PINCH AND SQUEAL
Pinch and Squeal (Jason and Danielle Tilk) are a musical neo-vaudeville duo that bring you whimsical hilarity, clichéd sentimentality, kamikaze alcoholism and old-wheeze jokes. We have taken our signature blend of insanity from Brooklyn to Dubuque. We play a trunk full of instruments. We sing provocative and wacky songs that get stuck in your head.We tell extraordinary bad jokes that you hate to laugh at, dazzle with bad magic, and bring forth insanity from our suitcase! Together they created WIZBANG! that went from stage shows, theatre tent creation to now a full brick and mortar theatre in Cleveland Heights Ohio.
"Pinch and Squeal is a duo that has mastered the art of flirting with bad taste and vintage buffoonery. It's Penn and Teller meets Burns and Allen. The laughter of the vulgar and the vindicated — and the groans of the oppressed — shall ring out during this vaudeville-style show. Editors Pick Frank De Blasé Rochester City News
"I saw two shows last night, and both of them, though different, are now on my recommendation list. Cirque Du Fringe peppers its performances with classic cornball humor, but Cleveland banjo and accordion duo Pinch and Squeal wallows in it. I mean this is "fill–the–bathtub-with-gin-and-gasoline-and-light-it-on-fire-before-doing-a-cannonball" wallowing in it." They opened with a couple of dirty ditties from the 1920's and one from the early days of “Hee Haw,” complete with a harmonized Bronx cheer, before going into card and balloon tricks, a tirade in Pig Italian (no, not Latin, Italian) that made no sense whatsoever, and a beautiful French love ballad where Squeal attempted to stick two audience members in her party dress.. Ah, show business. I laughed my head off. "Review from opening night of Rochester Fringe festival '17 by Frank DeBlase
Together they have played for audience’s of 20 to 1500, From The Chicago House of Blues to the Cleveland Museum of Art. They have performed with acts such as opening for Puddles Pity Party and Piff the Magic Dragon.
Your hosts in the Sideshow menagerie of the Odditorium at THEATRE BIZARRE, other shows include Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art ( CLE) Jim Rose (of his famed Circus Sideshow) NYC's Murray Hill, Squidling Brothers Circus Sideshow, the world famous Pontani Sisters, Titano Oddfellow, Lady Gagas band leader Brian Newman, Rochester Fringe Festival, Detroit's Theatre Bizarre, Donny Vomit, Satans Angel, Erie Pa Womens Correctional facility, Super Happy Funtime Burlesque just to name an amazing few.
The Wizbang
Pinch and Squeal's Wizbang is a few things. It’s a full on variety show, it’s a brick and mortar 65 seat theatre and circus school in Cleveland Heights and a custom 60 seat theatrical circus tent that can show up almost anywhere indoor or out! Fully equipped with lights and sound- we showcase amazing professional performers of circus arts, cabaret, theatre, dance and music. Each show is unique, ridiculous and full of non stop hilarity! Wizbang shows are also known to perform on indoor stages not just in our tent. Geared towards audiences 16 and up-childrens shows are absolutely available. Our home base is Cleveland, Oh.
We travel! Please contact us if you'd like us in your town on stage or in our tent! Clients include; Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Ingenuity Cleveland, New Belgium Tour de Fat, New Belgium Brewery, Private events for; Proms, Festivals and home parties...
“Best new Business” Cleveland Heights award 2020
“Audience Choice Award” Cleveland International Theatre and Fringe Festival 2019
"Best of Cleveland" 2017 by Cleveland Magazine
Cover Story of Cleveland's Pressure Life Magazine; See full article here! http://pressurelife.com/biggest-bang-town/
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About
“AUDIENCE CHOICE” AWARD 2019, 2022
Borderlight International Theatre and Fringe Festival
BorderLight’s mission is to present innovative theatre that inspires, builds cross-cultural understanding, and celebrates the diversity of the human experience.
Large-scale performing arts festivals are some of the most celebrated community events—and largest economic drivers—in the world. BorderLight promises to bring the vibrancy of an international performing arts festival to downtown Cleveland—and shine a spotlight on our city's abundant arts and culture community, as well as our rich cultural assets.
BEST OF CLEVELAND 2017: TRAVELING THEATER
Bizarre, awkward, awesome — Wizbang is the stage show you can't miss.
Jason and Danielle Tilk want you to meet their bizzarro friends.
A tattooed 6-foot-5 lazy strongman who rips license plates in half. An awkward lounge singer who nervously croons Lady Gaga and Sir Mix-a-Lot. A crazed ‘80s aerobics instructor who dances in sequined outfits.
So they started the roving Wizbang show to highlight the most talented performers they know in a lightning-paced outlandish variety circus a la the old Gong Show. “It’s this sort of epic little bit of extravaganza that really brings that audience to the end of the journey,” says Jason.
The show bucks the traditional circus format of a formal announcer and scheduled acts by having performers come and go haphazardly. While the audience may expect performers to start onstage, instead the Tilks — as vaudeville duo Pinch and Squeal — clown around with the audience, climbing over chairs, sitting on laps and kissing people on the cheek.
Wizbang is revving up for more hijinks with shows at Cleveland Public Theatre Dec. 8 and 9, and Feb. 16 and 17, and hopes to start a Cleveland circus school.
“Cleveland just needs something completely weird,” says Danielle. “It needs a little quirky.”
Pinch And Squeal
Best Vaudeville duo
Cover story by Adam Dodd in PRESSURE LIFE magazine: http://pressurelife.com/biggest-bang-town/
Press
ROCHESTER CITY NEWS PAPER
Opening night review of Pinch and Squeal's show at the Rochester Fringe 2017 show
I saw two shows last night, and both of them, though different, are now on my recommendation list. Cirque Du Fringe peppers its performances with classic cornball humor, but Cleveland banjo and accordion duo Pinch and Squeal wallows in it. I mean this is "fill–the–bathtub-with-gin-and-gasoline-and-light-it-on-fire-before-doing-a-cannonball" wallowing in it.
They opened with a couple of dirty ditties from the 1920's and one from the early days of “Hee Haw,” complete with a harmonized Bronx cheer, before going into card and balloon tricks, a tirade in Pig Italian (no, not Latin, Italian) that made no sense whatsoever, and a beautiful French love ballad where Squeal attempted to stick two audience members in her party dress.. Ah, show business. I laughed my head off.
VAUDEVILLIAN CRAZINESS
Wizbang: Variety Circus Mayhem
Took my kids to see Wizbang: Variety Circus Mayhem at Mahalls: Twenty Lanes in Lakewood on Saturday. It. Was. Awesome.
The organizers for Wizbang are the great duo of Pinch and Squeal, whom I’ve seen in any number of locations, with their enormously energetic creations of vaudeville, burlesque, humor, and magic. Here, the production was lifted by an entourage of similarly-minded artists who were amazing as much for their individual talents and the level of energy they maintained throughout their performance
For the kids, Wizbang was just about as stimulating at you’d want a theatrical experience to be–especially in the conspicuously over-stimulated world in which they exist today. At Wizbang, things were happening everywhere. That is, everywhere you looked there was something to engage the eye and interest: costumes, lights, balloons, exceptional performance. On the stage there was a fantastic mix of sexual appeal, fear, glory of color and execution of feats, and the downright creepy. The show is a glorious vaudevillian circus with the promise of great joy and the threat of death that all children desire: magic, juggling, jump-roping, hoola-hooping, egg-cracking, dancing, romping, clowning.
And yes, later at night, there is an Adult version.
When it comes around again, Wizbang is a must see.