Too much Shpeel, not enough Banana!
For my birthday this year I received tickets to Banana Shpeel. I saw it last night at the Chicago Theater in downtown Chicago, making this the fifth Cirque du Soleil show I have seen. My list thus far includes:
Cirque is billing Banana Shpeel as “A theatrical mix of comedy and dance” and “A new twist on vaudeville.” It is most definitely not like the rest of the Cirque shows I have seen.
Things I liked:
- Cirque du Soleil shows always exceed my expectations and imagination when it comes to production quality. The stage, the costumes, the lights, the music – all top notch. It reminds me of my time as a stage manager, ensuring that the inner workings of concerts flowed as smoothly as possible, hiding the chaos of backstage from the audience, and only showing them the final, polished product. I’d love to peek behind the scenes at one of these shows.
- The solo acts were fantastic and inspiring. They were what I’ve come to expect from Cirque (talented, mind-blowing and high quality) and although I’ve seen some of them before either on stage or on TV, they are still thrilling to watch again. The acts included a hat juggler, a foot juggler (she juggled umbrellas, not feet), a tap-dancing duo and one of the most buff and graceful pole-dancing/balancing contortionists I’ve ever seen.
- There were a number of group dances throughout the evening, the most fun of which was the black light number. I couldn’t help but think, though, how any of these dancers could just as well be backing up Britney Spears. So was it Cirque-tacular? Not really. Fun to watch? Definitely.
Things I did not like:
- The “Shpeel” was apparently the vaudeville aspect of the show and I feel it missed the mark a little bit. The bits seemed to drag on too long at times, and there wasn’t really a compelling story line to tie the whole show together. I also expect more character development from the comedy relief, and each time I thought there would be a new revelation or climax to one of the characters it would turn out to be more of the same. I would break the show down as 60% Shpeel, 20% solo acts, and 20% group dances. I would have preferred more from the latter two categories.
- The parrots behind me. There was a woman and her boy/friend that repeated nearly every punch line that was said on stage. It was quite a distracting and unnecessary quirk for someone to exhibit in a theater audience.
I do recommend seeing Banana Shpeel, but with the warning that you will not receive the full Cirque du Soleil show experience by doing so. It seems like Cirque might be feeling the effects of the relaxed economy and decided to produce a light-budget show that will still sell well simply because of the reputation behind the brand. Even then, the theater was not sold out, but nicely populated nonetheless.
November 21st, 2009 | Category: Blog | 7 Comments »
I couldn’t agree more. I also felt that the show was unbalanced, with the 2nd act markedly stronger than the first. Interestingly, as late as October, they were advertising the following storyline….
“The story centers around a struggling actor named Emmett who meets Shmelky, a cruel producer who enjoys power and control a bit too much. Emmett ends up falling for the beautiful Katie and encounters a variety of characters including the mysterious “Banana Man”.”
I just spoke with someone last night that had some background knowledge of the evolution of the script. The original plan was to have a love story theme, but that got nixed just recently.
Interesting stuff. I have seen Love (twice), Quidam, O, and Mystere (twice). None of these really have a story line – some motifs perhaps, but nothing strong enough that I would call it a plot. And I think they thrive on NOT having on and letting the audience fill in the gaps. It surprises me that they are going for something for structured here…
Seems like the presence of a story line might just depend on the particular show.
Corteo’s site describes the theme loosely as “The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us. The music, by turns lyrical and playful, carries Corteo through a timeless celebration in which illusion teases reality.”
Kooza’s theme is “KOOZA tells the story of The Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world.”
Whereas La Nouba is pretty clear they’re just there to entertain you with circus acts: “The show name La Nouba originates from the French phrase “faire la nouba,” which means to party, to live it up. It is a world where dreams and reality intertwine as the urban and circus worlds meet on stage. Blending acrobatics, dazzling choreography, whimsical characters and live music, La Nouba stimulates our imagination from beginning to end.”
I’m happy you posted this. I’ve been thinking about going to check the show out but I’m very weary of spending the $100+ for anything less than life changing.
Saying that Banana Shpeel is the worst show ever is a understatement. The only thing that prevented me from jumping from the balcony was that it might not have killed me upon impact and I would have been forced to hear 15 more minutes of the show while the ambulance came.
Any good comment about this show has to be posted by friends and family of the show or someone who is blind, and deaf. I wouldn’t buy tickets to this show for my worst enemy.
Now that’s what I’m talking about – such passion! Conviction! Thanks for sharing your opinion, Mike.