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On an entertainment spectrum that ranges from opera and the Olympics at the high end to vaudeville and circus at the low, where does Cirque du Soleil's Totem stand in that lineup? With elements that engage the viewer such as trapeze artists enacting an almost operatic entanglement of courtship and progressing interest turning to trust and love (think Puccini for the emotional level) versus a mafia of men who cast aside their black plastic jackets and briefcases to display their brawn as they build towering poles that they balance and carry and which are scaled to the pipe's pinnacle by agile athletes (think tacky variety show side acts like those presented on The Ed Sullivan Show from 1948 to 1971), it is not so easy to say Totem inhabits middle ground in the entertainment spectrum described.
Of the 30 shows premiered since 1984 by founding creator Guy Laliberté, Totem is the first of Cirque's Big Top productions that was designed specifically to adapt to arenas and other type of venues. Among these many productions, this reviewer has seen only an early touring Cirque production now retired and two spectacular non-touring Las Vegas show O and KÀ. After absorbing Totem under their Grand Chapiteau at National Harbor's Plateau in Prince Georges County, Maryland, on September 15, there's no doubt that the price of admission to Totem, which averages over $100 per ticket, is worth the cost and comes without fear that if you saw O or KÀ, you would not enjoy this touring show. So, this is the question: what is this blend of high and low artistry that works?
There is a certain formula for success that has attracted over 100 million people to Cirque du Soleil shows since they began selling tickets in 1984. They hire the best talent from all over the world and the company provides lots of support for them. Totem has a cast of 53 artists with the total number employees on the road at 120 plus an additional 50 members of the official traveling team who are spouses and family (170 in all). For example, the charming Chinese cyclists who ride seven-foot-tall unicycles are minors who attend an onsite school taught by a Cirque Chinese interpreter.
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When these girls toss their metal bowls from foot to each other's heads while balancing the cycle with the other foot, they look like they are having fun. Cirque also hires from the community where shows are staged for such jobs as ushers box office ticket sellers, corporate hospitality hosts, food and beverage attendants, merchandising sales staff, kitchen attendants and prep-cooks, janitors, and laborers who assist with site set-up and tear down.
A glance at the biographies of Totem's accomplished artists behind the stage direction, music, choreography, sets, costumes, makeup, sound design, acrobatic performance, and acrobatic equipment and rigging shows not only their professionalism but also Cirque's investment in an exceptional program that is tuned into the development of the human species. For example, Director Robert Lepage, who also wrote Totem's story of the birth and evolution of the world, is a multidisciplinary artist working in theater, film and opera. At the Metropolitan Opera this year, he premiered a new production of Wagner's Ring Cycle. KÀ was his first Cirque creation.
Notable highlights include:
The Crystal Man who descends from the ceiling of the Grand Chapiteau looking at first like a glittering disco ball. He lands in the middle of an early Earth habitat (Cirque publicity says this is the shell of a giant turtle that represents in mythic terms the origins of life on Earth) populated by what might be frogs that use a trampoline to ascend to the bars that form the carapace of the turtle. The bar routine surpasses what was seen this summer at the London Olympics given the multiplicity of performers working together, the costumes, lighting, and set.
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The Crystal Ladies (so called by Cirque publicity because their sparkling costumes mirror the Crystal Man) who spin squares of glittering material on their hands and feet. While this too is vintage Ed Sullivan, what the costumes and props did for this act was to evoke images like the dancing mushrooms from Walt Disney's Fantasia and strolling geishas with parasols that might be seen in a Japanese print. The visual design of this sideshow act elevated the experience.
The use of boats and rafts in conjunction with highly realistic projections of water flowing over a tilted rock. The most superb use of projection was underwater swimmers who emerge from the edge of the rock as living performers. A nontraditionally costumed clown skit with a speedboat and water skier had the mechanical stagecraft effect reminiscent of larger scale effects seen in KÀ.
The colorfully clad Russian "bar" acrobats who, with their yellow facemask, look like travelers from outer space. This is a synchronized act of athletes who spring from flexible plank to plank. It's a novelty circus act that excites the imagination like the Crystal Ladies
The Scientist in a funnel who juggles colored balls. Cirque shows have various characters that thread through the production. The Scientist interacts with monkeys (humans costumed as monkeys—there are no animals except humans in this production) and performs various experiments with his lab assistants. The funnel act reminded this reviewer of seeing in Shanghai motorcyclists in a metal cage who crisscrossed each other's paths in a thrilling display of wreckless courage. This Cirque show is tame by comparison and therefore good for the entire family.
The exotic presentation of two American Indians wearing roller-skates on a small circular platform where they seemed engaged in a love ritual of lifts and spinning. To a certain degree, this act was reminiscent of the more sensual performance of the trapeze artists who injected personality into their interactions.
The Bollywood close that brought all the performers back on stage to dance a routine that was something like a cross between the Macarena and hip-hop. The music was energizing.
If the audience came for a thought-provoking experience or edge-of-the-seat fear, this is not the show for that. This is a show producing wonder, surprise, joy, mesmerizing color and movement. It excites the senses. The next stops include Atlanta, Georgia, and Miami Gardens, Florida.
Photos - OSA Images
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