Alberta Bair Theater Presents ‘Cirque Mechanics Birdhouse Factory’

The performers of Cirque Mechanics fly, climb and contort their way through rotating gears, trampoline walls and aerial hoops as they transform the Alberta Bair Theater, 3rd Avenue North and Broadway in downtown Billings, into a fantastic Birdhouse Factory on Friday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m.

The New York Times calls Birdhouse Factory, “exceptional, evocative, eye-catching, ear-catching and, to keep this list short, engrossingly entertaining.”

Based in Las Vegas, Cirque Mechanics is a company of 12 agile and inventive performers from around the world. Members are veterans of renowned companies like the Moscow Circus, the Pickle Family Circus and Cirque du Soleil.

Like those companies, Cirque Mechanics does not use animals or the “Big Top” three-ring structure. Instead, they amaze audiences with the type of circus theater that combines jaw-dropping acrobatics with music, dance, drama and humor.

Birdhouse Factory takes place in a 1930s factory where circus mayhem ensues after a hapless bird flies into one of the factory’s machines. As the show begins, workers line up to start another dreary shift. When a bird suddenly gets lost inside the factory, the workers leave the assembly line to help out. This break from routine inspires them to reinvent their tasks in a more joyful and soulful way.

Tickets are $33 and $28 for adults and $17 for students. Stop by the ABT ticket office, Rimrock Mall customer service booth, or call 256-6052, or visit ABT albertabairtheater.org. The concert is part of the First Interstate Fox Series and is sponsored by ExxonMobil, Wendy’s and KTVQ.