Go ahead, peek at the freaks
Friday, May 5, 2006
By ERICA DIETSCHE STAFF WRITER
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To see video of Sideshows by the Seashore performers, go to: coneyisland.com/sideshow.shtml
WHAT: Super Freak Weekend.
WHEN: Noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
WHERE: Sideshows by the Seashore, 1208 Surf Ave., Brooklyn; coneyisland.com.
HOW MUCH: $8.
Their names suggest they're just like anyone else. What possibly could be so special about a Jennifer Miller, a Mat Fraser or even a Little Jimmy?
They're some of the headliners of Super Freak Weekend at Coney Island's Sideshows by the Seashore.
It goes without saying that the mere premise of the show is politically incorrect. Claiming to be the biggest collection of freaks since the funeral of P.T. Barnum in 1897, the show trumpets the fact that everyone is a "gen-u-ine freak of nature."
Behind Freak Door No. 1: Jennifer Miller, "New York's most progressive and fabulous lady -- and her beard." Behind Freak Door No. 2: Mat Fraser, actor and "Seal-Boy, a man with short arms like the flippers of a seal" who will share his gifts. So will Little Jimmy, who isn't just small, he was an original Oompa-Loompa. And he's an avid disco dancer.
Super Freak Weekend wouldn't be complete without Koko the Killer Clown, the notorious Coney Island little person, balloon-animal artist and sideshow veteran -- "returning for two days only!'' And last but not least, Ravi the Rubber Boy is "fresh off the boat" from mystical Bombay, India. Watch him fold himself into a suitcase and be carried off the stage.
Point and laugh at your own risk.
E-mail: dietsche@northjersey.com
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