CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Cirque Goes Cruising Again, with MSC Cruises

www.cirquefascination.com: MSC Cruises — the Geneva, Switzerland-based global cruise line — today announced a long-term partnership with Cirque du Soleil — the Quebec-based world leader in artistic entertainment — that will set new standards in live entertainment at sea. In a first at sea, brand new Cirque du Soleil shows will be created exclusively for MSC Cruises guests aboard the cruise line’s next-generation Meraviglia ships in a multi-million dollar, ground-breaking entertainment and dining venue, designed in collaboration by MSC Cruises and Cirque du Soleil.

2 comments:

Daniel S said...

I have been on a couple cruises and they were fun and had great entertainment. With MSC Cruises partnering with a company like Cirque du Soleil, the entertainment is all but guaranteed. Everybody knows the name Cirque du Soleil and the caliber of performance they deliver. Known for being luxurious, cruise lines have high expectations from their customers. The aspect of this partnership that I think is the most important is Cirque du Soleil being a partner from the beginning. By being in on the ocean floor, as it were, Cirque du Soleil is able to not only specify equipment and other items of technical theatrical importance to their show, but for shows to come. I have seen first hand what can happen when people who don’t know about theater try to build or modify a theater. Many times, the results aren’t pretty. At least this way, Cirque du Soleil, and other companies who may use the space, know they are getting a real theater and not just what someone who designs cruise ships thinks is a theater.

Drew H said...

It can’t be easy to create a show as big as Cirque on a moving ship. Not just because performers might have a harder time keeping balance (which is not a problem since these are big-ass ships with balancing systems) but because a ship is not the same as a theater, things are usually downsized from bed size, to power supply, to theater size. So it would be extremely hard to retrofit a show like cirque into a theater on the water. But that is not what seems to be going on. This ship will be designed with Cirque, the theater will be custom built to accommodate and include the needs for the newly developed show. My question would be if all of the elements would be build straight into the theater, or if it would be a conventional theater with elements specifically for Cirque. I think building a theater around a show is a fun challenge. I know Disney does that a lot for new theater venues in their parks, but doing it on a cruise ship would add that much more excitement.