Cirque du Soleil’s “Amaluna” is a mash-up of the Latin words “mother” and “moon.” But it’s really about girl power, a female-centric production loosely inspired by “The Tempest” with a touch of “Romeo and Juliet.”
Of course, this being Cirque, it also boasts gorgeous visuals and dazzling circus acts — this time staged by Tony-winning director Diane Paulus.
It’s set on a magical island ruled by the wizardly queen Prospera (Julie McInnes) that is beset during a storm by a group of shipwrecked sailors. This being a Cirque show, they’re naturally a hunky lot, and it isn’t long before the queen’s daughter, Miranda (Ikhertsetseg Bayarsaikhan), is panting for the well-muscled Romeo (Evgeny Kurkin). Ominously hovering over the proceedings is the half-man, half-lizard, Cali (Viktor Kee), sporting a long crocodile tail.
Then again, no one comes to these things for the plot. Cirque fans want to see gorgeous-bodied people doing impossible things — and the troupe delivers. Miranda is a lithe contortionist, her body gleaming after she immerses herself in a giant water bowl. Romeo slides in literally breakneck fashion upside-down on a long pole, stopping just inches before he hits the floor, while Cali is a mean juggler with a pelvis like Elvis.
Performed on Scott Pask’s verdant set with giant bamboo-like stalks, the show features an all-female band — Prospera sings and plays cello — delivering a score more hard rocking than Cirque’s usual, New Age-y music.
But little else is new about “Amaluna,” which never quite comes together and is even more humorless than previous Cirque shows. The female clowns playing a male ship captain and the object of his affection are relentlessly unfunny, the low point being a childbirth routine marked by water breaking.
Despite the troupe’s most heroic efforts, nothing here matches the opening minutes of Paulus’ wonderful revival of “Pippin.” In this case, more happens to be less.