Yesterday afternoon, we went to the Marina Civic Center to see Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy. It was the first event that we have attended at the Civic Center and we were pleased to find that it was a very nice venue. It is not a large building but it is clean and seems to have all of the necessary elements. Our seats were comfortable and though we were up in the mezzanine section, fairly far from the stage, we had no problems seeing the action. I looked around and it did not seem that there were any seating sections with obstructed views. There was a small concession area downstairs for snacks and refreshments and a small bar upstairs for beer and wine. We were also very happy to find that, even though it was a crowded event, we had no difficulty getting in or out of the parking lot.
I really enjoyed the show. I had actually assumed when I purchased the tickets that the show was affiliated with Cirque du Soleil. While Jungle Fantasy did have many common elements to a Cirque du Soleil show, namely the amazing acrobatics, the story and presentation were very different. It was the music that made me realize that there could not be an affiliation between this show and its more masterful name sound-alike. I thought that the instrumentals were fabulous – I may have even fallen in love with the violinist. The vocals were decently-sung but the songs themselves were not what I was expecting. The vocalist was the character of mother nature and the songs were almost Sesame Street-ish tunes teaching the main character to respect nature. I certainly don’t mean to disrespect Sesame Street by the comparison because while these songs were about personal growth, personality, and courage, the lyrics were all equally abysmal.
The set was simple. There were many “animals” that served no real purpose to the show, another thing that set it apart from a …du Soleil show. However, the costumes were stunning - even the emus and frogs. The performers were very able and impressive. From the fun and fantastic jump-roping tricks at the beginning to the beautifully fluid contortionist reptiles, from the incredibly balancing giraffe-men to the ginormous strongmen gymnasts, each act was a true visual treat. Overall it was a great show, although I wish I could have blocked out the horrid songs.
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