Sunday, October 21, 2007
Performances are all about razzle-dazzle
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Merging circus acrobatics, European theater traditions and comedy, each of the inventive, imaginative and distinctive productions employs the most up-to-date technological wizardry, jaw-dropping feats of derring-do and lavish production values."
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3 comments:
Although these shows will always be popular, and I'm not at all saying that are bad in any way, it is still somewhat disappointing that other shows, particularly when they open in Vegas, have gone this route. What I would cite here would be the Vegas production of Phantom, which seems to be much more about the "razzle dazzle" than the story itself. Considering that I found the set and effects to be a bit superfluous in the Broadway production, the Vegas production is even more grandiose, focusing less and less on the story and more on doing "cool" things.
I'm not afraid to say that I don't like Cirque du Soleil or this kind of spectacle. There's definitely something to be said for the incredible level of skill, talent, and imagination it takes to put this on. But I'll agree with Joe that it seems like productions, especially stuff like Broadway Disney, etc., are all moving in this direction. It's definitely a trade off: it opens up design possibilities yet sacrifices the literature. Will drama continue moving this way, taking up older traditions of performing and incorporating even more spectacle into shows? What will this mean for playwrighting/musical composition? Personally, I think I'd rather hear a good story designed well.
It is an interesting phenomenon to look at the success of Cirque’s shows in contrast to many other “artistic” shows these days. The reason for this is really the spectacle employed by Cirque in every show. The market for purist art has never been all that large yet Broadway does very well. This is because the spectacle employed by Broadway and Cirque sells to the masses. Yes they are both also artistic but you have to be educated to appreciate these arts forms but everyone can be entertained by spectacle. Really they are targeting two classes of patrons and succeeding at it.
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