"Cirque Dreams": A Familiar Jungle

SHOW INFORMATION: Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy plays Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre through February 3; Tues – Sat at 8PM, Sat at 2PM, Sun at 1 and 6:30PM.  Tickets are $25.00 - $60.00, and are available at www.broadwayacrossamerica.com or by calling 410-547-SEAT. 

◊ 1/2 out of five.  See review for advisories. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I'm not sure I am qualified to review Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy as it is not really theatre.  To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what it is trying to be.  Is it like that "other" Cirque that travels the world and shows up on TV during PBS pledge drives?  I'd say it's a pale, pale imitation at best.  (Several articles included in the press packet STRESS that this Cirque isn't that Cirque, and that this Cirque won a lengthy legal battle to use the word "Cirque" in its name, too.) Is it a circus?  Well there are some "death-defying" acts and a character called "The Jungleboy" who behaves much like a clown.  Is it a kid's show?  Well, the some of the lyrics (Jill Diane Winters gets "Original Score" credit.  Not sure that includes lyrics) are reminiscent of those touring kids shows like Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street Live, and there is one clap-along song.  Is it adult entertainment?  The sometimes scantily clad (beyond the expected gymnastics garb, I mean) artists who gyrate and dry hump each other throughout would make it seem so.  The truth is, Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy is a messy stew of all of the above, and not one minute of it is new.

The make up and costumes (by Cirque Productions) are a cross between what the other Cirque rehearses in and Lion King cast-offs.  The choreography, by Tara Jeanne Vallee, vacillates between Disney Character Parade, box step and very obvious rip-offs of Bob Fosse – "JazzZebras" with striped Derby hats and canes are doing a very close version of "The Manson Trio" from Pippin, arguably one of the most televised dance numbers in Broadway history.  Jon Craine's scenic design consists of a jungle-ish backdrop and some inflatable tree/root/vine things that resemble those blow-up things people put in their yards at Christmas.  In short, we know we are in a jungle because a) every song includes the word "jungle" (we also know it is a fantasy for the same reason) b) everything that comes on and off the stage has animal print fabric attached to it.  Next year's version could be Cirque Dreams: Vegas, trading in animal print for feathers, sequins and pasties, without having to build a stick of new scenery. 

How are the acts?  Well, the first "dazzler" is a six minute double-Dutch routine.  Six minutes of decent, but not perfect precision – when they flop, they smile at the audience and shrug their shoulders.  I wanted to do that back to them instead of applauding…  Somewhere in the show there was a juggler who juggled a whopping six floppy Frisbees, dropping one or two a few times, all with the shrug.  Suffice it to say there is also a hula-hoop act… Now I'll admit, I can't skip rope to save my life and I can barely carry a bag with a handle, let alone juggle stuff, but I'm not going to charge you $60 to watch me do it, either.  The more dangerous routines are, I'm sure, dangerous, and rely on incredible total body strength.  So when a girl is spinning pretty fast by her hair, I "ooh" and "ahh", and I admit  I'd be screaming like a baby if I was swinging over the seats clutching to a bed sheet wrapped around one shoulder.  So I commend these artist/athletes for physical prowess and derring-do.  But none of the routines had much variety and included few, if any, elements I haven't seen before 

The lone act that was really interesting was the balancing giraffe act – two middle aged men in Guys and Dolls costumes made of giraffe patterned material – do incredible things on a plank of plywood that rolls on a metal tube, then enhanced by an impossibly high tower of tables and a bunch of tubes all facing different directions.  And the sole reason to really see this "show" is the Jungleboy, played excellently by Marcello Balestracci.  This man is not only a talented clown, but he also participates in a wide variety of the acts. 

Most annoying and shamelessly derivative is the lone singer/narrator – a "lady" bug – who is dressed like a French chanteuse and warbles each Barney-like tune like it is an aria with that nasally, faux European accent a la Celtic Woman, only without the beautiful harmonies.  Julia Langley is her name, and she is American, not European.  Then we have Jared Burnett, the lone live musician, playing an oddly shaped electric violin (how incredibly conceptual…) and walking around the stage with an ominous glare usually reserved for vampires.  They call him a Soul Tree, and moving around aside, nothing about the way he looks suggests soul or a tree.  If I had a body like his, I guess I'd want as little costume as possible, but fringy pants so low down his hips it makes his belly button appear to be mid-torso?  The Celtic Woman that does the same thing in her show is much better on the instrument, and fully clothed is much sexier.  But then again, "sexier" shouldn't even be a consideration for this "family show." 

I guess what mystifies me is how they call this family-friendly, even if you discount the suggestive gyrations and skin tight costumes.  There is a trapeze act featuring a male and female "owl" who get into some uncomfortably Kama Sutra-like positions.  (I craved a cigarette after that number.)  There is an actual song about the mating habits of emus, which we get to see live on stage from initial attraction to full pleasure to the, um, laying of an egg.  Granted it wasn't sexy – they looked like a pair of bathmats sewn into an egg shape, one arm as neck and beak sticking out of each, and two legs.  Not that I dispute the authenticity of the act, but do emus really enjoy doggie-style sex?  I'm glad I'm not the parent answering those questions. 

Like I said, I'm no expert.  So I'll leave you with this comment from Cirque Dreams' target audience – a cute little girl and her dad who I chatted with as we exited.  "Did you like it?" I asked.  Bouncing up and down as only a small child can, she smiled, "I loved it.  It was pretty!"  I smiled at her dad, who said, "I don't think she really understood it."  He looked relieved.

 

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Cirque Productions.  TOP to BOTTOM: Animals Rolling on Wheels- A jungle snake, Rolling around in Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy; Contorting Lizards- The spine bending contorting lizards of Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy; Butterflyers- Butterflies and dreams take flight in Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy; Balancing Giraffes- Life is a real balancing act in Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy.  All photos by Carol Rosegg.

To post a comment, you must register and login.