Cirque du Soleil - TOTEM in Santa Monica

 

To preface my review/commentary, I suppose it would help to explain that I am a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil in general. I love the performance art and circus aspects, the beautiful live music, the atmosphere, and the incredible death-defying acts. I have been fortunate for the most part to see fantastic Cirque shows in all sorts of locations including La Nouba in Orlando, Kooza in Irvine, and my absolute all time favorite, the now defunct Iris, in Hollywood. I have also seen the majority of the Las Vegas shows including the incredible (Ka, O, Zumanity), the good but not great (Love), and the terrible (Mystere, Zarkana). The most recent addition in Las Vegas is also a new favorite of mine, Michael Jackson: ONE. I could write a whole separate review on this show because it was brilliant and much more of an emotional and spiritual journey than I expected. 


TOTEM was also a spiritual journey in addition to being an absolutely incredible performance. The theme throughout is of evolution and human nature in addition to spirituality and the fact that we are all a part of this amazing journey together on the earth (a theme that is also broadly explored in ONE). There are many cultures explored as well as myths and stories, some vague and some directly played out before us.

The "Grand Chapiteau" on the Santa Monica Pier

Upon entering the “Grand Chapiteau”, I felt a sensation similar to what I felt when entering an identical circus tent to see Kooza in Irvine a few years ago-I was in disbelief that something of such a grand scale was going to take place inside a tent that looked so…small. Auspiciously situated on the Santa Monica Pier, the tent takes up a large space but does not look nearly like the stadium atmosphere that is felt once you are inside. As we took our seats we could see the sheer size of the performance area. Sitting in the back row, I feel we actually had the best seats in the entire space as we had a perfect view of the entire stage.

Doing my best imitation of the frogs...

The atmosphere for the opening of the show was immediately apparent and I could tell that we had entered some sort of swamp. A giant cloth turtle shell was in the center of the downstage area, with a large ramp behind it and some over-sized reeds throughout the background as if rising from the marsh. I realized that the instrumentalists who would be playing the live music were dispersed among this camouflage. As the show begins, the cover of the turtle shell (the shell of the shell?) moves away and the piece becomes an important prop throughout the show. The swamp is overrun by dancing frogs who jump and swing around on the skeleton of the shell that remains and later it is raised up to the top of the venue and lowered for certain acrobatic pieces throughout the show. 

This set piece, however, was not the most important or the most impressive of the set pieces in the show. The real star of this show is the hydraulic stage ramp that not only raises and lowers to bring different acts on to the stage (from above and below). This piece does much more-at times it bends upward like a snake, it seems to shape shift, and at one point it even becomes a speedboat for some of the signature Cirque clown characters to fly around in. I am still baffled at how they managed this piece without crushing anyone and how they manage to keep it choreographed and functional throughout the show. 

If that was not enough, I was even MORE impressed with the projections that are used to complete the rest of the set pieces. At times I truly felt as though I was transported to the beach, the ocean, and many other locations. The technology used renders fully structured set pieces obsolete and I have to wonder if this is a potential for the future of theatre set designs. The projection was crystal clear and yet blended seamlessly with the rest of the set and the show. 

As with any Cirque show, the large spectacle is important but the performers are just as vital to the success of the performance. The nearly 50 cast members impressed in such fantastic acts that I could hardly begin to describe them. From a Native American couple roller-skating together on a dangerously small drum in various poses to a group of Chinese girls on TALL unicycles catching and throwing bowls onto each other's heads in a unique juggling act, they continue to step up the "wow" factor. Another standout act included two girls who juggled spinning pieces of sparkling heavy cloth on their feet and hands as they contorted their bodies and climbed up onto each other. There was humor throughout to keep the crowd entertained as well. An impressive act clearly inspired by Muscle Beach was amusing as the two muscular men doing acrobatics on the rings pursued a girl who was clearly much stronger than the two of them, and more clever. Other acts that are recycled from other Cirque du Soleil shows but still remained fascinating were the Russian Bars and Hand to Hand acts which have been adapted to different styles for this version.  

The music was incredible and added to the mood and tone. I always enjoy the music of Cirque du Soleil shows and this show is no exception with a large variety of styles and musical references. From Native American drums and music to Spanish flamenco to the singers even singing and chanting a capella, this is certainly a soundtrack worth purchasing. 

I was impressed with this entire production from start to finish.  I would have to say it goes right to the top with some of my favorites and I would even see it again given an opportunity. It is amazing that Cirque can continue to introduce such fresh shows with similar concepts all over the world.  TOTEM certainly does the Cirque name proud.  I would highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to see it while it is in Santa Monica or in future cities.