"Amaluna"
shows women circus performers in charming choreography.
"Amaluna."
Creative Direction by Fernand Rainville; Directed by Diane Paulus.
CitiField in Queens, at the Willets stop of the 7 train.
800 450-1480; http:// www.cirquedusoleil.com/amaluna
Opened March 27, 2014; closes May 18 2014.
Reviewed by Lucy Komisar March 27, 2014.
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| Amelia
Pedlow as Isabelle, Suzanne Bertish as Mme Argante, Dave Quay
as Eraste. Photo by Richard Termine. |
The greeting is "Meine Damen und Damen." In
German, it means "My ladies and ladies." Amaluna in Latin
means mother and moon. Clearly this is a woman's show, by and about
women. There's even a moon goddess.
It's not feminist in the sense it has a political message.
But showing women circus performers in roles other than their bodies
being tossed around by men is certainly feminist and very welcome.
Comparing this to other Cirque du Soleil production's I've seen,
the distinction was that the women exhibited grace above proficiency
in tricks. They are aerialists, trapeze artists, acrobats, tumblers,
balancers.
 |
| Virginie
Canovas, Kylee Maupoux, Marina Tomanova, Photo by Charles William
Pelletier. |
The best guy was Viktor Kee, a juggler with a lizard's tail that
he flicked around expertly.
Lili Chao, who balanced precariously on the edge of a huge glass
bowl, also swam in it. I didn't know what that was about.
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| Viktor
Kee. Photo by Charles William Pelletier. |
The only part I didn't like – and I never like this in Cirque
du Soleil productions – was the clowns. The female clowns were
no less unfunny than the usual male clowns. Is this something about
French
Canadians, or what? A bit about a woman in a baby carriage undergoing
labor and giving birth to a bunch of footballs was especially silly.
Postscript: I read later that the "plot," to the extent
there is one, was inspired by Shakespeare's "The Tempest."
Oh, the huge water bowl was the sea. But it didn't say that to me.
And without a scorecard (appropriate for Citifield) or a written program,
it might have been anyone's guess. Why weren't audience members informed?
But, if you like elegant acrobatics, especially as performed by women,
this is a good show. Very good.
Visit Lucy Komisar’s website
http://thekomisarscoop.com
| "Amaluna,"
a Cirque du Soleil Extravaganza at City Field, 126 St. and Roosevelt
Ave., Queens, NYC.
Conceived and directed by Diane Paulus. March 20 - May 18, 2014.
Days and times vary. $40-$145.
Tickets and information at 1-800-450- 1480 and http://
www.cirquedusoleil.com/amaluna.
Reviewed by Glenda Frank
 |
|
Cirque du Soleil. Photo by Charles William Pelletier. |
Founded in 1984, Cirque du Soleil is dedicated
to expanding its range and appeal. In "O" (1998),
it added water acts, Beatles' music joined the shows in 2006,
and opera director Robert LePage was hired for "Ka"
in 2004. Early on, Cirque made projections integral to performance.
"Amaluna," its latest experiment and 32nd production,
is directed by the same Diane Paulus who won Drama Desk, and
Outer Critics Circle nominations and awards for revivals of
"Hair" and a magnificent "Pippin."
Cirque gave Paulus control. She conceived, directed, and cast
"Amaluna" with 70% women. In a world where 75% of
all roles go to men and women playwrights still haven't capped
20% of annual productions, that 70% is a milestone. But even
better: "Amaluna" is one of the finest shows in Cirque's
history. The athletic daredevilry complements the romantic courtships,
each creating a crowd-pleasing center stage. The acts are cloaked
in a multicoloured world of imagination. Talent, including an
all-female band, abounds from air, ground and water.
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| Cirque
du Soleil. Photo by Charles William Pelletier. |
The story line is a mixture of Shakespeare's "The Tempest"
and "The Hunger Games." (Paulus made her name with
"The Donkey Show," a spin off "A Midsummer's
Night's Dream") Director Julie Taymor 's 2010 film version
of "The Tempest" featured Helen Mirren as Prospero.
"Amaluna" brings us Prospera and a Miranda (Iuliia
Mykhailova, Ukraine), who is both a feminine teen in cut-offs
and a remarkable athlete.
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| Cirque
du Soleil. Photo by Charles William Pelletier. |
The story line begins with a shipwreck. The young lover (Evgeny
Kurkin, Russia), named Romeo, not Ferdinand, finds himself on
a strange island. There he spots Miranda, Prospera's beloved
daughter whose playmate is a possessive giant lizard (Viktor
Kee, Ukraine). He is smitten. Even an amorous dancer in a flowing
white gown cannot divert his attention, try as she may. Local
Amazons battle the sailors, moon and island goddesses weave
their magic, and two comical lover (Shereen Hickman, United
States, and Nathalie Claude, Canada) meet suspicious, court
ardently, and eventually give birth to a litter of odd shaped
creatures, who become part of a tossing routine. At the end,
the whole community -- in their magnificent costumes and make-up
-- celebrates the nuptials of the young lovers, clad in white,
on the dais. The peacocks fan their tails and performers carry
orchid stems.
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| Cirque
du Soleil. Photo by Charles William Pelletier. |
The star of the gymnastic side is Lili Chao Rigolo (Switzerland),
hands down. Lifting large ribbed-shaped cudgels with her foot
to her hand, she creates a giant construction in the air --
something like a dinosaur spine, held up by a single rib resting
in her palm. It is beautiful and breath-taking to watch her
balanced the pieces, one addition at a time (over 14), and with
new piece shift the center of gravity so that the sculpture
-- which represents renewal, rebirth, balance: the themes of
"Amaluna" -- never even trembles.
The Amazons on the uneven bars twist, spin and leap with an
agility and speed that is exhilarating The castaway males on
the teeterboard always remember the audience, adding boyish
charm and preening to their precision acrobatics. The woman
seated next to me was ecstatic.
The heavens too are alive with goddess acrobats with the moon
as their anchor, triple aerial strap daring , and mysterious,
ethereal performers. Prospera (Julie McInnes, Australia) seems
to control the air itself in her wondrous red scarf as she conjures
up a storm. Male and female aquatic routines in a giant fish
bowl bring in an underwater dimension and highlight the motif
of longing as a lone female, then a lone male gazes through
the glass separation.
With A-list performers, elaborate and elegant Cirque costumes
(Mérédith Caron), and an unpredictable clown couple
with a telescope, "Amaluna" is splendid and astonishing.
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