Outstanding entertainment has been Cirque du Soliel’s trademark since they went big time in the late 1980’s with their We Reinvent the Circus tour in the United States. Los Angeles, and soon the rest of the world, was stunned by their dynamic new approach to circus arts. Nearly forty years later and Cirque has become a juggernaut that elevates and transforms time-honored acrobatic skills into thrilling cutting edge theater. With Twas the Night Before…., playing at the Chicago Theater until December 5th before it goes to Madison Square Garden, Cirque has added Christmas to its repertoire.
Because it’s so specific to the season, Cirque du Soliel’s Christmas production will only be performed in Chicago and New York. It’s also changing its usual approach by tailoring the show to a theatrical stage rather than a big tent or coliseum. Introduced in 2019 and very well received in both cities, the show went dormant the following year due to Covid. It’s revival now in the waning months of 2021 allows organizers to gauge the public’s appetite for congregating inside and in large numbers for live entertainment.
Twas the Night Before’s…opening night revealed a strong enthusiasm for celebrating the holidays in just that manner with a show that looked to have every intention of becoming another “new holiday tradition”.
A true dazzler, Twas the Night Before…. knows how and when to do everything with precision and a physical beauty that transcends the grit and grime of our everyday reality. Cradled in a fairy tale “about the wonders of sharing and friendship”, it follows the Christmas Eve adventures of Isabella (Alicia Beaudoin/Canada) as she waits for Santa to make his appearance. It’s a very loose story that lets the music and set do a lot of the heavy lifting in keeping the Christmas theme intact and vibrant. Thanks largely to the show’s musical composer, Jean-Phi Goncalves, it’s also a story that’s witheringly hip as well as wholesome. Beautifully executed aerial, juggling, skating and tumbling acts are woven into the fabric of the presentation to create a magical back and forth between the narrative and the acrobatic performances.
Music is the show’s indispensable connective tissue. Joyful, loud, excellent and, with arrangements so remarkably reimagined they might as well be considered brand new, these Christmas classics sound as if they simultaneously found the fountain of youth and a treacherous bass line. A band of six characters who looked suspiciously like Christmas elves, all dressed in white, open the show with crowd warming antics and appeared throughout the presentation as a voiceless chorus whose language is mime and dance. Disney cute, Broadway ready and all member of the Kinjaz dance crew; they’re infectious, funny and multi-talented. Moving to Vinh Nguyen’s sleek urban centered choreography, they’re also bewitching when they break into dance.
The full throttle music and resplendent set that ebbed and flowed between spare to sumptuous belied the old-school nature of the acts themselves. Acts that have centuries of history behind them and make circus thrilling because of their inconceivability. The dramatic and sensual duo strap aerial performance of Suren Bozyan (Russia) and Karyna Konchakivska (Ukraine) typified the high caliber of the production’s acrobatic artistry. Highly distinguished international performers who’ve enjoyed a lengthy stage relationship, the pair brought complex technique to their aerial choreography and lavishly kneaded daring and romance into their performance. The confined space of the stage didn’t seem to limit the boldness of their routine that relied so much on strength, timing and trust. And although they possessed undeniable grace, that was found more abundantly in an unlikely place.
Considered a fringe art in some circles, hair suspension is so ancient no one can say definitively where it originated. No matter how good you are, it’s an act that will always look unsettling. That’s why the serenity and composure Danila Bim exuded while twirling high in the air seem so remarkable. Sitting in lotus position on the floor before awakening her body with fluidly rapid arm movements and being raised to the heights by her hair, Ms. Bim’s performance challenges our understanding of the human body’s limits. How one incorporates such angelic grace into a routine this daunting is so perplexing that all four judges of America’s Got Talent could only respond with a standing ovation when Ms. Bim appeared on their show.
Drama of that magnitude had to be offset with comedy and the show’s tumbling team, as well as those six spunky pop up elf-dancers, easily filled that bill. Dressing the tumblers in the colors of a child’s fantasy land during one outing and as prankish reindeer in another, costume designer James Lavoie showed how captivating gifted design talent can be.
Cirque du Soleil has unquestionably succeeded in delivering a delightful Christmas program that would please the full spectrum of anyone’s family. Those with strong Covid concerns will likely find the venue’s health protocols and precautions challenging. Although masks are required for entry into the theater, vaccination status is not requested. Once seated, a brief scan showed a surprising number of masks were chinned or completely removed while people were neither actively eating or drinking. No one was asked to re-mask and no announcement was made restating the theater’s mask policy before the show began.
Twas the Night Before…..
Cirque du Soleil
November 26 through December 5, 2021
Chicago Theatre
175 N. State
Chicago, IL 60601
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