Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! Watch Lady Diabla and her pals, Zamora the Torture King and Penguin Boy, as they perform crazy acts that will shock and awe you.
Here now, sauntering across the stage, is Lady Diabla, scraping a power grinder against an ax. Watch the sparks fly. Look as she whips out a cigarette and lights it with the fiery flashes. Amazing.
Let's bring out Zamora the Torture King, who's dropping sticks of fire into his mouth. See the flames dance along his tongue. Out of this world!
And get pumped up for Penguin Boy – he has no arms and his hands are attached to his shoulders. Watch as he gracefully sticks a screwdriver up his nose. Whoa. Huh?
These folks put the freak in freak show.
They're just some of the stars of the Dallas-based Hellzapoppin, a sideshow that launched another national tour Friday. They'll perform in Dallas and Fort Worth this week.
Promotions for the act declare it's the "greatest show in hell." Hellzapoppin showcases rock music and wild acts from performers covered with tattoos. And don't forget the titillation – burlesque dancers strip down to pasties.
The performers embrace their freakishness. They get a thrill shocking crowds with their outrageous antics. Besides, it beats working some boring 9-to-5 desk job.
They live to perform and enjoy when the audience goes wild. Crowds scream. They cheer. They gasp. Some cover their faces.
"I've always stuck out," said Penguin Boy, or Jason Brott, 24, of Baltimore. He has a blond Mohawk, and huge round earrings are embedded in his earlobes. Tattoos cover the sides of his head and neck.
"I've always been different and weird. I've always been stared at. So why not be on stage and get paid to get stared at and do something cool and freak people out at the same time?"
Oh, there's more: Lady Diabla swallows swords. Zamora eats glass. Penguin Boy, about 3 feet tall, goes crowdsurfing: The audience holds him above their heads, throwing him around the room.
"All sorts of stuff your parents tell you not to do when you're a kid," said Lady Diabla, or Alexandra Kaminski, 23, of Las Vegas.
On the tamer side, the show also features Miggy Migs, a master at the yo-yo.
Migs, or Miguel Correa of Garland, said that performing with the touring group is "a huge 180" compared with his most recent gig: being a student at Southern Methodist University, where the 23-year-old recently graduated.
Hellzapoppin puts a modern spin on the old-fashioned circus sideshow, which featured dwarfs and giants, people with extra legs or fingers and women with mustaches or beards.
While those who catch Hellzapoppin may have seen similar acts on TV or the Web, seeing it in person is different, said Bryce Graves, who created Hellzapoppin. He named the show after an old movie with the same name.
"The audience thinks they've seen everything," Graves said. "Our biggest competition is YouTube.
"It's all about shock value. I love to shock people."
At a rehearsal last week, rock music blasted from speakers.
Zamora, or 45-year-old Tim Cridland, popped onto the stage, using a hammer to shatter a light bulb. The Las Vegas resident collected the shards and threw them into his mouth, making crunching noises into the microphone.
"All the way into the stomach and to points beyond," he declared.
Graves moved on to the next act:
"Ladies and gentlemen, one word of warning: Do not try this next stunt at home."
He paused.
"Go to a friend's house."
Wearing a cowboy hat, shiny black boots and skimpy jean shorts, Lady Diabla showed off her swords.
"Most people think sword swallowing is fake," she sighed. "What we have right here is all real, all steel."
She whipped out a silver sword.
"I'm going to shove this sucker all the way down my esophagus."
She licked the sword. Then she took off her hat, positioned her face upward and, without any hesitation, plunged the sword down her throat.
Minutes later, Zamora was back on stage, offering words of caution before proceeding.
He opened his mouth and stuck a steel skewer through his tongue.
Then he pushed the stick through his mouth.
The skewer emerged – through the bottom of his chin.
He pulled the skewer back out of his mouth.
Look, Ma, no blood.
When Lady Diabla was a kid, she caught a TV show featuring a man who hammered large nails into his face.
She was amused – and intrigued.
"Oh my God, that's amazing," she thought. "That's crazy! How could he not be hurt?"
She worked for a mortuary and learned about anatomy. Then she taught herself how to swallow swords and joined the sideshow world.
Zamora read about old sideshows and found them fascinating and with "no trickery at all."
He started performing in sideshows in the early '90s.
"The aim is to amaze," Zamora said. "If I can blow somebody's mind, that's incredible."
Penguin Boy was a bit more blunt.
"I'm just there to disgust people," he said.
Hellzapoppin's latest national tour includes performances in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Thursday: Lizard Lounge/The Church, 2424 Swiss Ave., Dallas. 10:30 p.m. Buy tickets at the door: $10 for those over 21; $15 under 21.
Saturday: Lola's Saloon, 2736 W. Sixth St., Fort Worth. 10:30 p.m. Buy tickets at the door: $10.
For more information: www.hellzapoppin.com
