Zarkana…A World of Bizzarre and Amazing
By: Franciney Horodyski

I was not quite sure what to expect from Zarkana.  I had seen previews on television, and I had previously been to Michael Jackson, the Immortal World Tour, and I had found that to be unbelievable, so I figured that Zarkana would not be too far behind as far as satisfaction.

I was right! From the moment you arrive, the actors are trying to interact with you, and are not shy about posing for pictures.  You might compare it to a circus, but it is kicked up about ten notches.  There are clowns, whom are quite funny, I might add.  They add a little humor for all ages.  Some say it was cheesy, I personally thought it was brilliant and fun. 

Director-writer, Francois Girard, did a good job of combining a story line to the more common acrobatics of an original circus.  Zark is a magician who lost his magic and his love.  The acrobatics and actors are there to distract him from fulfilling his mission.  It is combined with music, which makes it more like an opera. This I believe adds to the enthusiasm and class of the show. 

The show begins with dancing from odd characters.  Then out comes a juggler.  Yes she may not be juggling chainsaws, but the tennis balls that she juggles are just as astounding.  She adds whim and vigor to her act, while creating an allure of visual amazement.  Then the acrobatics begin.  Exhilarating is all I can say; a balancing act with a ladder balanced on a man’s head, while his female counterpart moves gracefully atop.  Furthermore, a group of flag throwers; not your typical color guard, and a solo male contortionist gives our eyes a treat. 

The singing was not understandable for me, but again, it enhanced the show, and the props were a little weird, but the overall acts fit in nicely with the acrobatics. 

I would recommend this show to anyone.  It is visually stunning and a lot of fun.  For more information, please visit… http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/zarkana/default.aspx.

Venue: Radio City Music Hall, New York (Through Oct. 8)
Director-writer: Francois Girard
Artistic guides: Guy Laliberte, Gilles Ste-Croix
Cast: Garou, Cassiopee, Maria Choodu, Anastasia Dvoretskaya, Victoria Dvoretskaya, Dmitry Dvoretskiy, Di Wu, Jun Guo, Frederico Pisapia, Giuseppe Schiavo, Vincenzo Schiavo, Marco Senatore, Carole Demers, Johnny Gasser, Yuri Kreer, Ray Navas Velez, Rony Navas Velez, Roberto Navas Yovany, Erika Chen, Anatoly Zalevskiy
Direction of creation: Line Tremblay
Set and props designer: Stephane Roy
Costume designer: Alan Hranitelj
Lighting designer: Alain Lortie
Music: Nick Littlemore
Choreographers: Debra Brown, Jean-Jacques Pillet
Image content designer: Raymond St-Jean
Acrobatic performance designer: Florence Pot