Cirque du Soleil: Alegria

On Sunday, The GF and I headed down to Tacoma to catch the latest Cirque du Soleil show to reach the Seattle area.  Alegria, the long running travelling show, took up about a third of the Tacoma Dome.  We had a great time at the show.

We had excellent seats in the third row on the floor and only had to deal with mild clown harrassment.  They weren't nearly as obnoxious at "interacting" with the audience as they are at many other shows.

It seemed like a decent crowd, but it certainly wasn't sold out.

Here's what the show is about, according the their website:

Alegría is a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means "jubilation" in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth—it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it.

I don't know what that means, either, and I've seen the show.

In that respect, it's much like most Cirque shows. Alegria is an older show that first started touring in 1994 so it doesn't try as hard with the story.  Since there's not as much plot in this show, I didn't burn up as many brain cells as I often do at a Cirque show in a futile attempt to figure out what the heck is going on.

I had a great time at the show, but it did have a few flaws.  I always feel conflicted in commenting about what I see at these shows because there it no way I could do any of that. The feats these athletes perform are just amazing.

The White Singer, dressed in poofy hoop skirt, put on a nice performance.  In most shows, the singer is in the background, and really just functions as another instrument.  In Alegria , "The White Singer" is, according to the website:

The White Singer is the storyteller who echoes in song everything she sees around her. She sings of melancholy and despair, of joy and happiness. Her luminous white gown is exquisite – underneath a bodice and skirt-frame adorned with jewels and pearls, is miles of flowing crinoline. In her dress and long white gloves, she moves like a delicate porcelain doll in a jewelry box.

She conveys a surreal and, for lack of a better term, adorable innocence.

There were some great acts.  The fire dancers were amazing. I knew we were in for something special when they had a couple of guys strategically placed on the audience floor with extra safety equipment.

The dual trapeze act was great with the added risk of them tumbling into the audience.  It's not like baseball, though.  If  you catch a wayward performer you don't get to keep them.

Many of the clown interludes started off entertaining, but seemed to go on a bit too long.  And the one right before intermission, which had the richest story, didn't seem to resolve itself.

The contortionists were mind blowing.  The two woman twisted and bended and became pointy in all the wrong ways.  We were close enough to see the expressions on their faces, as they calmly rested their cheeks upside down on their feet. They were so calm and relaxed it was amazing.  They could bend backwards so far, it seemed they could lean the back of their heads on their own bellies.  The skill and talent they displayed defied reality.

The biggest problem with the show was the pacing.  They front loaded the most compelling acts in the beginning of the show.  Much of the second act was anticlimactic.

That was especially the case with the last act.  They took extra time to set up an impressive net for the performers.  There was a swing high in the air and several horizontal bars.  The performers twirled and spun around them, jumped to the swing, hung upside down, and caught one another.  At the end of the bit, they did some impressive gymnastic dismounts, flew through the air and slammed loudly into the net.  And that was pretty cool.  The problem is that the rest of the act just didn't live up to the other acts earlier in the show.  The big finale was just not on the same level as the other performances. If it appeared earlier in the show, it would have been much more impressive.

If you're a first time Cirque visitor, prepare to be amazed.  If you've seen a lot of Cirque shows, this is familiar territory.  It's still worth seeing; it's just not the same transformative experience you may be looking for.

One more note -- the snow blowing was fantastic.

You can see my thoughts on other Cirque shows in these posts:

Kooza
Corteo
Mystere

Mystere in Vegas

I saw Mystere in Vegas a couple weeks ago. It was a great show.

Mystere is Cirque Du Soleil's oldest show in Vegas. It's been running at the TI, often playing to sold out crowds, for more than 10 years. Like all Cirque shows, it is a mix of music, song, acrobatics, gymnastics, dance, and artsy stories.

This show is more primitive than other Cirque shows. The theme is not as tightly woven into all the performances as it is in other shows. The theme is more of a broad framework into which they drop different acts. It seems that any act could easily be replaced by another on a moment's notice.

The performers also where less clothing than in other shows (except, I imagine Zumanity). It's nothing that would violate most local ordinances, but it is different. There's simply a lot more skin.

At the end of the show, there performers remove their masks and wigs for the curtain call. They are allowed to be seen as individuals and "normal" people on stage. Normally in a Cirque show it seems individuality is discouraged to maintain the effect of the otherworldly story they are telling on stage.

