Theatre District Combo: Cirque du Soleil's Paramour and Lunch at Toloache

Theatre District Combo: Cirque du Soleil's Paramour and Lunch at Toloache

Published: Tuesday, 14 June 2016 12:36

Stacie M. Waldman

Although Cirque du Soleil shows have come to New York City in the past, until now, none have been performed on a Broadway stage. Directed by Philippe Decoufle with creative direction from Jean-Francois Bouchard, Cirque du Soleil's theatrical Paramour incorporates circus acrobatics with acting, singing and dancing to please theatergoers who seek a different kind of Broadway experience. Unlike other Cirque shows, Paramour has a real (if shallow) story line, lyrics, music, and choreography. Of course, what makes the stage come to life is the spectacle of the circus arts for which Cirque shows are famous.

The simple and easy plot goes like this: A beautiful singer from Indiana named Indigo (Ruby Lewis) gets discovered at a nightclub in Los Angeles by famous film director AJ Golden (Jeremy Kushnier) during the Golden Age in Hollywood. He woos her into fame and fortune by starring her in a series of his films. AJ invites Indigo's piano-playing poet friend Joey (Ryan Vona) along to write the music for his films. Indigo must ultimately choose between love (Joey) and fame (AJ). The story is not new or interesting, yet it's necessary to fulfill the intent of Paramour; to bring a Cirque du Soleil show to Broadway by combining a Broadway style show and Broadway talent with death defying acrobats, gymnasts, jugglers, and contortionists. With 22 acrobats and 16 actors from 13 countries, I felt like I was watching the most talented circus performers on earth -- and I probably was.

cirqu The Broadway performers perform, but never really wow the audience like the identical Atherton twins do with their incredible acrobatic routine. The lights, movie screen projections, and scenic design as well as the circus performers undermine the triple threat talent of the stage performers. However, the audience is not there exclusively for the Broadway factor- they're also there for the thrill -- and that's delivered by Paramour. The circus performers were nearly all jaw dropping and often there was so much going on you didn't know where to look. The acrobats fly over the audience, jugglers juggle, gymnasts flip, the umbrella guy balances umbrellas on his face, and this is all happens while Indigo sings her sob story; I can tell you for certain no one cared much about Indigo during these numbers.

One of the truly beautiful and memorable scenes is the love triangle of Indigo, AJ and Joey with the twin acrobats on stage. While the threesome sing about their career/love dilemmas, the acrobats act out the scene via acrobatics. It's like nothing you've seen before and could be the one part of the show that the creative director can really brag about. The set (Jean Rabasse) was gaudy and huge but worked well with the show and the performers and the old film was well incorporated into the story.

Of course, it's not the story that will stick with you but the spectacular combination of lights, visual effects and circus artistry that will have you saying "wow" more than once. And really, although not the best show on Broadway, (hello, Hamilton,) it will certainly earn its large audiences looking for a highly entertaining show that feels more Broadway than Las Vegas spectacle.

So what will kids think of Paramour? Who better to ask for a show review than a Broadway kid? I ran into 10-year-old Noah Baird from Broadway's Matilda the Musical at the show. Noah has been performing in Matilda for the past year-and-a-half as a swing for the characters Eric and Nigel. "I think other kids will like Paramour," he said, "because it's unique for Broadway. My favorite scene was the rooftop trampoline scene because it was very creative of them to do a part chase and part fight scene using trampolines. I think other kids will love that, too." Noah thinks Paramour is appropriate for kids ages five and up. And how does it compare to Matilda? "Well," said Noah, "Matilda has a ton of physicality included with the show also. I can really appreciate how hard the actors and acrobats train and work! They're both great shows for kids."

No Manhattan theater experience is complete without pre-theater or post-theater grub. If you're part of any community Facebook group in the area you know that the post "I need an amazing restaurant in the theater area" is ubiquitous.

tolache We opted for lunch at Iron Chef finalist Julian Medina's theater-district restaurant Toloache. You need not look elsewhere for a memorable, delectable and well-timed meal. Had I not been the type who'd fall asleep if I had a drink at noon, I would have ordered one of their famed margaritas. But I am, so I just got some big smiles and thumbs up from the ladies at the table opposite us who were sipping their cocktails.

Toloache is modern Mexican food with a super-gourmet twist. Chef Medina, for example, offers his version of matzo ball soup. We started with fresh-made guacamole and Hamachi ceviche. The guac was perfect both in texture and taste. The ceviche consisted of thinly sliced yellowtail with Meyer lemon and Huichol salsa and was a perfect blend of salty and sour. I could have eaten another full order of this but needed to save room for the fried Brussels sprouts, black truffle quesadilla, and suadero taco. The Brussels sprouts are a must-order if you dig this veggie.

tolache2 The quesadilla de huitlacoche came like a pizza with black truffle crema atop Manchego cheese and a tortilla that will make you want to lick the plate. The suadero taco was filled with the most tender braised brisket, another merging of traditional Jewish food with Mexican accompaniments. No meal is complete for me without dessert and the pastel de chocolate did not disappoint. The warm chocolate cake and cool dulche de leche ice cream were the perfect ending to a perfect meal. Whoever says fine theater district dining cannot be found should find their palates more than pleased at Toloache.