Issue #148: May 2016

Welcome to the latest edition of Fascination, the Unofficial Cirque du Soleil Newsletter.

The creative juggernaut that is Cirque du Soleil continues full steam ahead with the premieres of both PARAMOUR in New York City and LUZIA in Montreal since we last spoke. One of which (Paramour) we take quite a look at in our Features section this month with a fantastic review of the show by longtime friend Douglas Metzger, who, along with a number of fellow Passionates, took in the first preview of the Broadway show. And since PARAMOUR was in the press quite a bit over the past few weeks you’ll also find “The Press Peeks at Paramour” – a Special Collection of Articles from the Press in our FEATURES thismonth as well. We’ll tackle LUZIA next month as my friend José Pérez (TheChapiteau) and I will be heading to Montreal at the end of May to see this new spectacle for ourselves… and no doubt talk about it on an upcoming episode of CirqueCast. But in the meantime, check out these reviews: http://goo.gl/nnbB8D and http://goo.gl/gcvl0p. The show looks fantastic. We can’t wait!

Via its 45 DEGREES subsidiary, the company also opened its aquatic fairytale “La Forge aux étoiles” at Futuroscope, as well as announced this year’s version of SCALADA – to be titled VISION. And in amidst all the new shows and events Cirque du Soleil is opening, it also closed two this past month as well – BELIEVE and ZARKANA, both in Las Vegas. Yeah, it’s been a busy month! [We talked a fair bit about this on the third episode of CirqueCast this month, which you can find on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPLlBbrjJew. Check us out!]

It’s also been an interesting month for show cancellations too. On April 15th, Cirque du Soleil announced that it would cancel all of its shows due to perform in North Carolina over the state’s “bathroom bill”, which among other things, requires transgender people to use the bathroom based on the gender listed on their birth certificates. Critics also say it eliminates basic protections for members of the LGBTQ community in areas like employment and housing. Cirque’s announcement on the matter:

Cirque du Soleil strongly believes in diversity and equality for every individual and is opposed to discrimination in any form. The new HB2 legislation passed in North Carolina is an important regression to ensuring human rights for all. We therefore choose to cancel our scheduled performances of OVO in Greensboro (April 20-24) and our scheduled performances in Charlotte (July 6-10) and our scheduled performances of TORUK – Avatar in Raleigh (June 22-26).

Cirque du Soleil believes in equality for all. It is a principle that guides us with both our employees and our customers. We behave as change agents to reach our ultimate goal of making a better world with our actions and our productions.

We sincerely hope that the customers that have purchased tickets for our performances in North Carolina will understand our motivation and we look forward to performing in North Carolina when this issue is addressed. On-line and phone ticket purchases will be automatically reimbursed and in-person purchases must return to point of purchase for refunds. Customer service can be reached at 1-877-924-7783.

But perhaps paradoxically the Cirque is still intent on expansion into Russia and China… countries that aren’t well known for their friendly attitudes toward the LGBTQ community and its peoples. We hear there’s been quite a debate on this particular topic throughout the social media sphere too, with fans falling on both sides, so it is certainly a hot topic. We’ll keep you updated.

Although we’ve known for quite some time about the new resident show slated to debut in Hangzhou, China in 2018, CBC News got quite the scoop in the last few days of the month when vice-chairman of Cirque’s operations in Russia (CDS Rus) – Craig Cohon – announced that Cirque du Soleil Russia had just finalized a deal for a new $50-million theater to open in 2019 in Moscow to house not only Cirque shows, but other entertainment as well. CBC News released a video clip along with their announcement (which you can find here: http://goo.gl/T1BRbO) – take note of the theater rendering… it’s quite huge! (I wonder what’s going to go in there!)

Though Russia and China may be in Cirque’s future, Mexico is on the company’s immediate radar. In a move to promote Mexico’s culture, history and music, the Mexican government has agreed to fund the live performance company’s latest show, LUZIA, to the sum of $47.7 million dollars over the next five years. Mexico’s secretary of tourism, Enrique de la Madrid, says the show is expected to cover 450 cities around the world over the next 7 years. [Editors Note: 450 cities in 7 years sounds a bit much, unless the show will convert to its arena tour earlier than expected… but that’s what he said.] According to the Tourism Ministry, LUZIA is a result of an agreement signed by the Tourism Board of Mexico (CPTM) with Cirque du Soleil to create a marketing platform that positions the image of Mexico in international markets. “This type of event is another way of promoting Mexico, focused on tourism segments that we want to impact and serve,” Enrique de la Madrid said. Also in Mexico, The Celebrate Project in Puerto Vallarta continues making headway, with much of the land needed for its two resorts and exclusive amenities cleared off. For now the project is still on schedule to open – at least phase one – in 2018. We’ll keep on it because there’ve been some interesting new renderings posted to Goddard Group’s Facebook page recently!

And speaking of money… PARAMOUR, the first made-for-Broadway venture from Cirque du Soleil, got off to a rousing start in the Street’s biggest house, the Ambassador Theatre Group’s Lyric Theatre, selling out all 1,896 seats and taking in a hair’s breadth shy of full potential for its first preview. The tally was $190,774, at an average ticket price of $100.57. And continued that success throughout the next three weeks of previews. Check out the chart below (courtesy of The Broadway League via Playbill):

Week      This Week	 Potential	 Difference    Seats   % Cap
Ending      Gross         Grosses	 in Dollars    Sold	 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
17-Apr    $190,773.60    $191,599.00       $0.00   1,897  100.05%	
24-Apr  $1,018,941.65  $1,149,594.00 $828,165.05  10,623  93.38%	
1-May   $1,065,771.30  $1,172,274.00  $46,829.65  11,043  97.07%
8-May   $1,074,995.70  $1,367,653.00   $9,224.00  11,443  86.22%

Don’t forget! On Tuesday, June 7th here in the United States, Fathom Events and Cirque du Soleil will bring One Night for One Drop to select cinemas nationwide for a one-night only special event. Each year, this beautiful and uniquely custom show wows a super limited audience that pays thousands of dollars per ticket. Now, for one night, audiences across the US can view this breathtaking and truly exclusive, larger-than-life event on the big screen without breaking the bank. Don’t miss your chance to see the magic of Cirque du Soleil performers combined for one special event! The fun starts at 7:30pm local time and will last approximately 2 hours. Check out the links below for tickets and more information about the event:

o) TICKETS: http://goo.gl/C8MnCk
o) MORE INFO: http://goo.gl/yL65UI

Oh, and, if you were expecting to see Criss Angel’s replacement for BELIEVE on Wednesday, May 11th I’ve got some news for you: it’s been delayed. “As the first-of-its-kind show and because of the size, scope and dangers from the vast number of death-defying illusions, Clark County fire and engineering officials are still pouring over the Luxor stage to ensure that all safety measures are in place before they issue permits to allow insurance coverage in place. Cirque du Soleil hopes that it will receive a sign-off this week to announce the new start of previews. Jerry Nadal, Cirque’s senior vice president of resident shows, said: ‘The decision to delay the ‘Mindfreak Live!’ previews is based on the cutting-edge technology in the show and the demands to ensure that our crew and artists are fully trained and versed in them. With substantial technological elements that have never been used before, we have asked Criss to take additional time to ensure a seamless integration.'”

Okay, okay, I’ll shut up now. So, let’s get started!

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