TO CALL THE FLYING KARAMAZOV Brothers a juggling troupe only tells half the story. After all. what kind of jugglers not only toss pins into the air but also rubber bath toys, bagpipes. sliees of gooey birthday cake and a whole uncooked roasting chicken? Or play Bach concertos by allowing mallets to whiz through the air and hit the instrument! Did I mention that while doing all of this they tap-dance, too?

Your run-of-the-mill juggling act does not strap itself to an electronic drum pad and create a symphony of synthesized music by bashing itself'repeatedly on the head.

The Karamazovs gleefully straddle the cosmic space between the avant-garde and the totally absurd, performing "look ma, no hands" stunts with a wink and a huge smile.

The four have labeled "Sharps, Flats & Accidentals" as "visual music," and that it is.

There's a "Concerto in B Flat for Bassoon," in which no one actually plays said instrument; a deranged tribute to Japanese fan dancing; tribal drumming done on refrigerator boxes; a Mexican hat/brass quartet routine that was so funny my child was literally gasping for air and enough bad puns to fill a comedy club in the Catskills. And, of course, world-class juggling that amazed the sold-out crowd of kids and adults.

Off the wall, tongue in cheek and working without a net, the Flying Karamazov Brothers provide the Big Apple with an uproarious holi- day treat that will make you laugh till you cry.

By AMY LINDEN
(Linden is Freelance writer.)