New ‘Zu’ Revue: Cirque du Soleil gets risque with R-rated ‘Zumanity’

By Jerry Fink

Thursday, Aug. 7, 2003 | 8:48 a.m.

Soon the wraps will come off, baring "Zumanity" in all its sensual glory.

The debut of Celine Dion at Caesars Palace's $95-million Colosseum in March might have been the entertainment event of the year in Las Vegas, but Lyn Heward says Cirque du Soleil's much-anticipated venture into eroticism "will be the most intimate experience of the year."

The R-rated, adults-only (18 and older) production will open to the public Aug. 15 in New York-New York's 1,254-seat theater that once was home to Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance." A private performance for invited guests is scheduled Aug. 14.

Heward, president and chief operating officer of Cirque's Creative Content Division, described "Zumanity" as a work in progress, even as it is on the verge of its debut.

"It has the potential of being everything we want it to be," Heward said. "But it will take fine-tuning, testing in front of an audience.

"We will need audience reaction to grow, to be sure we are touching them the way we want to touch them."

The production promises a lot of touching, especially onstage. But how much touching, and its nature, remains to be seen. Also a mystery is how much skin will be bared by performers.

"It's an edgy show, one where other people haven't gone before," Heward explained, without revealing much.

There has been some national coverage of the show, however. Steve Friess, writing for Newsweek, was permitted a peek at the rehearsals in Montreal in early July. In the July 14 issue of the magazine he wrote:

"A sandpaper-throated drag queen steps gingerly through the metal bars into a mammoth steel cage. She raises her arms and thunders, 'Welcome to Sex Station 69, a stress-release center for the curious!'

"Around her, bare-chested men and women, clad only in skimpy black bikini underwear, writhe in a fleshy mass, until two men begin circling each other like tigers about to pounce. The pair draw closer in a mesmerizing spiral, embrace, then kiss.

"In a later scene, two women frolic suggestively in a life-size fishbowl."

"Zumanity's" creative team includes directors/creators Dominic Champagne and Rene Richard Cyr, Director of Creation Andrew Watson, Creator and Costume Designer Thierry Mugler, Set Designer Stephane Roy, Composer Simon Carpentier, Choreographer Debra Brown, Lighting Designer Luc Lafortune and Sound Designer Jonathan Deans.

All-inclusive show

The production will include a cast of 50 performers and musicians from all over the world.

Heward said "Zumanity" will involve a wide array of dancing, including classical, ballet, Salsa, flamenco, jazz, African and other genres.

"It will not only be about styles of dancing, but it will incorporate the dancers' diverse cultures as well," Heward said.

Since this is a Cirque du Soleil production (as are "O" at the Bellagio and "Mystere" at Treasure Island), the show will include acrobatics.

"You will see people in the air, but they won't do necessarily what they would do in 'Mystere,' " Heward said. "We will have exotic acts with an acrobat's edge to it."

Heward said the production will generally follow the progression of love through life.

"Love is a many splendored thing and 'Zumanity' will cover all sides of love, from the first stirring of adolescence through adulthood to the tenderness and romance of older couples," Heward said.

"The show covers all of that. It's a very broad look at love."

She said different facets of love, romance and sensuality are covered in segments, each of which last three or four minutes or longer.

"It has a flow to it that may take some startling twists," Heward said.

She noted that after the first full rehearsal a couple of weeks ago, some cuts had to be made.

"There was too much show," Heward said. "We have to cut 30 to 35 minutes, cutting it down to 90 minutes."

Dig the digs

There also is still a lot of cutting going on inside the theater, and hammering, as construction crews scramble to put the finishing touches on the room.

Heward recently said the venue is in the final stages of a $55 million reconstruction project, a face-lift that will leave the theater unrecognizable to patrons who visited before.

The inside has been completely gutted.

The two tiers of theater seating include a number of dual sofas, or love seats, for couples who want to snuggle as they share the intimate production.

There is also seating on stools around two bars inside the theater for lovelorn stags. There is a third bar in the lobby.

Love seat tickets are $95; cabaret stools $55 and regular theater seats are $75.

The distance from the center of the stage to the most distant seat in the balcony is 66 feet.

Heward described the "Zumanity" stage as "an engineering feat."

Two turntables in the larger stage can rise eight feet or sink six feet, and rotate in opposite directions. There are 398 technical movements onstage, ranging from moving stages to a bridge over the stage that is raised and lowered.

On either side of the main stage are spiral staircases that lead to platforms on which various members of the nine-piece band sit or stand.

Outside the auditorium, even the snack bar is exotic, offering such treats as chocolate truffles and sushi.

Bars will make exotic drinks, including Zumanitini, a special martini for "Zumanity" fans.

Heward said the sensuous evening will begin the moment patrons step into the theater lobby. The theme of the decor throughout the theater is one of curves.

"All kinds of curves," Heward said. "Curves are designed into everything."

From the carpeting to the ceiling to the walls, there are curves.

"They are like muscles, human sinews," Heward said.

Sewn into the carpet in front of the stage are images of semi-nude women.

Besides being surrounded by decor meant to subliminally evoke the message of sexuality, erotic sounds will be broadcast into the lobby and into the bejeweled rest rooms, which are outfitted with contoured mirrors.

There will be peepholes in the lobby, through which can be seen videos of old-time films. Heward declined to elaborate on the nature of the movies.

Also in the lobby will be two mini-stages that resemble dressing rooms and fans will watch performers prepare for the show they are about to see.

Although Heward left many details of "Zumanity" untold, she was confident fans of Cirque du Soleil will not be disappointed.

"We have been true to ourselves," she said.