July 15-21, 2004

theater

Alegría

by David Anthony Fox

Some children dream of joining the circus. Not I. I longed to be a chorus boy in Annie Get Your Gun, so I could wear a cowboy hat and listen to Ethel Merman. In other words, my preference was set early on for the theater over the big top.

If only Cirque du Soleil had been around then! I know I would have changed my tune. My cowboy hat would surely have seemed silly next to their magnificent costumes … and even Merman's inimitable eclat would have faced fierce competition from the razzle-dazzle of Alegría.

You see, Alegría (one of a number of touring shows from Cirque du Soleil) is no mere circus. Oh, it includes acrobats of astonishing skill, and also trapeze artists, a fire-handler, a strong man and even a clown or three.

It's the aesthetic that's different. Alegría is a whole other world. There's a distinctly European feel to the look and sound of the show (and indeed, music plays a key role). In addition, much of the show's sensibility is drawn from Eastern influences, including Kathakali, the ancient theater of India.

And theater is what Alegría is. I don't mean so much in the narrative sense, although Alegría has a kind of story line (really more of a mood than a plot). I mean in the grandest sense, in which color, gesture and spectacle of the best kind can keep an audience open-mouthed and cheering.

Why can't more of our drably realistic American theater take a note from Alegría? More opera productions, too: The parts of Alegría that look like a baroque Venetian carnevale would ideally suit Don Giovanni, and the magical Asian sections would be a fabulous model for The Magic Flute. Broadway should see the snowstorm that ends Alegría's first act — take that, helicopters, chandeliers and dancing cats!

As for the acts themselves, the thrills are too numerous to detail. My favorite might be a hand-balancing artist whose flexibility, balance and line are simply astonishing. No wait … what about the troupe on the Russian bars, who manage to land securely on a thin plank held high in the air? Or the tumblers, who shoot across the stage with balletic grace? It's all mind-boggling.

What more need I say? Only that Philadelphia is lucky enough to get a yearly visit from Cirque (this is the first time for Alegría), that the shows sell out quickly (as they should) and that nearly everyone in the audience is instantly converted to a lifetime fan.

I know I was!

Alegría Through Aug. 8, Cirque du Soleil, Grand Chapiteau, Broad St. and Washington Ave., 800-678-5440