by Michael Cox
The 42nd original show from this live entertainment leader since it’s inception in 1984, Crystal is a high-energy ice ballet, featuring light comedy, music, dance and the signature high-flying acrobatics that defines what the circus has become in this day and age.
Sure, we’ve lost the lions, the elephants, the freaks, the geeks and the ring master that wrangles all these things together. No problem, we have the essentials — the greatest of acrobats and the most charming of clowns. Those two things have kept this institution charging into the 21st Century.
Now, for the first time in history, Cirque du Soleil brings its magic worlds and world-class athleticism to the ice. But “Crystal” sure ain’t the Ice Capades. It melds the vigor of ice hockey and the beauty of figure skating with original acrobatics that challenge the laws of gravity. To call the story a red hot mess would imply there was some kind of structure to muss-up. “Crystal” is not about story and only vaguely about character, but it’s somewhat evocative of “Frozen” meets Franz Kafka’s “The Trial.” It is a three-ring circus that asks you to focus exclusively on the center ring.
The lead character, Crystal, goes skating and breaks through the ice, plunging into the paralyzing waters. There – oxygen deprived and at the edge of death – she hallucinates a mirror world of her existence and comes to terms with her essential values.
The individual segments of Crystal take audiences through a girl’s reaction to home life, work, playtime and romance. She soars above the little boxes of her suburban neighborhood; she slides through to the monotonous memos of her job, careful not to collide with ice cubicles; she dons a Bruins jersey and plays a spellbinding game of hockey on a gigantic pinball machine, and she fantasizes a love-dance hanging from silken ropes. (They say love requires you to make yourself vulnerable. This girl Crystal lets a man hold her high above the hard ground, with no safety ropes, using only the flexed muscles in his feet. Now that’s vulnerability at the highest level.)
It’s notable that Kurt Browning, the four-time world champion Canadian figure skater, has collaborated with the creative team and acted as the Skating Performances Senior Designer. Also Benjamin Agosto, the four-time world medalist American ice dancer, contributes as the Skating Performances Designer.
The soundtrack is respectable as well, featuring heart grabbing music like U2’s “Beautiful Day,” Beyonce’s “Halo,” Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” and Sia’s “Chandelier” performed by Cyrille Aimée, Gabrielle Shonk, Betty Bonifassi and Ariane Moffatt.
“Crystal” starts to entertain guests even before the show begins. Long before the narrative starts, guests are welcomed to explore the arena and settle into their seats. Live musicians step outside the ring and interact with the audience, and our new friend “the clown” starts his antics, throwing snowballs to the guests, doing tricks and falling on his face.
The set of “Crystal” is more than an ice skating arena, it’s a blank slate. Throughout the show it will be filled with words, colors, designs and images. With the use of magnificent projections, the performers are reflected against the ice, they draw patterns with their skates, they rise up above the world and take a bird’s eye view, and they even break through the solid ice floor and plunge into the frigid waters of an imaginary lake. At the end of the arena is a giant iceberg that breaks open and emits dozens of gymnasts and skaters who fly across the ice and into the air, combining synchronized skating with extreme skating stunts which defy the imagination. Freestyle figures appear alongside traditional circus disciplines such as swinging trapeze, aerial traps and hand to hand.
Co-created by Creative Director Stefan Miljevic and directed by Shana Carroll & Sébastien Soldevila, “Crystal” has been in the works since 2017, first premiering in Quebec and currently touring the world. “Crystal” runs June 1-12 at the Agganis Arena. For tickets go to https://www.ticketmaster.com/cirque-du-soleil-crystal-tickets/artist/2367484. For practical information, phone 1 877-924-7783
