Paramour (Cirque Du Soleil)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Paramour'' was
Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...
's first resident
musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
show at the Lyric Theatre on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. ''Paramour'' was themed to the "Golden age of
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
" and followed the life of "a poet who is forced to choose between love and art". It was conceived by Philippe Decouflé with West Hyler as Storywriter. It had similar elements to Cirque du Soleil's retired
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of 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. ''Paramour'' began preview shows on April 16, 2016, with an official premiere on May 25, 2016. 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. The show was directed by French director-choreographer Philippe Decouflé, who was also the director of the
cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...
themed Cirque du Soleil show '' Iris'', with West Hyler as Scene Director. Scenes from ''Iris'', such as aerial straps performed by the Atherton twins (who also performed in ''Iris''), were incorporated into ''Paramour'', but the show added many new elements for the Broadway production: including a book-driven love story narrative, live musicians, and professional actors in lead roles; but with the Cirque du Soleil aesthetic integrated throughout the show. Original songs were created by Andreas Carlsson. 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, in order to vacate the Lyric and allow for the necessary renovations for the show's successor, ''
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' is a play written by Jack Thorne from an original story by Thorne, J. K. Rowling, and John Tiffany. The plot occurs nineteen years after the events of Rowling's novel ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hall ...
'' which had a sold out track record since opening on the West End. ''Paramour'' reopened in April 2019 in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.


Music

The show's original Broadway cast recording was released on 16 Aug 2016, on digital format and on streaming services. Track titles, as they appear in order on the official soundtrack, are: # The Hollywood Wiz # Ginger Top # Something More # AJ's Blues # The Muse # Serenade from a Window # The Honeymoon Days of Fame # Cleopatra # Egyptian Gift # Help a Girl Choose # The Dream # Revenge Fantasies # Love Triangle # Writer's Block # Everything (The Lovers Theme) # Nyc Rooftops # Reel Love # Everything (Reprise)


Critical reception

Charles Isherwood Charles Splaine Isherwood Jr. (born October 1964) is an American theater critic. Career A graduate of Stanford University, Isherwood wrote for '' Backstage West'' in Los Angeles. In 1993, he joined the staff of '' Variety'', where he was promote ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' 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 Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight, i.e., zero apparent weight. It is also termed zero g-force, or zero-g (named after the g-force) or, incorrectly, zero gravity. Weight is a measurement of the fo ...
. Too bad the musical surrounding them feels just as weightless, and far more forgettable." Maren Wade of ''
Las Vegas Weekly ''Las Vegas Weekly'' is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous ...
'' 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 Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), many of the extant or closed Broadway venues use or used the spelling ''Theatr ...
, 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."
Rex Reed Rex Taylor Reed (born October 2, 1938) is an American film critic, journalist, and media personality. Raised throughout the southern United States and educated at Louisiana State University, Reed moved to New York City in the early 1960s to begi ...
of ''
New York Observer New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
'' 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 Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was ...
and revised by
Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and stage director. Known for his work on stage and screen, he is arguably the most influential figure in the field of jazz dance in th ...
, and some of it works even better on a Broadway stage than in a tent." In ''Variety''
Marilyn Stasio Marilyn Stasio is a New York City author, writer and literary critic. She has been the "Crime Columnist" for ''The New York Times Book Review'' since about 1988,


References

{{Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil resident shows 2016 musicals Broadway musicals