By: John Steenhoven and Richard Marcus
At: Pepsi Skyline Stage at Navy Pier
Phone: 312-902-1500; $12.50-$24.50
Through Sept. 3
BY SCOTT C. MORGAN
East trumps West in Cirque Shanghai, a world-premiere summer revue at Navy Pier currently luring audiences to its historically underperforming Skyline Stage.
The concept is simple: Import amazing Chinese acrobats, contortionists and gymnasts to strut their stuff in spiffy costumes. Then, have actor Keith Cavanaugh portraying legendary explorer Marco Polo to spout inter-linking commentary with a stereotypical 'that's a spicy meat-a-ball' Italian accent between the routines. Guess which component outclasses the other?
Sometimes you feel sorry for the lame material Cavanaugh has to deliver, especially when he's reduced to operatically singing TV jingles for Kit Kat candy bars or corporate name-dropping The Olive Garden or Wal-Mart for half-assed punch lines. Other times you're more forgiving when you realize that having the token Westerner gives the largely Middle American tourist audience an in for the show.
And what a show it is. The feats of athletic prowess on display by the 30-plus member company are all dazzling and gasp-inducing. Who knew that you could skip rope while hopping on unicycles balanced precariously on enormous rolling balls?
This is definitely a 'don't try this at home' revue that offers fancy displays of ancient Chinese acrobatic traditions that have been passed down through generations and taught to these performers at a very early age. It's more than appropriate that the show's finale ends with the entire cast in blazing red suits reminiscent of superheroes since they clearly possess super-human strength.
Some added local touches are nice, especially the dueling tumblers leaping through hoops in White Sox and Cubs uniforms and the peppy techno-influenced music that backs up the routines. ( Any pentatonic-scale Chinese restaurant music is kept to a minimum. )
Not everything is as polished as it could be. Under Andrew Park's direction, scene changes could have been more speedy, while technical glitches marred the matinee I attended. ( An aerialist routine was canceled when a supporting cable snapped, while a contortionist balancing on stacked chairs had repeated difficulty retrieving more from a specially built pole. )
Though it's not perfect, you can't go wrong with Cirque Shanghai as a fun discount alternative to Cirque du Soleil's Corteo ( where tickets range from $50-$205 ) . Cirque Shanghai may not have the brand name, but it delivers the goods.
