Bomba, a three-man circus act from Israel, had the judges on “America’s Got Talent” laughing out loud during their audition for the reality TV show, which aired on August 2.
The bearded troupe — Amit Gerbi and brothers Noam and Yaron Davidovich – came onstage naked, each holding a wooden paddle in front and back of their nether regions.
They had the judges and audiences in stitches as they deftly moved the paddles around to keep one another covered up (but just barely!) while retrieving, juggling and passing around an orange ball to the strains of “Soul Bossa Nova.”
Israelis will recognize the paddles and ball from the beach paddleball game, matkot, played daily on our Mediterranean beaches.
“Is this a famous Israel show? Do people love this?” judge Sophia Vergara asked them.
“Not yet,” one of the guys quipped.
When judge Heidi Klum playfully commented, “I feel like you need smaller rackets,” they replied, “We’ve got a lot more to show!” Klum said Bomba was her favorite act of the day.
The two-minute performance – which ended with Amit and Noam dropping their paddles and exposing their rear ends — earned a standing ovation. When they came back on seconds later, they were clad in terry robes.
Comedian Howie Mandel bid them “Shalom!” as they exited the stage to thunderous applause.
Here’s an earlier version of Bomba’s paddle act, performed before a live Israeli audience.
The troupe describes itself as “a modern comic circus show, the creation of three Israeli circus artists, Amit, Noam & Yaron. With no words, they’re pushing the modern circus to a different place, playful & joyful, while making a great homage to the vintage silent movies slapstick routines.
“The charismatic leader who can’t really do anything by himself, the clown who goes wild and gets into trouble but always wins the sympathy of the audience, and the elegant negotiator that is stuck between them.”
Until now, the troupe has performed only in Israel and Turkey. Their fame is now spreading globally thanks to their “America’s Got Talent” performance.
“We have started to receive some interest from some productions and TV shows around the world,” Bomba told ISRAEL21c. “We are working on a new act that will hopefully be as exciting and successful as this one.”