Banana Shpeel

Banana Shpeel
Company Cirque du Soleil
Genre Contemporary circus
Show type Touring stage show
Date of premiere November 19, 2009 (Chicago)
Final show October 10, 2010 (Toronto)
Creative team
Writer and director David Shiner
Director of creation Serge Roy
Set designer Patricia Ruel
Composer Simon Carpentier
Costume designer Dominique Lemieux
Lighting designer Bruno Rafie
Choreographer Jared Grimes
Sound designer Harvey Robitaille
Other information
Preceded by Ovo (2009)
Succeeded by Viva Elvis (2010)

Banana Shpeel was a touring stage show created by Cirque du Soleil which premiered on November 19, 2009, at the Chicago Theater. The vaudeville-based show was directed by David Shiner, who also created Koozå. The show only lasted for a very short time, only playing in Chicago, New York City, and Toronto. The show was eventually cancelled in 2010, due to the many complications and poor reviews it was receiving.[1]

History

The promotional posters of Banana Shpeel. Left: The modified artwork removing Ashford, Passer, Wilson. Right: The original artwork.

Banana Shpeel was plagued with misfortunes, including original cast members and show creators being removed from the project. Prominent Broadway actors, Michael Longoria and Annaleigh Ashford, were written out of the production, along with original composer Laurence O'Keefe.[2] The show premiered to scathingly poor reviews from both amateur[3] and professional[4] critics, who found the show drenched in insipid humour and lacking in cohesion.

After its try-out run in Chicago during November 2009-January 2010 at the Chicago Theatre, the show moved to the Beacon Theater in New York, originally scheduled for additional performances for March to April 2010. The show's opening was delayed as it underwent a huge revision process, delaying the show's opening in New York from February 5 up to February 29, and was subsequently delayed twice more to March 17, and finally to April 29.[5] The show had undergone rework, adding in new acts, actors, characters, and storyline. The changes included the removal of composers Scott Price and Jean-François Côté, who were replaced by Cirque composer Simon Carpentier. The two lead clowns, Daniel Passer and Wayne Wilson, were fired from the production, but were hired soon after.[6] Thanks to the resultant delays of the retool, Ovo and Banana Shpeel were dueling shows in New York. Ovo would open first and receive much better reviews.

After much delay and misfortune, the show finally began its run in New York City on April 29, 2010. Once again, the show garnered an impressive array of bad reactions from the general public[7] and media outlets.[8] Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times wrote, "Should I feel guilty that, for me, the most satisfying moment of Cirque du Soleil’s Banana Shpeel came when a clown was riddled with mock machine-gun fire?".[9] Banana Shpeel was scheduled to run at the Beacon Theater until August 29, but the company shortened the run to end on June 27.[10]

Despite the show receiving a poor critical reception, Cirque insisted on continuing to showcase Banana Shpeel around the country, announcing that it would embark on a national tour later that year, starting in Toronto. The company’s president and chief executive, Daniel Lamarre, insisted that Cirque received no pressure from the Beacon Theatre and had voluntarily closed the show for a re-staging.[11] The limited engagement of Banana Shpeel ran in Toronto from September 18 to October 10. Despite one positive review,[12] the show again received a generally poor response.[13] Though the tour had originally been scheduled to go on to play in San Francisco and the Orange County Performing Arts Center,[14] the production's mediocre reception prompted Cirque to cancel its upcoming tour.[15]

Despite any misgivings, a spokesperson from Cirque announced that the closure of the Banana Shpeel tour was done in order to "...re-evaluate the tour plan to determine the appropriate next steps", prompting an implication that the show may reappear in another form at a later date.[16]

Characters

Out of the 38 performers of Banana Shpeel, there were several main characters that drove the plot.

Other characters

These characters were part of the creation process of Banana Shpeel, but were ultimately cut before the show opened in Chicago.

Acts

Banana Shpeel had five different acrobatic acts, along with several dance and comedy acts in between to add a narrative element.

Music

The show had many complications when it came to the composition of music. The music of original composer Laurence O'Keefe was written out of the production before the premiere in Chicago, being replaced by Jean-François Côté, who had previously worked on Corteo and Koozå, and Scott Price. After receiving negative reviews during the Chicago run, the show underwent rework, which included the replacement of Côté and Price with previous Cirque du Soleil composer Simon Carpentier.

Due to the major musical changes that often occurred in Banana Shpeel‘s history and its sudden cancellation, no plans were ever made to create a CD for the show, unlike most of Cirque's other shows.

Lead singer

Back-up singers

Other singers

These singers were part of the creative process of the show, but were written out of the production before the premiere in Chicago.

Tour

Banana Shpeel had a short tour history playing in theatres in North America.

The following colorboxes indicate the region of each performance:  EU   Europe  NA   North America  SA   South and Central America  AP   Asia/Pacific  OC   Oceania

Theater tour

2009 schedule

 NA   Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater - From 19 November 2009 to 2 January 2010

2010 schedule

 NA   New York, NY - Beacon Theater - From 29 April 2010 to 27 June 2010
 NA   Toronto, ON - Canon Theater - From 14 September 2010 to 10 October 2010

Cancelled

 NA   San Francisco, CA - Golden Gates Theater - From 16 October 2010 to November 14, 2010
 NA   Orange Country, CA - Orange Country Performing Arts Center - From 7 December 2010 to 26 December 2010

References

  1. ↑ "Cirque gives Banana Shpeel the hook" Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2015-08-02.
  2. ↑ "Longoria and Ashford Slip Out of Banana Shpeel, October 23, 2009". Playbill.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  3. ↑ Dan Zeff. "Cirque du Soleil preview at the Chicago Theatre, June 7th, 2010". Chicagolandtheaterreviews.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  4. ↑ "Cirque du Soleil's Banana Shpeel is One Tough Banana, December 03, 2009". Leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com. 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  5. ↑ Cirque du Soleil Show is Delayed Again, March 11, 2010
  6. ↑ "Cirque du Soleil Show is Delayed Again, March 11, 2010". Nypost.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  7. ↑ "BANANA SHPEEL - Warning: May Induce Vomiting, May 22nd, 2010". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  8. ↑ Scheck, Frank (2010-05-22). "Clown flop lacks a-peel, May 22nd, 2010". Nypost.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  9. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (2010-05-25). "Ready or Not, Here Come the Clowns , May 25th, 2010". Theater.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  10. ↑ "Banana Shpeel Will Split NYC Sooner Than Expected; Cirque du Soleil Show to Close June 27, 14 Jun 2010". Playbill.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  11. ↑ "How Cirque Slipped on ‘Shpeel’ , June 25, 2010". Nytimes.com. 2010-06-26. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  12. ↑ Ouzounian, Richard (2010-09-19). "Banana Shpeel: Third time’s a charm for Cirque act, Sep 19, 2010". Thestar.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  13. ↑ "Banana Shpeel, September 20, 2010". Eyeweekly.com. 2010-09-20. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  14. ↑ "Cirque du Soleil, June 7th, 2010". Ocpac.org. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  15. ↑ "Cirque du Soleil cancels San Francisco run, October 4, 2010". Pressdemocrat.com. 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  16. ↑ Canada (2010-10-07). "Cirque gives Banana Shpeel the hook, October 7, 2010". Theglobeandmail.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
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