Broadway Legend Joined: 2/17/06
B to the izzump
I just returned from Orlando 30 minutes ago. I was their for a business convention. And I despise the place, but went to see La Nouba and loved it. It was great.
"O" is still the best though. It's truely one of the most beautiful things I've seen on stage.
I've heard alot of the recordings, and seen Dralion, Varekai, and Alegria on TV. Of the music I've heard, Dralion and Alegria are my favorites.
I saw a show in Vegas probably 7 years ago - I don't even know which one it was.
i've seen:
DRALION
VAREKAI
QUIDAM
CORTEO
"O"
MYSTERE
KA
and ZUMANITY:the other side of cirque du soleil
i think Cirque is a great combination of theatre and circus!! how someone could find it boring is beyond me
my fav is ZUMANITY, which is NOT a typical Cirque show, which neither KA nor "O" are either, simply for the fact that they are resident [vegas] shows that can not travel under the blue and yellow tent. of the touring shows i liked VAREKAI best.
jimwnyc,
You are very misled on the Matthew Cusick case. He was fired because he would be performing in an act with high risk of injury and witheld the fact that he was HIV+ from his employers and tried to play his firing off as a discrimination suit. If, god forbid, he had fallen and was injured (not trying to be overly graphic) there ran a high risk. Cirque's larger beef was with him witholding his status with a disease that is spreadable through certain forms of contact.
I'm a HUGE CdS fan, my first obsession before Broadway. I've seen every travelling show as they've come through the NYC area:
Cirque du Soleil shows I have seen and when:
1. Saltimbanco - New York – Spring 1993
2. Alegria – New York – Spring 1995
3. Quidam – New York – Spring 1998
4. Dralion – Jersey City, NJ – Spring 2001
5. Varekai – New York – Summer 2003
6. Alegria – New York – 23May04
7. Alegria – Philadelphia – 17Jul04
8. Corteo - Montreal - 23Apr05
9. Varekai – E. Rutherford, NJ - 12Jul05
10. Varekai – E. Rutherdord, NJ – 27Jul05 (2nd Act Only)
11. Varekai – E. Rutherford, NJ – 28Jul05
12. Varekai – Hartford, CT – 31Sep05
I would say my favorite show is Alegria, and Corteo was another favorite for me. I love them all for different reasons. I've unfortunately never had the chance to see a Resident show (O, Zumanity, Mystere, La Nouba).
M&M, they are in creation and near premier of a show based on the Beatles' music which is under the working titles The Boys and HELP! It will feature canned (non-live) music of the Beatles and from what I gathered from reading the casting section, will center around "4 boys who will become the fab 4."
About Corteo:
I saw this show when it premiered in Montreal last April. It was so amazing and completely endearing. The difference between this and other Cirque shows is it is quite human and the characters on stage are meant to interact with the audience. The imagery is all very accessible, not outlandish or surreal like that of Quidam. I would suggest any theater fan to see this and any Cirque show, but this being especially theatrical. If anyone had the chance to see Cirque Eloize: Rain at the New Victory Theater this past July, it is by the same director, Daniele Finzi Pasca, who is just wonderful.
The only set back is the prices for tickets are so high in NYC! NJ was semi-expensive, but seeing Varekai in Hartford and Alegria in Philly were a fraction of the price. Quidam is by far the most acclaimed and most surrealistic epitome of Cirque and will be in Philly this summer. I would suggest for everyone to take a day trip down to see it, for I'm not sure if NYC is on it's plan as of now.
For great information and insider facts you won't get on the official site, check out:
www.cirquetribune.com - The Cirque Tribune
and for tour dates/cities
www.cirquedusoleil.com - Cirque du Soleil official Site
And muscle23ftl you could not be MORE wrong about Cirque
Yes, CdS is in theory circus, but by nature circus is centered around animals and cheesey spectacle alone. Cirque is a unique blend of theater, dance, song, acrobatics, and amazing costumes and it really shows your ignorance to call it boring, especially calling yourself a fan of the theater, you should be open to all mediums of theater, and I think this is certainly considered to be one of them.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
Alegria!
It was the first Cirque du Soliel show I have seen and still my favorite.
All of their productions are fun to watch, but what sets Alegria apart is the music. I love it, love it, love it too.
And I loved the girl with the hoops too!
