Cirque founder living his dream
Neil Goldberg used to be a man with a dream -- to create a show that combines the best in the circus, American musicals, Ed Sullivan-like TV variety shows, and Blue Man Group-style performance art.
Now he's a man with a production company, appropriately called Dream Studios, and a handful of shows that live up to his dream, all of them circus-theater hybrids: Cirque Ingenieux, Cirque Branson, and Cirque Dreams.
His current effort, Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, currently running at the Chicago Theatre, is a follow-up to Cirque Dreams (which played at Aurora's Paramount Theatre in April 2005). Cirque Dreams was itself a follow up to Goldberg's first experience with theatricalizing the circus; Cirque Ingenieux.
Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy is an evening of dancing, singing, acrobatics, clowning, puppetry, and all kinds of other variety and circus acts all around the theme of the jungle.
"Its all quite a spectacle," Goldberg said. "We have over 150 different creations. Owls that turn into trapeze artists. Butterflies that transform into acrobats with wings that soar out into the audience."
The show doesn't have a single story line, as Cirque Ingenieux did, but Goldberg and his team of designers have a uniting theme -- the Jungle -- and they have crafted the show so it flows naturally from one act to the next.
"We also wanted a show that would be appeal to children and adults," Goldberg said. "Something with music and illuminations, color and movement. It's like watching a colorful cartoon come to life."
And at 90 minutes with intermission, the show is long enough to keep even younger kids entertained, but not so long they melt down on the way to car.
Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy
When: through Dec. 31
Where: Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State, Chicago
Tickets: $20 to $47.50
Phone: (312) 462 6300