James Hadley. Image courtesy of Carol Fox & Associates________
On Feb. 17-19, the famed Cirque du Soleil will bring Delirium—a production that is based on a musical instead of an acrobatic structure ( a first for the organization ) —to the United Center. Artistic Coordinator James Hadley ( who has temporarily left Cirque's Las Vegas production of Mystere to tour with Delirium ) talked with Windy City Times about his role, the show and a rather difficult TV-related challenge.
Windy City Times: Tell me about this show.
James Hadley: It's a whole different experience from any other Cirque du Soleil show. They're really trying to push the envelope and do other things. The owner is a big fan of music, especially rock and tribal sounds. So he wanted to build a show around that.
The musicians are front and center. It's like a hybrid of a rock-and-roll show and a Cirque du Soleil show.
WCT: You're the artistic coordinator. What does that role encompass?
JH: My job is to keep the vision of the directors alive, with the additional job of putting in new artists and [ evaluating ] their talents so we can feature their strengths—while keeping the integrity of the show.
What's great about a Cirque show is that it's always changing, so when you see something a second time it's somewhat different than the first. We just got this amazing rhythmic gymnast, so we're using this element that we've never had before.
WCT: Now how did you get involved with Cirque du Soleil?
JH: I'm from Montreal but I left to seek fame and fortune, and ended up on Broadway for a while. Then, I started doing this sort of job for Broadway and touring shows. Then, one day Cirque called me up out of the blue and I ran away to join the circus. [ Laughs ] It's been great.
In many ways, it's theatrical but, in other ways, it's a completely new experience. You deal with people from all over the world, and some don't speak English. They come directly from Russia and China...
WCT: I can imagine! Is that the most challenging part of this whole endeavor?
JH: It definitely was a big adjustment. What's great, though, is that the artists take care of each other. For example, if an Eastern European comes in then the Russians will rally together to help that person. The other people from a country or region will pitch in and help. It's wonderful to see this camaraderie—this United Nations-type thing. [ Laughs ]
I really have enjoyed this unique group of people. It's an eclectic group that fits together as a family. This is more like a traditional circus in the sense that you travel together [ from city to city ] .
WCT: Are there any negatives to constantly traveling?
JH: In my life, I'm a homebody. You need to create your own little home every couple of days. It took me a few months to settle in but, now that I'm doing it, it's second nature. You sometimes have to remember things about new environments. Sometimes, you wake up and go, 'Am I in Michigan?' We've all had our moments where we had to go to the front desk of the hotel and ask, 'Could you tell me where my room is?' [ Laughs ]
WCT: I saw in your bio that your were an assistant choreographer on [ TV's ] Curb Your Enthusiasm—but that's not a show where I think, 'Ah, choreography.'
JH: You know what it is? Larry David did a whole season where he was going to Broadway to be on The Producers. I worked on that show for a while myself, so I had to teach him to sing and dance—which was quite a challenge. [ Laughs ]
See www.CirqueduSoleil.com and www.ticketmaster.com .
