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Photo by Don Kellogg

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Zarkana: Cirque Du Soleil

Zarkana - It's what Jack Murphy and Frank Wildhorn's Wonderland dreamed [but couldn't afford] of being on Broadway.  It's what Julie Taymor and Bono wished their musically-boring, lackluster-flying spider-flop could do for audiences [hint: spidey isn't even in the ballpark].  It's pageantry for the eye and abundance for the ears.  Writer and director, Francois Girard, has married the perfect proportions of circus, music, and theatre.  It's eerily odd, majestic and bold, sexy and fun all at the same time.


High flying acrobats fill the grand hall at Radio City Music Hall.  Clowns, spiders, creatures, and other assorted oddities inhabit the stage and permeate mystery all the way to the cheap seats.  Radio City has one of the largest stage fly systems in the world and the complex, grand, multi-media sets of Stephane Roy never fail to dazzle and amaze as they continually morph into something new with each progressive act.

The story follows Zark, a magician who has lost his powers (but apparently not his ability to dress in grand style) who is searching for the lost love of his life - not clear to me at the time, but but apparently in an abandoned theatre.  It is in this theater that he crosses paths with this pastiche of oddity and amusement.  Will he find her?  Will his quest end in joy or despair?  

Zarkana is one event this summer that should not be missed.  With an estimated budget of $50 Million, you can tell these producers know how to put on a show.  This show invests wisely in technology, costumes and talent.  The dividends that investments pays to the audience are invaluable. 



Preview a VIDEO of the show.