Connie Danese
The Santa Monica Pier welcomed Cirque du Soleil’s Grand Chapiteau (aka the big blue and yellow tent) on Friday, as 2500 people arrived for the Canadian company’s OVO — the title is Portuguese for “egg” — and yet another jaw-dropping Cirque experience.
A giant “ovo” occupied center stage. Magic began as the music took us into a universe populated by the mélange of talented artists cleverly costumed as colorful insects and arachnids who continually erupted into the magical displays of amazing feats we have come to associate with anything produced by Cirque. Incidentally, “ovo” is also Internet slang – a word utilized by the texting tweeters of the world meaning “obviously”. OVO, ovo (obviously), does not disappoint.
Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka
The “red carpet” for this opening night event was actually orange. Although no official explanation was given for the different choice of color, it is considered the hue of the Sacral Chakra, which is linked to sexual organs and the reproductive system; opening the Sacral Chakra is said to free fertility and inherent creativity. So, whether by accident or design, orange was the perfect color choice for a show called OVO.
First on the orange carpet was Neil Patrick Harris, whom I also interviewed at the Kodak Theatre opening of Cirque’s Iris in September. “I love anything done by Cirque and I’ve seen just about all of them. It never ceases to amaze me. As you know, I love magic and these shows are magical.” Is there anything Harris has seen in the Cirque shows he’d like to be able to do? “Ah. I wish I could do a super slow handstand. I can do a handstand “ish”, but when they do that thing where they sloooowly bend down and then their legs go up like super slow; that’s what I wish I could do.”
He rejoined husband David Bertka and actress Jessica Chastain (The Help, The Tree of Life), as the three friends happily entered Le Chapiteau.
Patrick Warburton and family
Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement TV series) arrived with his family and explained, “I remember when I used to live down here 20 years ago. They would set a tent up to do the show and I always walked out of it astounded. I’ve seen so many. I still want to see the Elvis one and the cinematic one [Iris]. I love taking the kids because they have so much fun, but there’s also a definite inspirational element to it. It’s imaginative and you walk out revitalized. Absolutely the best live theater — I’d say it’s magical.”
Kate Beckinsale
Many stars attended but did not walk the carpet for photos and interviews. One was Kate Beckinsale, stunningly beautiful, dressed simply in black pants, black jacket and white shirt with hair tied back in a ponytail. It was the perfect “do” for a damp, humid evening on the Santa Monica Pier; it looked chic and guaranteed no frizzy hair woes. She made her way from the car toward the tent but just before entering, a fan asked if she’d take a picture with him. Beckinsale graciously paused; he put his arm around her as they smiled and his girlfriend snapped away. A few media photographers got pix of Beckinsale getting out of her car, but one happy fan probably has the best shot.
Hilary Swank walked the orange but did not take questions, not even for the TV cameras whose interviewers can usually get them to speak since it means TV exposure. But hey, Swank is a movie star. To their shouts of “Hilary, Hilary, can I get a word?”, she smiled sweetly, stopped to wave for the camera and continued.
Heather Graham and her Christian Louboutins
My Best Shoe Award easily goes to Heather Graham. Photographers pulled way back to get a full-length shot and close-up of her Christian Louboutins. From the side it looked as though her feet were balanced on killer stilts and wrapped in sexy black cobwebs that traveled up to her ankles. Maybe that’s why she too didn’t stop to chat. Cirque performers could add those shoes to the show for an amazing feat with feet, but it’s understandable if normal humans might not want to stand around to chat in them.
The exceptionally charming Chris McDonald (Boardwalk Empire, Harry’s Law), like so many celebrities, arrived with his children. “It’s a family night out; a circus for God’s sake and Cirque du Soleil is the best there is. We’ve seen about three or four of them.” Considering all that is happening in the world today, I asked if he thought it had particular meaning and inspiration.
