Even Gordon Ramsay cooks up praise for the Passing Zone

Celebrities from around the world have seen The Passing Zone perform, including Gordon Ramsay, the somewhat cantankerous chef who doesn’t hesitate to voice his opinion.

Even when it comes to jugglers, like The Passing Zone.

“These two know how to perform when the heat is on. (They are) absolutely brilliant,” Ramsay said of jugglers Owen Morse and Jon Wee.

The Passing Zone will be performing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, at Escher Auditorium at the College of Saint Benedict as a part of the Fine Arts Series at CSB and Saint John’s University. It’s the first event of the 2018-19 Fine Arts Series, which includes 19 events through April.

Morse and Wee met in 1986, and shortly after graduating college they began their juggling career. After winning gold at the International Juggler’s Association Teams Competition, they gained attention from the renowned Comedy and Magic Club in Los Angeles. It was from there that a talent scout from the Tonight Show approached them for their first national television appearance in September of 1990.

Since then, the Passing Zone have caught the eyes of many, appearing on The Today Show and America’s Got Talent on two separate seasons.

The interest in the duo only grew from there. Morse and Wee use their skills together to bring juggling to a new and more intense light.

By using bowling balls, chain saws and flaming torches to name a few of the objects they juggle, they have the audience sitting at the edge of their seat in anticipation on what will happen next. During the show, they break up the dangerous moments with their family friendly humor, a way to mix comedy and danger in to one wildly entertaining show.

The Los Angeles Times newspaper called the duo, “classy, edgy, jaw-dropping and hilarious… comedy fans have struck gold here!”

But this show has broad appeal, reaching all audiences. The duo makes sure that the content in the show is clean and appropriate for all ages, and still has everyone leaving in awe.

With 18 gold medals from the International Jugglers Association, four Guinness World Records, and finalists on America’s Got Talent in 2006, The Passing Zone has been featured at places such as The White House, the World Expo and the Great American Comedy Festival.

Their tour, The Passing Zone Saves the World!, is the perfect way to bring the family together for a night and watch an award winning performance right here in Central Minnesota.

Tickets are $32 for adults, $29 for seniors, CSB and SJU staff $25, youth/student (with ID) $15, and CSB and SJU students $10.

For tickets, call the Benedicta Arts Center Box Office at 320-363-5777 or order online.

The event is sponsored by Central Minnesota Credit Union, Times Media and Wolters Kluwer.

The activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.