Welcome to the latest edition of Fascination, the Unofficial Cirque du Soleil Newsletter.
You’ve heard the old adage “never say never”, right? They, whomever “they” happen to be, suggest that nothing is impossible, anything can (and probably will) happen, and you should never totally dismiss options on the table, no matter how “blue sky” they may appear to be. And you know what? They’re right! After all, hasn’t Cirque themselves said impossible is only a word? So, just when I thought I had Cirque figured out (business wise), they went and threw a curve ball (or is that flea-flicker? #NFL). It’s a bit of news we’ve had to sit on – as advised – for a little while now, but, since the company has listed job postings to begin this process, the cat’s out of the bag: CORTEO IS BEING REMOUNTED AS AN ARENA TOUR. Yes, you heard me correctly. The show many hardcore fans (including myself) said would never / could never be converted due to the many logistical nightmares in doing so… is going to tour in arenas. Go figure! Never say never indeed. There hasn’t been any news on whether the remount will be adapted to a thrust stage or retain its original and unique half-in-half structure, so stay tuned there. But that being said, I’d look for CORTEO to begin touring throughout North America again in mid-to-late 2017.
But for those in South America, you’re up for a tour of a different kind. On July 30th, after a six-day “countdown”, Cirque du Soleil and Soda Stereo announced the name and some basic details about the upcoming musical collaboration known thus far only as #SodaCirque. “Séptimo Día – No Descansaré” (Seventh Day – I Will Not Rest) is the official title of the Soda Stereo-inspired spectacle, which is set to debut on Marhc 9, 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina – the band’s home turf. “The name of the show has to do with creation,” Soda’s Zeta Bosio said in an interview with La Nación. “That was the concept that inspired Michel Laprise (Cirque du Soleil director). The best title we could come up with for that was Séptimo Día.” (In the Christian faith, according to the Book of Genesis, by the seventh day of creation, God had finished the work he had been doing, and so on that day he rested from all his work…)
The story and music of the 1980s Argentine rock band – whose front-man, Gustavo Cerati, died in 2014 after lapsing into a coma – is the inspiration behind the new production: after gaining popularity with their fresh pop-rock sound in 1980s Argentina, Soda went on to enormous success throughout Latin America and, eventually, the Latin U.S. The band broke up in 1997 and staged a come-back tour a decade later, attended by millions of fans. Modeled on Cirque du Soleil productions The Beatles LOVE and Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour, which draw their inspiration from the life and work of musical icons, the concept of the show is a little out of this world: “Basically, the concept will be a science fiction story where there is this planet, which is basically Soda, where things are inspired by our songs and how people who live on that planet are inspired by our lyrics,” said bassist Bosio. Cirque is creating the show along with Argentine music promoter PopArt, and Triple, Soda’s production company. Other details include:
• The show will last 90 minutes without an intermission.
• The story revolves around a fifteen year old adolescent who discovers his or her love for a band – in this case Soda Stereo – which will become his/her favorite for the rest of his/her life.
• Audiences will be asked to jump up and dance in the same way they would in a live performance.
• The show’s message: “music is stronger than death”.
I have to be honest with you here, as a fan of Cirque du Soleil, I’m perplexed when it comes to this creation. Michael Jackson, Elvis, and The Beatles transcended music and were global phenoms. Soda Stereo by comparison is not. Sure, Soda Stereo has topped the all-time lists in their native land, becoming one of the best-selling Argentinian bands of all time, and setting landmarks in record sales and attendances for their concerts, but is their stature and music worthy of a Cirque du Soleil level show in the same light as The Beatles, Elvis, or Michael Jackson? “I had not heard of them a year ago,” confessed Gabriel Pinkstone, Cirque’s Senior Director of Special Projects. “It’s very exciting. People love them because they are a soundtrack to their lives, but there’s also an inspirational quality about their success that people find very touching.” In an interview with Billboard, Pinkstone talked about Soda’s enduring legacy: “It’s only when we organized a focus group with some of our Latino employees that we started to understand really how huge they were. We got together a group of our employees who come from South American countries and Mexico, and [Cirque Director of Creation] Jean-Francois Bouchard said to them, ‘I’m not going to tell you anything else, I’m just going to tell you two words, and I want to hear your reaction.’ And when he said ‘Soda Stereo’ they screamed, somebody cried, they were like, ‘oh my god we’re going to do a show with Soda Stereo.’ It was the first hint we had of how huge they were. They are so beloved. It’s a very visceral thing. They are very, very loved as a band.”
I hadn’t heard of Soda Stereo until this collaboration was announced, and though I have since given the band a try (they sound very, very one-hit wonder 1980’s), I personally don’t understand the hype, but then again as I am constantly being reminded: I am not the target audience for this show… they weren’t the soundtrack of my life. So, that being said, while I don’t understand the Soda Stereo mania I do wish the creators and cast all the success in the world with this creation. After its debut in Argentina, Producers have already confirmed the show will tour with OCESA in Mexico and Colombia and Lotus FiveMusic in Chile and Peru. (See the ITINÉRAIRE section for tour details). And if you’re looking to get tickets for this show, do it now! More than 150,000 tickets were sold in the first couple of days of general ticket sales (according to Argentine press reports), with lines stretching beyond the horizon. Twenty-two of the shows are totally sold out now. Additional performances have been added to accommodate, which premieres at Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 9, 2017 and will run through April 16th. Each of the over three dozen performances will be attended by an audience of about 5000 people. Ticket prices, set in Argentine pesos, range between about 45 and 244 U.S. dollars. Do the math!
