If the 1823 Clement Moore poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” conjures up visions of a young woman suspended high in the air by a rope tied to her hair, spinning seven times per second, Cirque du Soleil has a show for you.
“‘Twas the Night Before,” the popular postmodern circus company’s first Christmas show, mashes up Moore’s beloved quaintness with Cirque’s over-the-top approach to storytelling, stunts, music and costumes.
The show, which runs about 90 minutes with no intermission and is aimed at families, has played in several cities but is making its Atlanta debut this year at the Fox Theatre. Cirque will announce today that tickets go on sale July 25.
Credit: Photo by Kyle Flubacker
Credit: Photo by Kyle Flubacker
Cirque staged shows for more than three decades without trying a Christmas show, but then realized what should have been a no-brainer. The creative team considered different approaches to a holiday show, but everyone agreed they had strong sentimental memories of the Moore poem that would work.
“We didn’t want to do a literal retelling of the poem,” says “‘Twas” writer and director James Hadley. “So, we’ve really kind of deconstructed it, taken it on a fun and beautiful ride. Like the line ‘the children were nestled all snug in their beds,’ we turn that into a huge pillow fight with kids.”
“We use those key things from the poem, and either link them to different acrobatic acts or different characters.”
The “‘Twas” story revolves around a father and a daughter, the latter of whom is “not very interested in Christmas. She’s much more interested in her devices and Instagram,” Hadley explains. “These characters bring her into this world of the poem, and she rediscovers not only her love of Christmas, but her connection with her father that had become a little bit distant.”
The soundtrack is a combination of new music composed for the show and Cirque-ified versions of Christmas classics such as “Deck the Halls,” “Joy to the World” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?”
The Montreal-based Cirque first wowed Atlanta in 1995 with a show called “Alegria,” performed under a huge blue tent that was pitched in Midtown. Since then, Cirque has brought multiple such “big top” touring shows to the Atlanta area, most recently in Atlantic Station, as well as staking down permanent shows in Las Vegas and other cities worldwide.
In those shows, the audience surrounds the stage and is very close to some of the action, sometimes even (reluctantly) interacting with the show’s clowns. “‘Twas the Night Before” will be staged in a traditional proscenium theater, so a bit removed from the audience.
“It is a different environment from the big top show,” he says. “But I think that the designers have done a great job of making you feel part of this world, even though you’re in a theatrical setting.”
While the acrobats and other acts will be on the Fox stage, “we want to make sure everyone feels very much part of the action,” he says. “We have some artists that are in the house, coming through the aisles, so it should make you feel more part of it.”
Acrobatic acts will work with hula hoops, hoop diving, block stacking, in-line skating and several variations on hanging and spinning from the Fox’s overhead rigs on scarves, ropes and the aforementioned human hair.
Just because there is all that other stuff, however, “‘Twas” does not forget who the poem is about. But whereas St. Nicholas appears early in the poem, in the show his entrance is teased and foreshadowed for a while.
“Throughout the show, we have little hints of this character, and then, finally, the big reveal.”
IF YOU GO
“‘Twas the Night Before”
November 29-December 15 at the Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta. Tickets, on sale starting July 25, start at $27. 855-285-8499, foxtheatre.org/twas
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