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Rose vs. 'The Snake': Jim Rose Circus Coming To Salt Lake City

Posted: Jul 9th 2009 By: CMBurnham

"You're a sick man," said Jake "The Snake" Roberts to someone who expressed interest in seeing the Jim Rose Circus this Sunday at Club Vegas. "Have you sought counseling?"

Roberts is jesting, because he is the main event in the latest incarnation of The Jim Rose Circus, the notorious big-top show that is like a Barnum & Bailey for adults.

The Jim Rose Circus was created in Seattle in the early 1990s. It became a sensation at Lollapalooza and then as an opening act for Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, with its showcase of unusual performers who could perform unthinkable -- and for newspapers, often unprintable -- acts of daring that were often characterized as sideshow acts. Some of the most famous bits were revolting, but you couldn't look away.

This year, Rose is bringing his show again to Salt Lake City, and it is billed as "The Jim Rose Circus vs. Jake 'The Snake' Roberts: Pretty Girls, Wrestling, Amazing Circus Stunts and a Fist Fight."

In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune , Rose said Roberts is perfect for his one-hour show, which will include not only the troupe's trademark circus stunts but a compelling narrative about Roberts' life.

It's an element that initially seems at odds with Rose, who once brought onstage The Amazing Mister Lifto, a man who hung cinder blocks from his genitals. But Rose is a fan of Roberts, and debasement is not his goal.

"Jake 'The Snake' Roberts is one of the most iconic wrestlers in history," said Rose, a longtime friend of the wrestler, who was a beloved antihero in the halcyon days of professional wrestling in the 1980s. " 'The Wrestler' inspired me."

Roberts was a subject of the 1999 documentary "Beyond the Mat," which unflatteringly portrayed the former wrestler contemplating retirement. The depiction of Roberts was said, by some, to inspire director Darren Aronofsky as he made the 2008 Oscar-nominated film "The Wrestler."

"The Wrestler" is a brutal, unflinching movie that seeks redemption but falls short, instead becoming a treatise on identity and how people can choose their own -- even though it might kill them. In one harrowing scene, Randy "the Ram" Robinson, portrayed by Mickey Rourke, is staple-gunned repeatedly in a match that ends with Randy having a heart attack.

Rose and other performers in the show are convinced the story in "The Wrestler" is Roberts' story -- with an end yet to be written.

"['The Wrestler'] was absolutely based on Jake," said SiNN Bodhi, a former WWE wrestler (then known as Kizarney) now touring with Rose's circus.

Bodhi, who has been known by various wrestling names -- including H.N. Hardcastle, Lucifer Love, Nicholas Sinn, The Original Sinn and Sinn Bowdee -- idolized Roberts when he was growing up.

"Wrestling was like superheroes for me," he said. "I always liked the bad guys more. They seemed like more fun." In the narrative part of the Jim Rose Circus, Bodhi is set to "wrestle" Roberts, his idol.

Bohdi is a veteran of sideshow acts, including once participating in Carnival Diablo, where he would bend iron bars, have darts thrown at him and perform his signature act: He would get "charbroiled" in an electric chair and light a torch using his tongue as the electricity went through his body.

Another veteran performer of the Jim Rose Circus is Bebe the Circus Queen. A native of France who grew up with six rambunctious brothers, she has been with Rose since the beginning and has been a daredevil. For example, she commonly lies on a bed of nails while having weights pressed upon her chest. She also has been known for sticking herself inside a vacuum-cleaning bag and having others vacuum all of the air out of it. It was called the Plastic Bag of Death.

In an interview, Bebe talked about some of her favorite stunts, including the one where a watermelon was placed on her neck and an assistant would raise a sword about his head and then slice the watermelon in half in one swift move. "The watermelon on the neck was the hardest," she said, "and we would go to countries where they didn't have watermelons. They'd give us a melon the size of a lemon. It was dangerous."

But for Rose, the main event is Roberts.

Rose described a narrative for a long bit that will be staged with Roberts, that is similar to the plot of "The Wrestler" and Roberts' own life. "He's gotten a little older, but [Roberts] is trying to move on," Rose said. "He wants to be part of a family. But a lot of people want to get a piece of him."

Rose, who has been known for eating razor blades, has cast himself as the villain in this incarnation, and he sees Roberts' participation as much more than just parading onstage for laughs or shock value. He respects Roberts. For Rose, this is a show about redemption, something Roberts is hoping for. "This is a tour of love," Rose said.

"It's breaking new ground for me," Roberts said of the show, which offers him a chance for respect that has eluded him, at least in the media. "I've done the same thing for 34 years, so maybe it's time I try something new. It's going to be different, but great."

In the end, though, Rose is a consummate showman, and he can guarantee one thing. "Someone is going to get stapled somewhere," he said. "I can't tell you how the show will end."

Tags: Jake Roberts, WWE