Comedy Pet Theater: Family Fun With a Heart
“Gregory Popovich’s Comedy Pet Theater” at the V Theater in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood is one of those rare shows that does a lot of things well. It’s funny, it’s touching, and at certain points, it’ll make your heart beat so fast you’ll feel like you’re suffering from supraventricular tachycardia, a term we totally didn’t just copy and paste off the Internet.
At the center of this family-friendly show is, at you might suspect, Gregory Popovich.
Gregory Popovich is the one in the middle.
Popovich is a Russian-born performer from a long line of circus folk (fourth generation, actually), and perhaps most telling is that he once received the “Excellence as the Greatest Technical Master of All Times” award from the International Juggling Association. And we’re not even making that up! Read more.
Popovich surrounds himself with animals in his show, all adopted from animal shelters. And, yes, he even does the seemingly impossible: he trains cats.
Yeah, good luck with that at your house.
The show is a series of skillfully-orchestrated vignettes: there’s a “fire” rescue sequence, one involving a medical office, another where the animals play soccer, and still another that takes place in a schoolhouse.
As charming as the animals are, our favorite part of the show is when Popovich climbs a nine-foot, free-standing ladder.
Just another day at the WTF.
Popovich climbs this ladder so casually, you nearly forget…it’s not leaning against anything. He then proceeds to balance on top of the ladder as he juggles.
Here, just watch.
We breached security to pop in on Gregory Popovich and ask him some annoying questions about the ladder gag, among other things, which he patiently answered.
POV Blog: Which language do your pets speak, English or Russian?
Gregory Popovich: Russian, my native language. Animals don’t really recognize words, per se. They might recognize “sit” or “lay down,” but intonation is more important, the use of a strong voice or soft voice. I only came to America when I was 25, so it’s easier to communicate with my pets in Russian, but they know two languages. They’re all rescue dogs, so they grew up hearing English in the shelters. They’re very intelligent, because many people only know one language.
We had to write about Gregory Popovich sooner or ladder.
POV Blog: How many animals have your rescued?
Popovich: We have 14 cats and 12 dogs, one big family. Fifteen years ago I started with one kitty and one dog I rescued from the shelter.
POV Blog: Before you started working with animals, you were named the best juggler in the world, twice. Can you tell us more about that?
Popovich: That’s how I came to the United States. My first job was as a juggler, and I came to “the greatest show on Earth,” the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. In fact, I was the first Russian performer who ever worked with Ringling Bros., back in 1991.
POV Blog: Our favorite part of your show is when you climb the free-standing ladder. We may have mentioned that earlier in this blog post. Then you juggle on it. Five clubs, which many jugglers aspire to do even on flat ground. Seriously?
Popovich: Thank you. I also do a back-cross trick with five clubs, on the ladder. That’s in the Guinness Book of World Records. I also juggle nine rings while balancing on the ladder. Those tricks haven’t been repeated by any other performer. Stupid Russian!
And you think YOU multi-task at work.
POV Blog: The show’s a mix of classic circus performance and animals. Which really isn’t a question, we realize.
Popovich: I grew up in a circus family. My mother and father worked with cats and dogs. My first babysitters were the dogs and cats of my mother. It was actually much easier for me to communicate with animals than with humans. You bring up an interesting point, though. The show is a combination of classic vaudeville and a circus-style show, sometimes forgotten today. I think it has a wonderful spirit to it, and I try to keep that classical spirit alive, including some slapstick comedy. The silent movie era is also sometimes overlooked; Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, all those great comedians. I try to bring some of that slapstick-style comedy to modern audiences.
No CGI, we swear.
POV Blog: Physical comedy also works well for our international visitors, doesn’t it?
Popovich: Exactly. It doesn’t require any translation. It’s not stand-up comedy. I’ve traveled all over the world, to 26 countries, and I don’t need to change the show because everyone understands the language of the circus and physical comedy.
POV Blog: Back to the ladder! When you’re up there, there’s no net. Your assistant is nearby, but you’re committed fully. That would be a long fall.
Popovich: The assistant is there just in case I drop a club, not for safety. When I was a child, my father put me on a ladder when I was six years old. We practiced for hours and hours. So, it’s always been very natural. Circus performers practice for hours and months and years, until it becomes second nature.
POV Blog: We heard the audience gasping during your show. We don’t hear that at movie theaters. It’s genuinely thrilling.
Popovich: Thank you. I hope that’s why we’ve had such success here in Las Vegas after six years. The show’s very different than other Las Vegas shows.
You'll get used to the sweaty palms.
POV Blog: And everyone loves cute animals, of course. It’s almost like you’re playing onstage.
Popovich: I’m always trying to find creative ways to work with the animals in the show. I don’t ask them to do difficult tricks. I don’t want to push them to do anything hard or dangerous. I try to build situations around the pets and their personalities. Like with the cats. Very independent animals. I work with them to find their favorite tricks. Each kitty has certain things they do for fun. I build tricks based on their natural habits.
POV Blog: So, in a way, they’re training you?
Popovich: Very true. Which explains why every show is different. Cats have different moods, and on a given day they may not feel like doing a particular trick. We don’t force them, and the show must go on. Here’s a little secret, for each trick, I have two or three more kitties that can do the same trick. We have back-up kitties. I have a dog that doesn’t want to do anything, so in our classroom sketch, he plays the part of a student that didn’t do his homework. When I ask for the homework, he just hides behind his desk. It’s the only trick he can do, but it came from his personality.
POV Blog: What’s the main message of your show, if you have one?
Popovich: If someone sees our show, and maybe visits an animal shelter and possibly adopts a pet, I feel like my mission is complete. So, neuter those pets, and if you have a pet, respect them. Animals are people, too.
The bottom line? “Gregory Popovich’s Comedy Pet Theater” is a blast, and we’d go again in a second. We would actually attend even if it was to watch that ladder trick for an hour!
Really. Get down from there. We're feeling woozy.
Bonus: The V Theater recently installed a massive digital screen at a cost of $200,000. The LED wall has 100,000 bulbs, and it’s 10-feet high and 50-feet wide. Eye candy!
Super bonus bonus: Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre has partnered with the Those Left Behind Foundation to raise funds and increase animal shelter awareness. Use the special promo code “TLB” when you purchase your tickets to the Popovich show, and a donation will be made to this animal welfare nonprofit. Visit the official site for more information.
Don’t miss this great family fare at the V Theater. Shows happen at 4:00 p.m. (dark Wednesdays). Find out more on the official site, or on the show’s Facebook page.
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