The original Alegria "Singer in White" Francesca Gagnon is absolutely FABULOUS. Not only is her voice haunting and enchanting on the CD, but her solo CDs are not to be missed!
The original Alegria "Singer in Black (harmonies)" Isabelle Corradi returned to the show and rotated with Ève Montpetit, whom in an interesting factoid both performed in the Montréal/Ottawa cast of Les Misérables (1991). What's important about this cast is it was the first cast to be able to perform the show fully in French AND English!
If anyone saw Dralion, the original Oceane character, Sheetal Gandhi, left the show to be in the Broadway production of Bombay Dreams.
Broadway Star Joined: 2/7/06
I've only seen Varekai, but it was one of the best things I've ever seen. This includes plays, musicals, concerts and dance performences.
Leading Actor Joined: 8/14/05
The only one I saw was Corteo last summer, and it was pretty cool. Defineately worth checking out.
I'll be going to Corteo in NYC this Spring
I'm hoping to bring some friends, I love exposing people to Cirque. I hope it's as endearing as it was at premier.
I've never actually seen a Cirque show live, but my mother and I are obsessed and own every C.D. except for Ka, and have seen all the DVDs. My favorite is O; it has such an eclectic mix of sounds, from middle eastern to the ethereal tinkly sound of water, and the vocals are amazing, nevermind the fact that it's all done underwater! I'll never forget seeing the Bateau act performed on Dateline or 20/20, one of those.
After O...Varekai, Quidam, and Alegria.
Swing Joined: 2/27/06
From what I've seen live, I really love
Corteo - Very whimsical. Smaller than most other cirque. It feels cozy, and a lot of the props were very creatively incorporated. For example, girls doing acrobats on giant chandeliars, and people doing acrobats on trampolines disguise as beds.
Mystere (tribal feel, very festive and colorful, nice costumes, and the acts are great too.) I've seen it 4 times.
Ka (It feels more like a very good play than a normal Cirque show. The most extravagant Cirque set. The acrobats weren't as great as others, but I thought it was very artistic and there were a lot of clever ideas.
Varekai is also gorgeous. The acts were creative and it has a very nice feel overall.
Quidam was the first show I saw, I also really loved it because it felt like a dream ^^.
Allegria - My parents saw Allegria live, but I saw it on DVD. The music and the costumes were gorgeous. I really wish I can see it live.
And the ones that I didn't like much was:
Dralion - The live show wasn't too good because they kept using this little chinese girl on almost every act. She messed up a lot of times probably because she was tired... the poor girl. The set, color, and costumes were beautiful though. I just thought the show had the potential to be much better.
Zumanity was the worst show that I've ever seen. I think there was 1 acrobats and the rest wasn't interesting. They had a lot of slapstick sex jokes like guys running around in Dildos and a dragqueen host.. It was very different, but I didn't like it and neither did my boyfriend.
but if Corteo is going to be in your area, you should definitely go check it out =].
Leading Actor Joined: 8/17/05
All I have to say is DELERIUM!!!!!!!!! It's the newest show. CHECK IT OUT!! I think this would be by far the best out of all of them. It focuses more on the dance/music. It's great and just my two cents.
I love Alegria and La Noube. I like La Nouba more though.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/23/05
The only show I have seen live is O, and my friend and I were absolutely glued to our seats. We snagged VIP seats last minute by waiting in the rush line, so to speak, and I remember we were kinda biting our nails wondering if we should spend approx. $130 per ticket to see a show we knew nothing about. It was worth that and more. One of the most amazing things I have ever seen. The performers in Cirque du Soleil work so physically hard. I don't know how they do that again and again day after day, show after show.
Has anyone seen Delirium yet...? I hear its absolutely amazing.
I saw DELERIUM when it came to Little Rock. All I have to say is 60 foot volcano dress.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
I really want to see their new one. I was reading in Entertainment Weekly about it. It uses the songs of the Beatles. I bet it's pretty good. Anyone know the name?
The name of the Beatles/Cirque show at the Mirage in Las Vegas is "LOVE."
I've seen Corteillo and Drallion. I would say Drallion was a better show but maybe that was because I saw Corteillo while they were still working on it....they still had some things to fix up.
I have seen both O and MYSTERE live and in person and vidoes of a couple of the others and I like O the best of those I've seen.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/9/04
Videos