The performers acting as spotters in the acrobatic maneuvers are more obviously acting as spotters. And the acrobats themselves did make a few mistakes.

Overall the performances was fantastic, however.

There is more crowd work and audience participation in this show. The clown wanders about to entertain the audience. If you don't want to take a chance on being part of the show, avoid the first and last rows of the lower section of seats. Also avoid the aisle seats. You may want to avoid the lower section altogether.
The crowd work itself was a bit risky. They put some folks in embarrassing situations. They sprayed one woman in the face with water (soaked her pretty well, too). At one point the clown reached down the back of one girl's dress, fiddled with his hands, and pulled out a bra, which he then twirled around. Of course he had palmed it so he was not actually involved in disrobing her, and it got quite a laugh. But it was a bit risky, especially since she looked to be only 14-17 years old (though I am pretty bad at that guessing game).

When it was introduced in 1993, the show was edgy and completely different from anything anyone had seen in Vegas. It ushered in an new era in Vegas entertainment, and spawned other hit shows in the Cirque family (O, Zumanity, Ka, and Love).

It still has that feel. It's more raw and not as refined as the more recent shows. This must be a choice they've made because it could have adjusted in the past ten years. But it looks today much like it probably looked when it opened.

If you are attending your first Cirque show, go to Ka or O first. You will be amazed and the skill and technique on display. If you are a Cirque fan already, and haven't seen Mystere yet, go see it. It is valuable not only as a great show itself but in understanding the creative evolution of Cirque Du Soleil over through the year.

In other words, it was a great evening.

Corteo in Marymoor Park

Corteo is one of the Cirque du Soleil traveling shows, and it is wrapping up its Seattle leg.

I enjoy the Cirque du Soleil shows, but can't quite hand myself over entirely to the experience. I'm too linear. I want things to make sense. When I go to a show that presumably has a story or theme, I want to follow along with that story. That's not really possible with a Cirque show. Supposedly they all follow a theme. They express a story rather than tell one. Many of them are based on legends or dreams, further enhancing the ethereal nature.

Whatever.

They are beautiful expressions of athleticism, balance, juggling, comedy, and the true, incredible capabilities of the human body. The creativity and energy is intoxicating.

Especially when I stop trying to think about the story.

This was my fifth Cirque show. I've seen Dralion and Delirium in Seattle; and I've seen Ka and O in Vegas. I don't think this was my favorite, but everytime I try to rank them I come up with nothing. So maybe it is my favorite afterall.

I guess the trick is not to think about it too much.

Corteo tells the story of clown who dreams about his funeral. The different acts tell about different parts of his life. At the end, I'm not sure if the clown is actually dead or his dream just ends.

One of the early acts is a bunch of acrobats jumping around on two trampolines/beds. The energy and wackiness is truly joyful. The story is about the wild times in the clown's youth and can be read in a couple different ways. It's either about the exuberance on children, or the young clown's sexual exploits. Regardless, the portrayal is subtle enough for the act (like all the others) to be perfectly family friendly.

The Chandelier act, Tibetan bowls, Teatro Intimo and other acts are all amazing.

Also in the cast are two little people -- a husband and wife team. In one act, the woman is suspended from several helium balloons and floats around the stage and audience like a beach ball at a rock concert.

As an added plus, parts of the show are actually in English. Most Cirque shows are in gibberish or French. This made it quite a bit easier to pretend I was following the story.

This show is also more intimate than a typical Cirque show. At most Cirque shows, the clowns play with the audience a little bit in the beginning, then they climb up on stage. The rest of the show happens in a disconnected manner. There is no acknowledgment that there are two thousand people watching until the curtain call at the end.

Corteo is different. The performers look through that fourth wall to the crowd. The clown references Seattle. They play to the audience in a way that is different from the straight up exhibition I've come to expect from Cirque.

There is a little crowd work in the beginning, but not too much. If you want to make sure you don't participate, simple avoid the first or last row in a section, and avoid the aisle seats. But really, I wouldn't worry about it.

The only complaint I have would be the seats themselves. They are too narrow. Coach seats on most airliners will give you more room. In these seats, you are almost guaranteed to be touching the person next to you. Since Cirque takes the whole thing on the road, these seats will follow the show to all cities.

If you are a fan of Cirque Du Soliel, it's a fun show and worth the time. If you haven't been to a Cirque show, it's a good a introduction to genre. Anyway I look at it, it's an evening well spent.