took my daughter to the Gazillion Bubble Show at the New World Stages. This past Sunday it was time for her daughter, Baia, to see the show. On stage, second generation bubble artist Deni Yang, an affable young man, took center stage and used wands and his hands to produce bubbles.

It was especially fun for the children sitting in the first few rows to pop the individual bubbles as they moved overhead. A few lucky volunteers came on stage and Yang created a huge tube-like bubble over their heads encompassing them. One five-year-old girl was selected to be onstage as he created a “snowfall” of bubbles. Most of the rest of us were happy enough when hundreds of bubbles floated from the stage out and over the audience.

The show included a couple of videos giving a brief background of Yang’s bubble exploits, including when his family set the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s largest bubble. The videos may have some appeal for the adults in the audience but the children didn’t seem particularly impressed. Instead, they waited for the return of the bubbles.

The youngsters were excited about the quantity of bubbles, whereas their parents were more interested in the science and technique. Yang created large bubbles and then put smaller ones within them. He was able to take the small ones out without breaking them (How did he do that?). He even created square white bubbles and used color tables to create the effect of rainbow colored bubbles.

Sometimes he used his fingers, other times giant wands or wands with several holes.
The finale combined laser and lighting effects set to music. Our child lost patience with the effects, wanting more bubbles. And she wasn’t disappointed when, by the end, the entire theater seemed filled with a gazillion bubbles.

The show is a nice, albeit pricey, way to introduce children to theatrical spectacle on a small scale. However, there are discount coupons available online for the show. Most importantly, Baia’s first trip to the city was a success, and our next generation sat mesmerized by Gazillion Bubble Show: The Next Generation.