E-Mail This Article to a Friend String theory Barrage fiddles its way to the Wilbur BY SALLY CRAGIN

One theatrical form that showed massive commercial clout in the 1990s was the non-narrative musical show. Stomp, Riverdance, and their spinoffs all offered attractive young people enslaved to rollicking rhythms and melodies. Save Michael Flatley, these are shows without stars, but they served up plenty of sound and spectacle, and over the decade they nourished avid audiences.

Barrage, a Canadian-based outfit that’ll make its Boston debut at the Wilbur Theatre this Wednesday with Vagabond Tales, is the latest twist on the genre: its young virtuoso violinists dance while playing inventively complex arrangements of popular music. Executive producer Anthony Moore, who helped created Barrage in the mid ’90s, explains that the group grew out of an educational program he and his partners were doing in Canada. "We were teachers and students of classical violin music, and we found that giving fiddle music at the end of a lesson, ‘Turkey in the Straw’ or something, really kept the interest of the students."

Toe tapping led to more complicated movement, and these days the young players in Barrage (the average age is 25) can bounce enormous exercise balls across the stage with their feet and still not miss a beat on their instruments. "It’s really a dance show as much as a violin show," says Moore. "It’s fully choreographed, and there are magic tricks and some acrobatics." Locating performers who can combine fine motor precision with gross motor skills is, no surprise, a challenge. "We have quite a bit of luck finding fantastic violin players, but we don’t have a lot of luck finding fantastic players who are also fantastic dancers."

The story line of Vagabond Tales centers on Gypsy musicians. "Every 10 years they choose a leader, so they have a competition," says Moore. "This gives everyone a chance to show their skills." And these appear to be substantial. Musicians joining Barrage can train for up to a year. "It’s a difficult show to master because it’s something that isn’t natural. Some fiddlers might tap their feet, but there’s not any training that could be done before."

The current cast hails from British Columbia, Scotland, England, New Zealand, and western and central Canada. All the performers began playing at extremely young ages, and they’re as likely to have pop credits as classical experience on their résumés. It’s no surprise, then, that the Barrage menu is eclectic. Familiar genres like Celtic, bluegrass, and folk are explored alongside Middle and Near Eastern and Asian traditions. "Eleanor Rigby" was, according to Moore, "a natural" thanks to the original’s opening string quartet; so was "Live and Let Die," which also has a swooping string section. But finding music that works for an unconventional orchestral line-up isn’t easy. "The arrangements have to be really killer or you might get close to what you hear in an elevator sometimes." Yet despite the imposing chops of its performers, Barrage is "a very family show," Moore concludes. "It’s enjoyed by kids who can get up and dance in the aisles because it’s got the element of live-concert appeal. And the older folks like it because it’s clean and because it shows young people doing something that requires effort and dedication and inspires young people, which is something old people like to see."

Barrage presents Vagabond Tales December 14 through 19 at the Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont Street in the Theater District. Tickets are $25.50 to $57.50; call (617) 931-ARTS or drop in to the Wilbur box office.