by Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
You should know right from the beginning that the arena-touring "Dralion" show produced by those fanciful Cirque du Soleil people lacks all the grandeur of real spectacle that has made Cirque du Soleil so breathtakingly famous in Las Vegas.
Think of "Dralion" as mini-Cirque. There are none of those big theatrical extravaganzas in the production that's playing the Tucson Convention Center Arena daily through Sunday, Nov. 25.
What we do get to see is very theatrically presented and proficiently performed – from a world-class contortionist to a remarkably well-balanced team of rope skippers – but there's no beef.
Though the name "Dralion" comes from a mythical combination of dragon and lion, the show itself feels more like a vegetarian dish. Tasty, but…
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who always protest the Ringling Bros. circuses here every year, will be very happy to see a circus without any animals at all. And in truth "Dralion" feels just as entertaining as a typical night under the Big Top.
Ringling Bros. could learn a few tricks from Cirque. Meanwhile Cirque could learn a few things about how to put more spectacle into its scaled-down traveling arena shows.
Promotional information claims the show represents a melding of Eastern and Western influences. But the only Western influence I could detect was the Santana-styled guitar solos by Patrick Kelly that filled the Arena now and then. The rest of the music had a more New Age-ish and Eastern sound while all of the performers seemed to come directly from a quality Chinese circus.
A variety of trampoline acts and gymnastic tumblers filled a large proscenium-type stage that covered most of the Arena floor. Descending from above were trapeze bars of various sorts from which hung performers in fanciful costumes that created a magically ephemeral effect.
Contortionist Xue Muyan was beautifully displayed on a rotating portion of the stage. Jonathan Morin, with abs of steel, created more mystical movement inside his rolling crossed-wheel device.
Since most everyone has tried skipping rope at one time or another, the most applause went to the 16-member rope skipping team. Its piece de resistance was to form a three-level pyramid of people, and have the entire pyramid skip rope, all three levels all at the same time.
Fun, yes. Thrilling, at times. But true Cirque du Soleil, not even close.
"Dralion" continues through Sunday, Nov. 25, at the downtown Tucson Arena, 260 S. Church St., with performances at 7:30 p.m.Thursday, Nov. 22; 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Nov. 23-24; 1 p.m., Sunday, Nov.25. Tickets are $35 to $145 through ticketmaster.com. Discounts for military, seniors and children. For details and reservations, www.cirquedusoleil.com/dralion
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