Out Magazine: Having dazzled audiences world-wide, Cirque du Soleil now has its sights set on Broadway. The company will make their Broadway debut with Paramour, a new musical that begins previews at The Lyric Theatre (213 West 42nd Street) on April 16. In anticipation of the spectacle in store, we caught up with ensemble member Broadway veteran, former Survivor competitor, and devoted fiancé Reed Kelly to get the inside scoop on the show and how he balances work and his relationship.
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I’m shocked and excited about this new Cirque show because Cirque doesn’t usually try to do things that a story driven for the most part. They have always focused more on the spectacle and awe from seeing people doing seemingly impossible stunts. I’m really interested to see how they meld these stunts into a musical without being awkward about it. From the description of the show in one of the answers, the show seems a bit like just a basic love story following one woman’s rise to fame and search for love- which not going to lie, is kind of overdone, but hopefully the actual script will make it stand apart from other similar musicals. The woman’s rise to fame is through acting- so putting in the classic Cirque du Soleil stunts doesn't make sense- it’s not like she’s getting famous from being a circus performer or something like that, but it could be interesting if they used the stunts as the choreography of the musical numbers basically elevating what you would see as dance onto multiple levels in the air.
What I didn’t know before reading this article was which theatre Paramour was going to be held in. After reading that it is going to be in the same theatre as Spider-man, it makes complete sense. The Lyric Theatre was so big and that was my first thought upon going to see Spider-man. It also makes sense for Cirque to chose that theatre because it was built in 1997. Therefore, the house is bigger and the venue is able to handle new technology better. It was also interesting to read in this article to hear about Broadway actors on how they manage their personal life and have to find a way to have personal time. So often you get to hear about their show life but not as often do you get hear how they deal with working on Broadway with their loved ones.
I am very excited for Paramour because I think it will be a totally different show than Broadway or Cirque is used to. I have a friend who is a Production Assistant on Paramour and he was telling me a little about the show. The stage management team had to get trained on all of the equipment and how it worked. They had to go through all the possible scenarios of someone getting hurt during the show or rehearsal and how they would go in and rescue them. I think that is really cool because on a normal show the stage management team does not have to worry about the danger of the set and the actions performed on it as much. Safety is a huge concern for stage managers and it is extra important on a Cirque show. I think knowing how to save someone on set and knowing first aid are really good skills to have as a stage manger on any type of show.
Combining Cirque du Soleil's magic with that of Broadway sounds like a formula that is sure to make many people happy. Also, I think by combining the two you are bringing two very large fan groups together and giving different population groups the opportunity to see the Cirque Du Soleil's style. I would love to see how well the acrobatic aspect combined with that of a song/ dance linear story line that we all know and love. I think the combination will seem quite effortless because I think that acrobatics's is, in its simplest explanation, another form of story telling. I think its interesting what Reed Kelly said about how people need to be triple threats to simply basically be considered for Broadway. I wonder why this is. I mean, many of the same shows have been on Broadway for a long time, so is it simply because of the staging? Overall, this show sounds like one that will make history with its new combination of story telling elements.
Before reading this article, I had not really considered the fact that Circ du Soleil did not have a production on Broadway. We talk about them quite a lot here at CMU, and they have become almost a Las Vegas staple performance, but other than tours and casinos, Circ hasn’t really set down roots on the east coast. As some other comments have mentioned, it is interesting that Circ du Soleil is producing a story-driven piece, but I am glad they are doing so. I really like that they are mixing things up for Broadway. I have seen one Circ performance from one of their tours and the work was amazing, but not story driven. It is interesting to consider how the designs can still have such cohesion and direction when still so loosely tied. It definitely creates a sort of ‘imagination buffet’ – heaping piles of symbiotic possibilities and surprising stunts, leaving you to fill in possible scenarios. I look forward to hearing more about this Broadway production, and hopefully I’ll be able to see it at some point! Circ is definitely an inspiring production company.
This new Cirque show sounds absolutely amazing and completely exciting to me. I love that they are looking at something a little more story-based, but of course it will still be shocking and mesmerizing in the way only Cirque can do. The thing I really liked about this article is how personal they got with the actor. He was very correct in the fact that Broadway looks for a triple-threat at minimum now, and I sometimes feel as though this is just the climate of the whole world in terms of jobs right now. It's like everyone looking for a student or an employee or whatever it is you want to be wants you to be %150+ of what you could be, and he nailed that point very well. The next thing I really liked is the way they discussed his relationship and home life in relation to his work. This is always the conversation I want to have with visiting professionals because it is one of the most daunting things to me. I love that he and his fiancé have figured out a plan that works for them and that it has remained functional. I hope that the rest of us are able to find that balance in our lives while working on monstrous productions like Cirque du Soleil.
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