On Friday, 26 May, my parents, sister, and I descended onto Randall’s Island from the Triborough Bridge to see Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo production.
We’ve enjoyed watching Cirque du Soleil’s productions for years on TV, but had never had a good opportunity to see them in person. CdS is a circus in the European tradition rather than the American one, so there are no animals – just clowns and acrobatics. The entire show is actually a story set to music and gymnastics rather than a spectacle of just noise and juggling atop elephants.
One of the cool things about the Corteo production was that it was done ‘in the round’, so the audience sat all around the stage, and the show is viewed from every side. It was also done in a tent – which I will be the first to admit I didn’t know was done anymore.
Being in a tent in New York City with a few hundred other people on Memorial Day weekend wouldn’t normally sound like an enjoyable experience, but apparently tent design and contruction has improved since the early days of PT Barnum: Cirque du Soleil’s tent has an integral HVAC system attached to it made from the same material with a slew of holes punched-out. It is quite effective – enough so that just sitting still under the vents could make a body chilly.
Tickets may seem a bit pricey (ours were ~$50 each), but it is well worth it. They’ll be in NYC until the 25th of June, and have other tour dates listed on their web site. I strongly recommend getting out to see the show if you can.