Review: Wikka Is Weird and Wonderful at Don't Tell Mama in SEND IN THE CLOWNS

There is great benefit in daring to be different. There is reward in risk, and there is satisfaction in self-knowledge. When one is an artist the benefits, rewards, and satisfaction spill out into the world and affect the experience of those lucky enough to be nearby to witness the creations. WIKKA dares to be different, revels in risk, and succeeds at self-awareness. She knows who she is and what she is about, and she uses it to inform her art, in every way that one's personality can affect their creations, and her most recent outing was an afternoon cabaret show at Don't Tell Mama titled SEND IN THE CLOWNS, and though there were clowns aplenty, there wasn't much humor. There was plenty of intrigue, emotion, art, music, even whimsy, and that is enough.

Wikka is the alter-ego of violist Alexia DelGiudice Bigari. Wikka is a viola-playing clown, she is a singer, she is a storyteller, and she is a fascinating and original ride into the worlds of electronica pop and alternative cabaret. These are all good things, and it would be interesting to see more of what Wikka has to offer because what this writer witnessed last weekend was certainly worth a trip outside in the middle of a heatwave.

Sharing the stage with pianist Jake Landau (in the person of Mime) and Jacob Maximillian Baron (billed as Ring Master but made up as a clown), Wikka's entire show consisted of a setlist of songs from two different albums, expertly played on viola and hypnotically sung in an unusual and unique voice, powerful and pleasing, seemingly tailor-made to the Eastern European vibe of her electronica sound. Like some wonderful Czech commedia dell'arte theater piece, Send In The Clowns utilized Wikka and the Mime in superior ways of musical storytelling, although the Ringmaster may have gone a little underused; the truth is that the musical storytelling is the main component of Wikka's whimsical world. Very little spoken dialogue exists to string together the music or the show, and what is spoken comes only from the Ringmaster. Wikka's only rhetoric in the entire program was to introduce herself before launching into this concert of her own compositions, all the music being enjoyable, interesting, and palatable. With her brand of musicianship, vocalist skills, and songwriting talent, Alexia has hit the music world trifecta, and she should be able to parlay that into some serious success, especially if she takes some time out to rethink Wikka's theatricality and branding.

Send In The Clowns is wonderful performance art, exciting and interesting, but it is missing some things - about fifteen minutes and some clarity. At thirty-five minutes, Wikka's show is simply too short, no matter how good those thirty-five minutes are - paying audiences deserve at least fifty minutes worth of show and a more replete storytelling arc than the piece currently provides. As the cabaret act continues to move forward (which it should), it would behoove Ms. DelGiudice Bigari to add more material to the program, which should be easy to do because she has talent and vision, two things that feed a nightclub act. Adding content to the show will also assist with the clarity issue, which is actually more important than having an hour of programming. When an artist is creating outside of the box, crystal clarity is paramount. Audience members unfamiliar with the Wikka aesthetic, the Wikka "brand" if you will, will not know what the show or the character is about - they will require a tour guide to welcome them into Wikka's world. There is precious little about Wikka online, so there is no "Cliff's Notes" possibility to inform beforehand: the Wikka learning curve must happen in real-time. Newcomers to the Wikka sensation will be waling into the club blind, uninformed, ready for a surprise, and there should be unknowing visitors to Wikka's shows. Realistically, the goal of all performing artists is to draw in clientele who are strangers, who aren't friends and family, who are coming to see the show and the performer because of word of mouth or reputation. The way those things grow is by having audiences who know, who understand fully, what the artistic intention is and what the story is that is being told, which simply didn't happen on Sunday. The few utterances from The Ringmaster were not of enough assistance in keeping the storyline cohesive, and the electronica sometimes drowned out the lyrics of the songs - and in the absence of clear narrative, those lyrics are life to the audience. Were Alexia DelGiudice Bigari to sit down with her creative team and restructure her high-concept mini-concert into a piece of theater, all of her exceptional artistry would flourish as more than a cabaret show - it would be a new piece of avant-garde musical performance art that everyone in town wants... no NEEDS... to see.

And that's when Wikka gets all the power and praise she so richly deserves and that we who have seen her want her to have.

Wikka is on Instagram HERE.

Alexia DelGiudice Bigari is on Instagram HERE.

Don't Tell Mama has great shows to see - their calendar is HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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