Cirque Du Soleil 's new show Corteo
Not usually my sort of thing, and despite the crowd (who tended toward the big boned, kakhi shorted, sequinned t-shirted types) I actually enjoyed myself.
Saturday was the first real warm day we have had so far this season - infact it was hot. So I took the NY Waterways ferry from 34th St Pier to Randalls Island. The ipod meant I didnt have to endure the inane conversations around me on the top deck. Lazing like a lizard in the rays as the city slid by was a relaxing way to start.
Early to the big tent and not wanting to stand in the long lines on the hot asphalt, I wandered over to the big shady trees to gawk at the NY High School Track and Field meet at the Ichan Stadium - where were all the white blokes?
Once through teh first gates my first fears about this jaunt were quickly realised. Cirque is almost as much about the merchandising as it is the spectacular acrobatics. The first (steamy) tent which you couldn't avoid squezzing through was a merch store and vastly over priced snack bar ($4 water and $6 pretzel - you have to be kidding!). What's even worse was the grumpy inefficient snack bar staff - why so nasty?)
Corteo, which means "cortege" in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown who has died.
As the pr bumpf said:
The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.
The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us. The music, by turns lyrical and playful, carries Corteo through a timeless celebration in which illusion teases reality.
My seats were perfect right near the front and next to one half of the live band (who porr souls had to wear clown costumes thorughout their performance - pity the energetic drummer).
Some have said that Corteo not only delivers plenty, but that it may go down as the company's finest production to date. That's because by the time Dralion or Varekai got to town, you sort of felt you'd seen it or had the been-there-done-that doldrums depending how many Cirque productions you've been able to experience previously. They were all abiot the same. The art simply seemed to be wearing itself thin.
This show goes back to the roots and is better for it.
As one critic said: Corteo is one Cirque de Soleil show "that reaches for le soleil and doesn't end up on le terre".
For Corteo, Cirque has smartly hired director Daniele Finzi Pasca , and her eye for theatre makes a big difference, especially in the spectacular first act. Gone are the European couture outfits that have always made Cirque shows more style over substance, more runway than theatre. Sure the costuming is still extravagent and there are some pretty naff parts (the tiny remote control vehicles, the glass rim playing/whistling and the "theater intimate" with the little people all come to mind). But the gymnstics and the acrobats are out of this world.
It is a beautiful way to spend almost three hours if you avoid the the merch, bring your own food and drink and take an ipod to block out the conversations around you before and after the show. My ipod batteries died, but i still put the earphones in to make the ferry trip back all that more pleasant.
Here is a teaser of the show.
Download corteo.mov
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