Daredevil Chicken At Home

Magic Banana Hour Features Local Couple

By David Bolling 

The title they’ve attached to their act – Daredevil Chicken – evokes a certain level of curious speculation, perhaps some confused wonder, maybe a touch of excited anticipation. Why a chicken? Why a daredevil? Sounds like a high-risk proposition. 

The inspiration may have come from a Midwestern, crime-fighting hero, variously known as the Wonderful White-Winged Warrior, the Fantastic Fowl and the Most Wondrous Crime Fighter the World Has Ever Seen. The Stupendous Speeding Pullet, formally known as Chickenman, was joyously celebrated by the listeners of WCFL Chicago, and by a nationally syndicated radio audience, from 1966 forward. 

Whatever its origins, Daredevil Chicken (let’s call it DC, for short) refers to the husband-wife team of Anne Goldman and Jonathan Taylor, globe-traveling Sonoma Valley residents with a home on the Eldridge side of Glen Ellen, and their hearts increasingly captured by Sonoma Valley and the historic Sebastiani Theatre. They will be performing there again on May 16, with a reprise of The Magic Banana Hour, and a trunk full of tricks. 

The show, which is best described as 21st Century Vaudeville with touches of Burlesque, Barnum & Bailey, Siegfried & Roy (without the cats) and perhaps the spirit of Robin Williams, incorporates a mélange of performers from the Bay Area and beyond, and includes, magic, music and comedic mayhem, some impressive feats of legerdemain, not to mention the all-important bananas. What Anne and Jonathan do with bananas is best left to the imagination until you see it for yourself. They have experimented with other types of produce – and once tried parsnips – but only bananas provide the proper balance of heft, softness and aerodynamic shape.

Anne and Jonathan travel the world six months each year, appearing at festivals, fairs and far-flung venues from Tasmania to a remote rural village in Germany. The Magic Banana Hour had its Sebastiani debut last year and the two immediately fell in love with the venue while the audience fell in love with them. 

“The show here last year was one of my favorite audiences,” says Anne, “because it was the town we live in, and it was like our coming out performance – people I’ve known since I’ve lived here who have never seen us perform.” 

It was also special because of the venue. 

“When we first saw that theater,” says Jonathan, “I thought, this is a Vaudeville venue, it’s a variety stage, it’s a proper theatre with such an incredible energy.” 

While Daredevil Chicken is a discrete act, the Magic Banana Hour is a polyglot review, drawing together a diverse cast of multi-talented performers, from both Las Vegas and the Bay Area. And, promises Jonathan, “We have some surprises in store.” 

When they’re casting the performers, he says, “Every single time they come into the theatre, they see it and they go, ‘Oh my gosh.’ It overwhelms people because it’s such a perfect theater. It’s kind of everyone’s dream. From the minute you walk up to it, even when you look at it from across the street, it like this funnel that pulls you in.” 

Patrons should be forewarned: Daredevil Chicken can push some buttons. “We love performance that is not safe for everybody,” says Jonathan. “We want a reaction, we want people to love it, but we’re OK if not everybody does. For me, the worst kind of show, is when someone says, ‘Oh, it was OK.’ You cannot please everyone; if you try to make everyone happy, then no one’s happy. We need to go on a journey together, that’s part of the risk.” 

You can join the journey on Saturday, May 16, with two shows. The first, at 2 p.m. is Kid Friendly; the second, at 7:30 p.m., is tailored for adults and heavy on bananas. Tickets are available at sebastianitheatre.org.