'Cirque du Soleil: Luzia' rains down joy, color, and wonder
Go inside the experience of the latest production from the globally acclaimed circus troupe, running at Randall's Island Park through April 27 only.
With Cirque du Soleil’s reputation for top-notch performances, the circus being back in town is enough of a reason to race to Randall's Island. But Cirque du Soleil: Luzia, subtitled A Waking Dream of Mexico, is definitely one not to miss. Created as a love letter to the country, the spectacle showcases the best of Cirque’s acrobatic feats amid bright colors, vibrant music, and rich culture.
There’s nothing quite like approaching the Big Top, especially when it has a view of Manhattan and the East River in the background. Inside the tent, the vibes are much more relaxed than at a traditional theatre, with sitting areas for attendees to lounge in pre-show, the comforting aroma of popcorn floating from the concession stands, and colorful merch to browse. As you take your seat, dancers and musicians slowly file on stage: a guitar player here, a colorful hummingbird there.
From the very beginning, when a traveler parachutes down into a field of marigolds and turns a magical key, Luzia is as whimsical as it is dreamlike. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, he traverses the world he’s fallen into, finding something new and unexpected around every corner. The stage is almost always full of colorful characters and many things happening all at once — it’s hard to know where to look.
Every act in Luzia celebrates elements of Mexican culture and nature — like the annual migration of monarch butterflies and the national love of soccer — into stunning feats of acrobatics and more. It’s all tied together by music that weaves through each act. In this imaginary Mexico, an armadillo plays the piano while a band of crocodile-headed people are on the horns. The music is just as much a storyteller as the traveler, with one of the recurring characters being a vocalist whose Spanish songs set the mood for many acts.
Where Luzia succeeds best is not just in its beautiful homages to Mexico, but in the micro-stories within each act. The most compelling is the aerial straps routine, in which a performer representing a mythological demigod of rain emerges from a pool of water on stage lit to look like a Mexican cenote. While creating beautiful shapes in the air with his movements and the water that flings from him as if he really is a rain god, he also tames an enormous jaguar (manned by puppeteers with uncannily lifelike movement). Accompanied by stirring music, this ethereal act is like a dream within a dream.
One feature that sets Luzia apart from past Cirque du Soleil shows is the enormous rain curtain which dominates the stage. The name "Luzia" comes from a combination of “luz” (“light” in Spanish) and “lluvia” (“rain”), and Cirque delivers on the promise of both in style. In one of the most stunning acts, two women whirl around the stage on Cyr wheels among a backdrop of agave trees and cacti while above them, a trapeze artist dances in the sky. They continue as the ceiling opens up in a shower of rain, soaking the stage and heightening their performances. It’s all the more impressive when you consider the innovations Cirque du Soleil had to come up with to make a trapeze performance or a Cyr wheel performance possible in wet conditions.
Luzia even extends the wonder beyond the stage, eliciting cheers, whoops, and participation from audience members of all ages at my performance. Children shouted at the Looney Tunes-like antics of the traveler, and the whole audience erupted with joy when he launched an enormous beach ball into the crowd.
Luzia is a feast for all the senses. Cirque du Soleil not only delivers the artistry and acrobatics it is known for but also presents a new, colorful, thoughtful journey that is sure to capture hearts.
Photo credit: Cirque du Soleil: Luzia. (Photos courtesy of production)
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