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Zarkana by Cirque Du Soleil Reviews
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OK Show Review by: TheaterLove, Jun 25, 2012 |
As my dad said, "The seats were better than the show!"
First of all, the show was NOT bad. The music was amazing, the set and costumes were phenomenal, and the acts were exciting. But it wasn't what I expected from a New York City Cirque du Soleil show. Nothing really made me go, "WOW! That was amazing!" It was more like, "That was pretty cool."
Although the performers were very talented, a lot of the acts weren't sharp. Though I was ... read more amazed by some of the flexibilty and balancing acts, it wasn't as good as it had the potential to be. Another surprising part was the length; the entire show was only 90 minutes, no intermission. The plot was hard to follow too; I was expecting a real plot that gets to know the characters, following their story and pulling you in. It was more like act after act, with a storyline that was hard to follow. Lots of it seemed a little random, things that didn't really need to be there but it was there anyways.
Overall, it was an OK show. I'd give it a 3/5 stars. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. I don't regret going to see it, since it was entertaining and fun to watch. The effects were stunning, and the clowns did get a few chuckles out of me. The performers were talented and the musicians and singers were amazing! You can feel the energy on the stage, the love in what they do, and I think that plays an important part. Not the best Cirque show, but it was worth going to see. |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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PAINFUL to sit through Review by: Disappointed, Aug 28, 2011 |
Horrible! My first cirque show and was very disappointed. I saw it on 8/27/11, 2pm showing. The music was way too loud, completely overbearing. People were singing, and their voices were screaching; you couldn't even make out the lyrics. The main character, the magician, was just painful to listen to, and the spiderwoman was worse. It was just a lot of noise, partly due to the technicians not mixing it correctly.
The ... read more acrobats and trapese people were very good, although there were at least 2 falls into the net below; it almost looked as if the stunts were too difficult to do. And seriously, they take too many bows. The trapese people bowed once individually, then once as a group on the net, then another time as a group on the stage. "Hey, we liked you, we clapped twice for you, now get off the stage and move on with the show"
The best part of the show was a "sand-reader" who drew some very cool pictures in the sand, which was then projected to a large screen for the audience to see. But truthfully, I don't know if it was live or pre-taped. The sand pictures told the story of what had happened so far and told the ending; without it, we would NEVER have known what the heck was going on!
I also think it's pretty bad when you have to depend on the program to tell you about what's going on.
All in all, I can't believe I spent $79 for 3 tickets to such a bad show. The 2 people I went with felt the same: great acrobats, but the horrible music/noise made it the whole thing just painful to sit through.
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Don't go
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| 3 |
Great show..I would see it again. Review by: , Jul 25, 2011 |
| Really liked this show. Don't let the slow start of juggling turn you off. The sets, the acrobatics, even the sand art was amazing. I didn't care for WINTUK, so I was skeptical going in. Radio City is a wonderful, very comfortable venue. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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| 4 |
Review by: shroomin, Jul 24, 2011 |
| Extremely psychedelic, visually oriented show. I HIGHly recommend this show if you are into this sort of entertainment. Beautiful set design. The performers were top notch. Best stage visuals I have seen at a show since the BLUE MAN GROUP Rock Star tour. The music is so-so but as a TRIP to the theater I was not dissapointed. GREAT TIME even in the cheap seats. |
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Make an effort to see
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| 5 |
Zoom to Zarkana Review by: Auds, Jul 23, 2011 |
Didn't know exactly what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. The show was amazing with its costumes, music and myriad of performers. Don't know if there was a story behind the show, but it didn't matter. You'll be amazed and mesmerized by most of acts. I recommend sitting in the mezzanine rather than the orchestra as many of the acts are way above stage level. After seeing this, I plan to get tickets for the Michael Jackson Cirque du ... read more Soleil performance in April at Madison Square Garden.
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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| 6 |
Worth seeing. Review by: George, Jul 21, 2011 |
Just saw this production by Cirque du Soleil - yesterday, July 20. Truly enjoyed it. I have seen many productions by this creative company, and each time I am amazed by their creativity and imagination. I recommend seeing this show. One suggestion: Try getting tickets that are mid-orchestra or first few rows of the front mezzanine. Radio City is cavernous, so you want to be able to appreciate the little details on stage by sitting in strategic ... read more locations.
Also make sure to go early for great photo-ops with some of the cast. |
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Make an effort to see
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Recommended for:
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| 7 |
Zarkana Review by: Detecdiva, Jun 28, 2011 |
I have seen pretty much every Cirque show that has opened in the last 20+ years, except for Zed and Viva Elvis. Every time Cirque opens a new show in NY it is a sell out disaster. Wintuk was awful fluff, Bananashpeel was so bad it closed almost immediately and I found Zarkana to be a total train wreck.
First off, the show has some of the greatest sets and costumes I have ever seen out of a Cirque show. Before the show you are greeted by ... read more so many colorful characters that you hardly ever see again during the show and seem to have little to no reason for being them. Beautiful costumes parade around the theater making you think you are really in for something special and then they disappear never to be seen again. Going in, I really expected Zarkana to knock my socks off and it failed on pretty much every level. There were a few cool acts, but only that sand art one was totally original and none of the others were improvements on similar acts they had already done in other shows. Somewhat dull versions of acts that were knockouts in other productions.
The worst part about it was the music. The female singer screeched and screamed the whole time. My husband left with a migraine and my father and I both had headaches. The music is all sung in English, which detracts from the performance. Lyrics made no sense and felt very convoluted. Often the screaming was so shrill you couldn't decipher the lyrics and because the were in English your brain automatically focuses on what they are trying to squeal instead of the overall picture on stage. The music itself fluctuated between totally dull and screamingly deafening. Rock opera fail!
Early in the first act, a little girl got sucked into a machine. What happened was never fully explained and the only time this was revisited was for a hot second in the second act when a funeral procession crossed the stage screeching "welcome to my funeral". Totally unsatisfying. I am totally into dark and morbid. O and Quidam changed my life, but they felt like explorations, not exploitations.
In addition, the story was supposed to be that of a magician looking for love. The male singer crooned like Elvis, never demonstrated any magic and it was totally unclear what his objective was. My father thought he was a magician depressed because he had no magic. My husband thought he was a ringleader who wanted to learn magic and I only knew he was a magician from the program and thought he was searching for the little girl who fell into the death contraption. Nothing was clear, despite the lyrics in our own language. In shows like Quidam, despite all the kooky characters and Cirqueish lyrics, you can always kinda tell who is who and what is going on and the music pulls you in and stays with you forever. I can't remember a single tune, just crooning and screeching.
This show was full of loose ends. Only in the end when screechy lady descends from the ceiling dressed like a rosebush on steroids and they walk up the staircase singing at each other like something out of Phantom did it remotely look like he was searching for a pairing. So many special effects and so little substance. Special effects, though a form of artistry in itself are not the foundations of Cirque. Human talent and mind blowing creativity are and I can not be sold on flashy sets and ever changing screen projections if there is no substance or purpose behind them.
I was there on the first preview, nobody knew when to clap, there was no standing ovation at the end and the audience looked mostly baffled while leaving. I would like to think it would drastically improve before official opening but unless they get an entirely new score, I can say this and Wintuk are the worst Cirque shows I have ever seen and certainly not worthy of NY. Where is Franco Dragone when you need him.
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 8 |
amazing Review by: sammy, Jun 14, 2011 |
| it was amazing. my kids and i loved every minute of it. a definate must see for everyone. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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