Christopher McDonald and wife Lupe McDonald
McDonald stopped for a moment, then declared, “Well, don’t we really need inspiration in this day and age! With people’s financial problems and….” He paused, “This gives us a chance to escape into a fascinating world and into the fascinating imagination of the people who put it together. They show us no limits. [Before seeing previous Cirque shows] I would never have thought how brilliant these athletes and tumblers or gymnasts could be. You don’t know what to look at first. It comes at you from so many different angles and suddenly you ask, did you see the guy who’s spinning above your head? I just like looking at my child’s eyes and seeing those looks of amazement. I think, yes, this is working. And, it works all over the world, with good reason.”
McDonald just completed shooting the film Twylight Zones, written and directed by The Sopranos creator David Chase, starring James Gandolfini. Hmm! You don’t look Italian. McDonald reacted with a big laugh, “Yep, You can’t wipe the Irish off my face.” Well, we don’t all look the same. I’m Italian. “Really? A redhead with green eyes? Must be Northern. I would have guessed Irish.” With our respective ancestry all cleared up, he continued, “It’s David’s first movie and autobiographical. Basically, it tells how he changed from being a rock and roll guy to a writer and we’re all better off for it. I play the father of the lead girl in the film and, no, I’m not a bad guy in it.” He winked. “Although all fathers with beautiful daughters are bad guys,aren’t they? Especially to the prospective boyfriends.”
Estella Monteverde, Alejandro Monteverde and Ali Landry
Speaking of beautiful daughters, former Miss USA Ali Landry arrived with her husband, film director Alejandro Monteverde and their adorable 4-year old daughter Estela. Landry explained to Estela that Cirque means circus in French, and Estela promptly learned to say “Bonjour” to everyone in honor of the occasion. Looking thin and gorgeous after recently giving birth to their second child, a son, Landry said, “I was very strict about diet and exercise after the baby arrived, but I did sneak in a cupcake today. I love Cirque and have seen many productions. I’m so happy to be able to bring our daughter to see it tonight. She’s obviously excited. I can’t wait to see her reaction, because I understand this one is particularly wonderful for children.”
President and CEO of Cirque du Soleil Daniel Lamarre
The president and CEO of Cirque, Daniel Lamarre, represents a company with 5,000 employees worldwide consisting of close to 50 nationalities, speaking 25 different languages. According to Cirque, close to 15 million people saw a Cirque du Soleil show in 2011 and more than 100 million have seen one since its 1984 inception. I asked Lamarre, who joined Cirque in 2001, what he considered to be his proudest personal achievement and contribution to the company. “I think having been able to do a deal with the Beatles, for me, was quite amazing. I had been working on it for three years, and to have the four of them [or their heirs] support the idea was a major breakthrough for Cirque. It is something I am very proud of.” The Beatles Love at the Mirage in Las Vegas celebrates its fifth anniversary on Valentine’s Day. How was he able to do it? Lamarre smiles broadly, “By spending a lot of time, being very, very patient and being very respectful of their music.” Is he normally a patient man when working with Cirque? He laughingly replied, “I think I have no choice. It comes with the territory.”
Lamarre leads this vast fraternity of creative people who continually seek new ways to propel Cirque’s phenomenal success into the future. “We have to push the boundaries all the time, because we don’t want someone to come to the show and say, ‘Oh yes, Cirque, they were really good five years ago but now they are no longer the big thing’. So we are always challenging ourselves. We have scouts traveling around the world to hunt for new treasures. We are always looking for new artists, new choreographers, new costume designers and new directors to keep us fresh.”
And speaking of “new”, this is the first Cirque production with a female director, Deborah Colker, the triple-threat writer, choreographer and director of OVO. Lamarre smiles happily, “Yes. Fifty-three percent of our employees are women, and we thought it was about time we had a woman leading the creative content. As a matter of fact, the new show we are launching next April will open in Montreal and is also going to be directed by a woman, Diane Paulus (the current Porgy and Bess and a Tony Award for directing the 2009 revival of Hair). All the musicians will be women and most of the artists too, because we think they are going to bring something new to the stage.
“It is titled Amaluna. Luna is for moon and ama means mother in many languages.”
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la***All photos by Alex J. Berliner/ABImages
CHAT CITE: “Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don’t take anything too seriously, it’ll all work out in the end” – David Niven
