The production of PARAMOUR for the Lyric Theatre on Broadway involves some of Cirque du Soleil's usual acrobatics but in a love story worth of the genre. Pictured in the foreground are Andrew and Kevin Atherton. (Photo by Richard Termine)
After spending decades entertaining the globe with big top extravaganzas and shows in Las Vegas, the world-renowned entertainment company Cirque du Soleil has taken its talents to Broadway in New York City.
It’s the first time the company has embarked on the theater stage, bringing a new show called PARAMOUR — a Cirque du Soleil musical — to the company’s roster.
The show launched May 25 at the Lyric Theatre, bringing in a million dollars a week since it launched, said Cirque du Soleil Theatrical President and Managing Director Scott Zeiger.
“We’re humbled to be on Broadway,” he said. “It’s been quite an adventure. I’ve really, really enjoyed working with Cirque du Soleil on a full-time basis.”
Zeiger joined the Cirque du Soleil family on 2014, adding even more clout to his already extensive resume. He’s since helped the Canadian-based entertainment company produce, design and launch into theater.
“Developing a show from whole cloth, not based on a book, or a movie… coupling that with this new art form that is Cirque du Soleil story-telling is tremendously exciting,” he said.
Ruby Lewis as Indigo and Ryan Vona as Joey in PARAMOUR at the Lyric Theatre, New York. (Photo by Joan Marcus)
Cirque du Soleil is penning the show as “a timeless love story” that features a young actress who must choose between love and art in the “glamorous world of Golden Age Hollywood, featuring eye-popping acrobatics and sumptuous music and dance.”
“Cirque du Soleil has never done a show with English-speaking dialogue and English--speaking narrative,” Zeiger said. “It’s a Cirque du Soleil special with a linear storyline performed in a Broadway house.”
Now that Cirque du Soleil has leaped into theater, it begs the question if PARAMOUR will tour other performing arts venues across the globe.
“Our goal when we set out to make the show was really to make the flagship, to develop the intellectual Broadway show that would have a long life,” Zeiger said. “I think the producers never said, ‘This is going to be a great tour.’ By the same token, I think we created an institution on Broadway. It’s the first Cirque du Soleil show that was created in a legit theater that didn’t require robust construction.”
What Zeiger described is vastly different from what Cirque du Soleil has done with other entertainment offerings, especially staple shows such as those in Las Vegas where massive renovation had to take place for more permanent exhibition.
That being said, Zeiger confessed that he’d love to see it tour, as would other industry experts.
“When you have a product and a brand that is as strong as the Cirque du Soleil brand, you look for other creative ways to keep building and expanding that brand,” President of Spokane, Washington-based WestCoast Entertainment Jack Lucas said in an email. “The Broadway stage certainly lends itself to furthering that creative programming, and at the same time expanding the brand and the product to a new demographic.”
Fletcher Blair Sanchez (background in yellow) and Joe McAdam in Cirque du Soleil's Broadway show, PARAMOUR. (Photo by Joan Marcus)
Taking the show on the road is not as easy as other touring shows, due to the lighting, trampolines, beams and trap doors — to name a few — that have to be installed in order to bring the show to life and keep the acrobats safe, Zeiger said.
“It would be able to tour, but it wouldn’t be able to tour for just one week,” he said. “I think our show is going to take multiple days to load in. I think a more interesting opportunity for us would be a replication of the show rather than touring.”
That means the show would have a permanent theater to call home at other cities across the globe such as London, Germany or Tokyo, for example.
Before that happens, Cirque du Soleil Theatrical has another Broadway production launching next spring called The Wiz.
Last December, Cirque du Soleil Theatrical partnered with NBC TV, under Zeiger’s leadership, to produce The Wiz Live! on television that logged 14 million viewers, Zeiger said.
For the Broadway performance of The Wiz, it will be the traditional show with Cirque du Soleil spin.
“It’s been a wild rollercoaster and tremendously exciting,” Zeiger said.
Cirque du Soleil’s President and CEO Daniel Lamarre is just as enthusiastic about the company’s new Broadway opportunities.
“Cirque du Soleil and Broadway are two forms of artistic entertainment that have pushed the boundaries of what audiences expect from live performances,” he said in a statement. “With Cirque du Soleil Theatrical, we are thrilled to be joining the Broadway community.”
Interviewed for this story: Scott Zeiger, (212) 575-3030; Jack Lucas, (509) 459-6106