First time poster, long time lurker, but I want to give this riddle a shot, so I'll crawl forth from my cave and give it a go:
Although Lord Strange and the quintuplets were,
Lord Strange's Men was a performance troupe in the 16th century. At first a troupe of acrobats, then actors, they performed in court. Later on, they evolved until the Mayor of London (London? London...) told them not to perform any more in the city.*
Circling back to the Wizarding World, this could be that they actually relocated to Diagon Alley to perform, as if they were a troupe of wizard actors/acrobats all along. This could also tie into the W.A.D.A. (Wizarding Academy for the Dramatic Arts) or some other back story that Jo has created to accompany Carkitt Market. As she's delved into muggle history before (i.e. Nicolas Flamel) - she could do it again. As for the quintuplets: No idea. Polyjuice potion? Matching masks and/or costumes? A troupe of five actors? All of the above?
not near the boiling water when it splashed
The Wizard and the Hopping Pot includes a hopping pot that takes on the maladies of the uncured - could it be that it's healing powers have been denied to one with a fever? Or it could be a pyrotechnic show that features fire and
The Fountain of Fair Fortune. Worth a mention as it is a popular play that is performed within the Wizarding World, usually during the Holiday season (Possibilities?). Within the footnotes of
Beedle the Bard it was presented once as a pantomime at Hogwarts, from which it caught fire and resulted in a duel.
[Personally, I'd prefer just the show without such altercation for the sake of verisimilitude. There's a giant worm within the story, so that's an exciting thing.]
Lord Strange maintained a serious skald.
So perhaps there
is an altercation. This one is slightly lost on me. A duel? Or the stationary dragon on top of Gringotts is up to mischief? No idea.
Looking at the spelling of "skald", it could be a reference to poets who composed at court in Scandinavian and Icelandic countries.* So perchance, it has something to do with poetry.
A seemingly random event indeed.
Flash mob. Or something like it. Circling back to the first riddle, with carts and gears (because I think they're connected to this riddle), the show(s) could feature all five stories from
Beedle The Bard, but you never know which one you're going to get. Or the stage can be likened to performing in found space. Although I think from previous clues, it's more accurate to say that there are moving stages, and although it isn't a turntable, it could be something like a traveling mistral show? No idea.
Alas, there are numerous holes in my wall of text, but these be my thoughts. Calling back to the audition requirements, there are no ladies in
Beedle the Bard that are specifically African-American. Babbity Rabbity could be considered in that age range, but her race isn't defined save for a sketch from Jo where she is depicted as white - not that that matters. But this
could mean that Jo has written a play exclusively for Carkitt Market, to which I would
incendeo myself and rampage through said market with utter joy if it were the case. Other than that, I dunno.
As per usual, I'm probably over thinking everything. But meh, throwing my two sickles into the pot, as you do. Keep up the good work everyone.
*climbs back into cave*
*Sources: Myself namely - have a degree in theatre, but, as I'm currently working on my math degree, I've filed most of my notes and books on the subject away; thus, Lord Strange's Men and the term "Skald" are on Wikipedia as all things are. In addition, I have a twelve-year obsession with Harry Potter, to which I have filed nothing away. Priorities.