My circus kicks your circus’s ass. Artistically speaking. In Syracuse.
There’s something about being from New York City that makes you pretend you’re impressed by absolutely nothing. It’s true; I imagine it comes from years of watching mid-western tourists gawk up at 10 story buildings as if they never realized the atmosphere could support life at that height.
And when you’re from a Jersey suburb just outside the city (like me), the “been there, done that, bought the t-shirt” attitude is magnified. Because we’re all just trying to fit in with the uber-hip city folk.
But there’s something about Cirque du Soleil that crushes that instinct. The old back-of-the-DVD-box cliché about “making you feel like a child again” actually applies: you get the sense that you’re seeing something truly fresh in which every moment is filled with the unexpected. The amount of imagination and athleticism necessary to pull off a Cirque show boggles the mind:
These are people who take Olympic gymnasts, practice with them for weeks upon weeks, and then throw them off the show telling them that THEY’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE ACT. The making of a Cirque show was documented in a 2003 reality series “Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within” which I was once forced to watch on a dreadful date that I’d prefer not to remember (only party because of the documentary).
Never seen a Cirque show? It’s basically an artsy circus with live music. All of the acts in the show are drawn together by a common theme (which nobody really understand but the artistic director) and the gymnasts involved do things with their bodies that surprise and delight the audience (but will probably cause them to spend thousands on physical therapists later in life).
Now HERE’S the confusing part. The big touring arena version of Cirque: “Cirque du Soleil: Alegria”, played in Syracuse last week. You can also check it out in State College (9/30), Rochester (9/23), or Philly (10/13) if you’re willing to make the road trip. BUT there’s ANOTHER company doing Cirque-style shows in smaller theaters—and one of those tours will come to Binghamton on Feb 14th of next year: “Cirque Dreams: Illumination.”
So get it? Big Cirque show was just in Syracuse. Little Cirque show is coming to the Forum. But they’re not connected. Except in terms of style.
Now when Alegria came to Syracuse last week, the PR folks for the show gave me a ring and asked if I wanted to speak with artistic director Michael Smith. I agreed, hoping and praying that he’d be really, really, really eccentric. He had a disappointingly firm grip on reality, but it was a fun interview nonetheless.
PS, I STRONGLY recommend you check out the Broadway Theater League’s Cirque Dreams Illumination when it comes to Binghamton Feb 14th. That and Avenue Q (Oct 18th) promise to be the most interesting shows of the season.