With Séptimo Día set to debut in March, the as-yet-unnamed new touring show in April, CORTEO Arena in mid-to-late 2017, and the Broadway revival of “The Wiz” sometime in late 2017 as well, next year is turning out to be very busy indeed. And we’re hearing there’s even more coming… but, yes, we can’t talk about it yet. What we can talk about is earnings. We’re still tracking PARAMOUR’s week-to-week grosses and they continue to look… well, okay…
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% 01-May $1,065,771.30 $1,172,274.00 $46,829.65 11,043 97.07% 08-May $1,074,995.70 $1,367,653.00 $9,224.00 11,443 86.22% 15-May $464,021.20 $781,516.00 -$610,975.50 6,197 81.34% 22-May $907,800.25 $976,895.00 $443,779.05 9,213 97.18% 29-May $1,126,943.25 $1,805,456.00 $219,143.00 13,731 90.53% 05-Jun $1,024,449.62 $1,805,456.00 $102,493.63 12,000 79.11% 12-Jun $1,093,610.45 $1,805,456.00 $69,160.83 11,279 74.36% 19-Jun $971.039.25 $1,805,456.00 -$122,571.20 10,251 67.58% 26-Jun $1,000,730.25 $1,805,456.00 $29,691.00 10,756 70.91% 03-Jul $1,000,312.40 $1,805,456.00 -$417.85 11,748 77.45% 10-Jul $859,152.10 $1,805,456.00 -$141,160.30 9,176 60.50% 17-Jul $897,710.10 $1,805,456.00 $38,558.00 10,088 66.51% 24-Jul $980,483.20 $1,805,456.00 $82,773.10 10,681 70.42% 31-Jul $981,468.10 $1,805,456.00 $984.90 10,808 71.26% 07-Aug $910,341.70 $1,805,456.00 -$71,126.40 10,245 67.54%
But Pollstar’s 2016 Mid-Year gross figures are also out, and they’re a bit more exciting. The concert business is off to a record start in what is shaping up to be another great year for the industry. The Top 100 Tours hit a record $1.48 billion in combined grosses. That is up $45 million or 3.1% over last year’s record pace. Even better news is that it was achieved by the Top 100 acts selling one million more tickets than at the same point in 2015. How did Cirque fare?
Rank Gross Title AVG Tix AVG Tix Total AVG Cities
in Mil Price Sold Tix Sold Gross / Shows
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11 $47.4 Amaluna $83.15 18,391 570,128 $1,529,280 31/260
16 $32.9 Toruk $69.83 22,413 407,688 $1,565,047 21/128
21 $28.8 Varekai $55.19 29,014 522,245 $1,601,333 18/149
61 $12.3 Quidam $74.42 33,147 165,734 $2,466,945 5/61
95 $7.4 Kurios $99.82 1,683 74,030 $167,942 1/44
** $6.2 Ovo $67.02 11,571 92,571 $775,505 8/50
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135.0 Million Gross 1,832,396 Tickets Sold
Not bad! Of course you’ll notice that TOTEM is not on the list, and that’s because it’s touring Japan – and earnings are not reported in that market.
In other news, a new LUZIA programme book made its debut along with the show in Toronto on July 27th. At present it is only available at the grand chapiteau, but look for it to appear on the Web Store soon. (As the pre-programme book that was on sale in Montreal is no longer available on the Online Boutique.) But you can get the new PARAMOUR programme book (which is not much more than the press fotos we’ve seen published about recently) through the Online Boutique if you’re interested in completing your collection. The original TORUK book is also still available (the new one, which made its debut in Duluth, Georgia a couple of weeks ago is NOT available online yet, but as with Luzia’s new book, I’d look for it to arrive there soon. Don’t forget, the PARAMOUR cast album, which was recorded at the end of June and has spent the last few weeks going through post-production, is now off to mastering. Look for the album to be released digitally (via iTunes and others) on Monday, August 22nd, and then physically on Friday, September 16th. The album will showcase all 10 signature songs, including “Hollywood Wiz, “The Honeymoon Days of Fame”, and “Everything (The Lover’s Theme.)
And speaking of album mastering – Episode 6 of CirqueCast is out! In this episode, Jose and I interview Alain Vinet, Cirque du Soleil’s Musical Director. Alain was nice enough to invite us to his studio at Cirque IHQ where we asked him questions about the process of producing the show soundtracks, live albums and concept albums, how the 30th Anniversary Concert came about (interesting story!), and he also talks to us about his role at Cirque, and much more! Alain has been with the company for many years, so naturally, he’s full of Cirque knowledge. Don’t miss our video interview! A must for all Cirque music lovers!” Check it out here: < https://youtu.be/ZY2HiNVLOkA >.
Alain Vinet has been a busy man these last few weeks, appearing not only on CirqueCast, but on Cirque du Soleil’s social media videos as well. (Here he is discussing the making of the PARAMOUR Cast Album with Cirque du Soleil Social Media: < https://goo.gl/fsWqjO >). He also took time out to have a phone conversation with Keith and I for Fascination, where he not only discusses what he was thinking behind the selections for the 30th Anniversary Concert, but quite a bit on what he’s been up to lately, which you can find in this month’s FEATURE section. And more!
I leave you now with this…
“Circus — particularly the work of Cirque du Soleil,” wrote the Toronto Star, “is all about surpassing boundaries. We go wanting to see things we’ve never seen before: the deftest juggler, the most daring hand-balancing act, the most gravity-defying of aerialists.” And when those expectations are not met, we kvetch. With the unveiling of Luzia in Toronto Cirque du Soleil says it is refocusing on live shows while also moving forward on its ambitious menu of expansion projects worldwide. “Cirque du Soleil remains first and foremost a live show organization and it will remain forever our bread and butter,” according to Cirque CEO Daniel Lamarre. But might the company’s global expansion plans be spreading its creative juices a little thin? “That’s a valid concern we have,” Lamarre said, but “we’ll never go in the direction that our fans will disagree with.”
What do you think?
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