Paramour (Cirque du Soleil)

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Paramour
Logo for Cirque du Soleil's Paramour
CompanyCirque du Soleil
GenreContemporary circus
Show typeResident show
Date of premiereMay 25, 2016
LocationVarious residencies
Creative team
DirectorPhilippe Decouflé
Creative guideJean-François Bouchard
Assistant directorsPascale Henrot and West Hyler
Set designerJean Rabasse
Costume designerPhilippe Guillotel
ComposersGuy Dubuc and Marc Lessard
ChoreographerDaphné Mauger
Flying Machine Design and ChoreographyVerity Studios
Lighting designersPatrice Besombes and Howell Binkley
Props designerAnne‐Séguin Poirier
Projection designersOlivier Simola and Christophe Waksmann
Sound designerJohn Shivers
Acrobatic performance designersShana Carroll and Boris Verkhovsky
Rigging and acrobatic equipment designerPierre Masse
Makeup designerNathalie Gagné
Other information
Preceded byToruk (2015)
Succeeded byLuzia (2016)
Official website

Paramour was Cirque du Soleil's first resident musical theatre show at the Lyric Theatre on Broadway, New York City. Paramour was themed to the "Golden age of Hollywood" and followed the life of "a poet who is forced to choose between love and art". It had similar elements to Cirque du Soleil's retired Los Angeles resident show in Iris (which was also themed on cinema) written and created by Philippe Decouflé, and had a 38-person onstage cast with actress Ruby Lewis in the lead as Indigo.[1] Paramour began preview shows on April 16, 2016, with an official premiere on May 25, 2016.[2] It closed exactly one year after its first preview show, on 16 April 2017.

During previews, Paramour got off to a strong start and grossed over $1 million in its first six shows.[3]

The show was directed by French director-choreographer Philippe Decouflé, who was also the director of the cinema themed Cirque du Soleil show Iris.[2] The rest of the creative team was also the same as for Iris apart from the assistant directors, composer and sound designer. Scenes from Iris, such as aerial straps performed by the Atherton twins (who also performed in Iris), were incorporated into Paramour.[2]

The show closed on Broadway on 16 April 2017 after 31 previews and 366 performances. Despite average box office sales, Cirque was allegedly paid $23 million to terminate its contract early,[4] in order to vacate the Lyric and allow for the necessary renovations for the show's successor, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which had a sold out track record since opening on the West End.[5][6]

Paramour reopened in April 2019 in Hamburg, Germany.[7]

Music

The show's original Broadway cast recording was released on 16 Aug 2016, on digital format and on streaming services.[8]

Track titles, as they appear in order on the official soundtrack, are:

  1. The Hollywood Wiz
  2. Ginger Top
  3. Something More
  4. AJ's Blues
  5. The Muse
  6. Serenade from a Window
  7. The Honeymoon Days of Fame
  8. Cleopatra
  9. Egyptian Gift
  10. Help a Girl Choose
  11. The Dream
  12. Revenge Fantasies
  13. Love Triangle
  14. Writer's Block
  15. Everything (The Lovers Theme)
  16. Nyc Rooftops
  17. Reel Love
  18. Everything (Reprise)

Critical reception

Charles Isherwood of The New York Times wrote "The athletic circus acts that are laced throughout the show provide the real entertainment, and make the surrounding book scenes and songs feel even more bogus and synthetic," and "There’s no denying the breathtaking magic of seeing bodies swim through the air with such apparent weightlessness. Too bad the musical surrounding them feels just as weightless, and far more forgettable."[1]

Maren Wade of Las Vegas Weekly wrote "I think what made Paramour truly special was the unique element of the acrobatics in a more real-life setting. It felt like one minute I was watching a big Broadway show, but all of a sudden these crazy acrobatics would happen in scenes and scenarios where they were least expected," adding "I loved the show and would highly recommend it to anyone who is a Broadway and Cirque fan."[9]

Rex Reed of New York Observer said "If your demands are not high and you don’t try to make too much sense of the wobbly so-called “plot,” there's a lot of skill on view here that is fun to watch. Paramour is a dream conceived by P. T. Barnum and revised by Bob Fosse, and some of it works even better on a Broadway stage than in a tent."[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Isherwood, Charles (May 25, 2016). "Review: 'Paramour' Brings Cirque du Soleil to Broadway". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b c Paulson, Michael (April 13, 2016). "After Two New York Flops, Cirque du Soleil Bets Big on Broadway". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Paulson, Michael (April 25, 2016). "Cirque du Soleil's 'Paramour' Has Strong Start in Broadway Grosses". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child smashing records even before opening". The Sydney Morning Herald. April 15, 2018.
  5. ^ Cox, Gordon (December 1, 2016). "Cirque du Soleil's 'Paramour' to Move Out When Theater Closes for Renovations".
  6. ^ "Paramour Ends Broadway Run April 16 - Playbill". Playbill. April 16, 2017.
  7. ^ Wild, Stephi (May 22, 2018). "Cirque du Soleil Will Bring Hit Broadway Show PARAMOUR to Hamburg Germany". BroadwayWorld.
  8. ^ "Cirque du Soleil Paramour Original Broadway Cast". itunes.apple.com.
  9. ^ Wade, Maren (May 28, 2016). "Confessions of a Showgirl: A showgirl's review of Cirque's 'Paramour' on Broadway". Las Vegas Weekly.
  10. ^ Reed, Rex (June 2, 2016). "Cirque du Soleil Brings Its Acrobatic Extravaganza to Broadway". New York Observer.
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