Cirque Mechanics join machines, story, acrobatics

Updated: September 24, 2012 6:25AM

Fans of acrobatics, machinery, comedy and the Old West will get a bang out of “Boom Town.”

Cirque Mechanics, a Las Vegas-based troupe of acrobats and performers, take the stage Nov. 19 at Pfeiffer Hall at North Central College in Naperville. The performers are veterans of companies like Moscow Circus, Pickle Family Circus and Cirque du Soleil.

A circus-theater ensemble, Cirque Mechanics’ show tells a story using machines as well as acrobatics, music, dance, drama and comedy.

Their newest show, “Boom Town,” is set in an 1865 mining town. Audiences will be transported to Rosebud, where two ambitious saloon owners have set up shop across the street from each other in the hopes of cashing in on the town’s gold rush frenzy.

When they begin feuding over the townsfolk patronage, the ensuing circus leads to a series of explosive events — including brawls, romance and a lucrative discovery.

As with their previous production, “Birdhouse Factory,” Cirque Mechanics explores the relationship between man and machine, inspired by early mining equipment and the entrepreneur spirit of adventure that brought prospectors westward. The mechanical apparatus serves both as scenery and props: performers will climb telegraph poles, swing on a chandelier or balance on whiskey jugs.

Chris Lashua is the creator and artistic director of “Boom Town.”

“We settled on this kind of gold rush mining town and then we laid the narrative in from there,” he said. “(We) settled around a narrative that revolved around not just one story, but several storylines people can follow. The main one is the difficulty that occurs when two saloon owners open business across the street from each other.”

Audience reaction has been strong so far, he said. It’s the kind of show that appeals to college students to Broadway aficionados to families.

“The acrobatics are strong and have appeal, and marrying that with the real-world environment … people relate pretty well with that,” he said.

It’s also appropriate for all ages.

“We geared it for everybody. It’s appropriate for a 7-year-old to his great-grandfather. Which is a tough sell, because people don’t believe it. They think if it’s OK for a kid, I’m not going to like it,” he said. “It’s suitable and enjoyable, mostly because it’s layered. There’s the mechanical, the engineering side of it, and (there’s) showing off the relationships with these lead characters. The singing and dancing, the music and lighting, and the theatrical presentation appeals to people. And then there’s the spate of acrobatic tricks.”

The machines are on full display on the stage, and it’s these kinds of mechanical devices that might attract people who may not go to theaters regularly, he said.

“There’s plenty in the show for those people to watch and follow. They may not be a typical fan of dance and choreography, but they will be able to enjoy and follow the way the machines work,” he said. “And then there’s plenty of dance and choreography for people who are more the typical theater-going public as well. And then of course there’s circus comedy acrobatics which has a wide range of appeal.”

Naperville audiences can expect “A show that has all the wow and surprise and thrill of a modern circus show, with a very nice story that showcases the circus in a way that is surprising,” Lashua said.

“We really like to make the apparatus part of the theme. So when people watch the show, the acrobatics kind of leap out of the environment. There may be a scene in a saloon and suddenly people are swinging from chandeliers. I think they will be surprised in the way the apparatus is used.”

Performers include Michael Redinger, Steven Ragatz, Wes Hatfield, Lyndsay Orton, Elena Day, Timber Brown, Kerren McKeeman, Oleksiy Snarsky and Charlotte Greenblatt.

Because the cast is small, they get to be involved in the creative process in a way that is very difficult to do in a big company, he said, and that involvement translates to their performances.

“That kind of ensemble nature — that collaborative experience — is absolutely in the work we do and absolutely appreciated and felt by the audience,” he said. “It makes for an intimate show and a powerful show in a way that is really very surprising for a company of the size that we are. To be able to pull off the kind of ensemble work on the level that we do is really unparalleled. We’re able to pull it off because we have the right people.”

CIRQUE MECHANICS: BOOM TOWN

When: 8 p.m. Nov. 19

Where: North Central College’s Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave., Naperville

How much: $40, $45 and $50

Contact: 630-637-7469 or visit www.northcentralcollege.edu/showtix

Show / Hide Comments