The Goodbye Mailbox » Stage

Cirque du Soleil’s IRIS

Derek — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:54:36 +0000

Cirque du Soleil has long been a favorite of mine. My first time attending one of their shows was about 20 years ago with my mother and aunt. I was just a kid of 11 years, but remember being completely blown away at the unbelievable feats of acrobatic mastery contained within the temporary tent constructed in the South Coast Plaza parking lot. Over the years I would go on to see Mystère, O, Zumanity, Kà, and Love; all of which quickly became instant favorites of mine. So when I heard Cirque du Soleil was bringing an all new show to my city of Hollywood based around the art of cinema, I was more than ecstatic.

Playing at the Kodak Theatre, home to the annual Academy Awards show, IRIS by Cirque du Soleil is a live performance of uninhibited skill, daring, and imagination. Some of the world’s best acrobats converge on stage for a show like no other I have seen before, blending technology, music, and comedy with their hallmark brand of acrobatics. IRIS takes the viewer through an interpretive history of cinema starting all the way back to the shadow stories in prehistoric cave walls, to modern cinema. All the while, we follow the story of a young composer pursing his true love, a beautiful actress attempting to become a movie star.

The dreamlike sequences of acrobatics are brilliantly matched to an orchestral score by Danny Elfman. I can’t think of a better composer for such a unique show filled with crazy costumes and wildly imaginative sets. The live orchestra brings the show an added layer of energy and life that resonates throughout the theatre to the very last note.

The experience of watching IRIS is difficult to explain, as I believe it is probably different for each person. Part of the reasoning behind that is because there is so much going on at the same time during most of the acts that it would be impossible to see everything. One particular act that comes to mind is the Movie Set scene that opens up the second act. There are easily 20-40 people on stage during this scene, each one dressed in a different costume, and each one doing some sort of acrobatic feat on a different part of the stage. I tried as hard as I could to absorb everything but there was simply too much going on for me to process the entire scene. Imagine hitting a bee hive with a stick and the madness that would ensue. It was kind of like that.

And speaking of frenzied insects, the Kiriki act which featured eight acrobats dressed as colorful bugs, was a nail-biting experience as I watched them tumble and spin as they stacked themselves into a pyramid of bodies formed with precision. In fact, there were several moments of the night where I was on the edge of my seat filled with amazement at the seemingly impossible feats the performers executed with fluidity and ease. But like the contrast of light and shadow used throughout the show, there are also moments of calm and grace that contrast beautifully with the moments of higher tension and energy.

Perhaps my favorite part of the show was the way they used live video and projection in some of the acts to create effects that have to be seen to appreciate how amazing they are. Acrobats moving in front of a large black screen are recorded live and a series of still images of their silhouettes are projected behind them in sequence to give the impression of film frames being overlayed on top of each other to show their motion. Another time, a series of small rooms lined up side by side act as individual frames of a film strip as the characters record a quick 5 second snippet of video which is then echoed and replayed in each room in sequence as they make their way down the line of rooms, interacting with the video they just recorded. Again, my description doesn’t do it any justice; you really have to check it out live to appreciate it.

Without a doubt, IRIS has become one of my favorite live shows of all time. It is a spectacle of action and talent that will leave your heart racing and wanting more.

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Derek — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:52:24 +0000

Dave Attell @ The Hollywood Improv

MTV’s The State Live @ UCB Theatre LA

Derek — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 06:48:10 +0000

13 Years, 10 hours, and $10 later, I can finally die in peace: MTV’s CBS’s UCB’s The State, live on stage for one night only in the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. Some time last week I found out about this once in a lifetime opportunity to see the original and only members of The State perform new sketches live on stage. When I went online to see if I could get tickets, my heart was smashed into a thousand little pieces. Sold Out. The only glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel was that they were going to be selling stand by tickets at the door on the night of the show. This would be my only chance. So I decided to wait, and that’s exactly what I did.

Morgan, Colter, and I waited in front of the UCB Theatre off Franklin for 10 hours, not even knowing whether or not we would enter the building. There was a 10pm show and an 11:30 show, and we were first in line for stand-bys, so we figured our chances were good. 10 o’clock rolled around and there wasn’t a single open seat in the theatre that seats approximately 100-200 people (I’m terrible with estimates). The show went on with out us. In an hour and a half, we would find out just how crazy we were to wait that long.

As the crowd slowly spilled out from the doors, I looked down the line of ticket holders that had been growing down the street since the first group went in. It wasn’t looking good. All I could think of was visions of Ken Marino holding up two small unassuming balls above his head as he repeated his catch phrase over and over again. Thomas Lennon and Micheal Ian Black slowly lowering their asses into $240 worth of pudding. Michael Showalter ensuring the other cast members as well as the audience that he was not sticking around any longer. I envisioned all of this happening and knew I had to get in.

11:30ish, and the line of ticket holders had all been let into the theatre. The girl who was running the front door approached us and directed us to the ticket booth. We were getting in. And like all UCB shows, this one was cheap as well: $10, which can actually be considered on the higher end of the UCB ticket scale. I was ready and willing to pay $50. As we walked back through the hallway that led to the small black box theatre, we could see that it was packed. The nice dude that had been talking to us all day who worked at the theatre directed us to the stage and told us to sit at the end of it. We were literally on the stage. It was amazing.

Once the show started, the audience was treated to about 75 minutes of new material that was loosely focused around the history of the United States. From my understanding, it was sort of a rehearsal for a Comedy Central special that The State is doing soon. I also overheard one of The State members saying that the DVD that was supposed to come out last Fall but was put on hold for whatever reason, might now be released when the Comedy Central special airs as a cross promotion.

With the possibility of the new skits airing on Comedy Central or even being added to the DVD as a special feature, I won’t go into detail about any of the bits. But I will say that it seems as if they had never missed a beat. The skits were like 1995 Vintage State and would fit very well into their old show, aside from the fact that maybe only one or two would make it past the sensors unscathed. And although Black and Showalter weren’t able to make an appearance live, they did get a chance to record a video which ended up being one of the funniest skits of the night.

Tags: MTV’s The State, The State, Upright Citizens Brigade, UCB, UCB Theatre, UCBT LA, Comedy Central, Stand up, skits, sketches