Las Vegas, NV— Cirque du Soleil meets Sex of our City. In a lovely theatre nestled off Broadway, the Broadway located at New York New York Hotel and Casino, the irony wasn’t lost on this theatre goer. The city streets surrounding Times Square and the real 42nd street are lined with bizarre sights, sex shops and strobe lights, such is the fare of ZUMANITY.
I’d seen all the Vegas Cirque shows but this one, so my expectations were set benchmark high for something unusual. I knew very little about the show beyond the buzz about it’s sexual overtones. The warm-up followed typical Cirque protocol. A trio of bumbling jesters embodied in the form of a gigolo and his behemoth twin sister sidekicks, bounced among the attendees while a sexy mime stalked the stage to piano music.
The show opened with circus-cabaret fanfare as the ring master-ess appeared on the floor; a six foot something emcee, Edie: “Mistress of Seduction” by the internationally-known Joey Arias. (He had me guessing ’til the end.) War drums blew the base out as dancers whirled through hoops, emoting erotic rhythms and African tribal pleasures.
The sultry vocals of Paris Red elevated the storyline in several acts from routine to the sublime. Meant to embrace love, sexuality and personal freedom, the Zumanity performers blended farce and fantasy often blurring the lines to confusion.
The artistry in the acrobatic symmetry as they moved their sculpted bodies was both awe inspiring and sensual. In a few spots the strip-tease left an otherwise outstanding performance feeling campy. To break-up the sexual tension, writer-directors Dominic Champagne, and René Richard Cyr pushed cliche comedy skits featuring dildo, banana and boob jokes. Credit the pom-poms and baggies for keeping the audience amused.
The costumes, designed by famous French designer Thierry Mugler exemplified the power of the imagination as a tool of seduction; tasteful, elegant, charming and clever but in the case of Zumanity, often removed to the point of less isn’t always more.
While some in the audience found the contortionist discomforting, (none of which involved sexual positions), the few guests invited onstage to romp with the near naked cast appeared to thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to play along.
Playing seemed to be part of the message, as all sexual proclivities and orientations are represented in this staged montage. While Edie, the hostess, put a shout out to the gays in the room, “What, was Bette sold out?” the performers balanced the diversity, gender and age gap with equal weight. The complex execution of special effects, lighting, music, dance, make-up and wardrob, delivered a unique persona for each of the forty-five cast members. Time has smoothed the hard-edge sexual references of it’s 2003 debut to a more PC version that left this viewer satisfied, not horrified.
Zumanity fits into the Cirque-LasVegas line-up delivering an artful ensamble version of it’s siblings best features, with a Sin-city twist.
The additional limited-time offer of 35% off the Zumanity ticket price ($69-$129.00, two shows nightly), made this show a deal. Acceptable to everyone over 18, don’t be afraid to experience Zumanity, even on a first date. –Come to think of it, maybe Zumanity should be the true test of a potential mate.
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Sarah Lee writes about food and fun in Las Vegas. Want to know the places to go and the thing to see, contact Sarah Lee: sarahlee@reservationsreq.com
