Cirque Mechanics’ Boom Town at the New Victory (April 8-24) (NY)

Boom Town , Cirque Mechanics latest show, is at the New Victory Theater April 8-24

“As circus artists, we aim to show the outrageous things that our bodies can do and to surprise people as much as we can,” said Chris Lashua, artistic director of the Las Vegas based contemporary circus troupe, Cirque Mechanics.  “However, we take circus one step further by building machines that not only capture the spectacle of circus, but thrill in a whole new way.”

Similar to Cirque Mechanics’ critically acclaimed show Birdhouse Factory , Boom Town features custom, one-of-a-kind gizmos that serve as both performance props and scenery. “A wagon wheel is repurposed as a chandelier, which becomes an aerial hoop when someone starts swinging on it. That’s the magic: you don’t know it’s an apparatus until you see us use it,” explains Lashua, a former BMX cyclist. ”

In their new show Boom Town, you will be transported to the 1860’s small frontier town of Rosebud, where two ambitious saloon owners have set up shop in the hopes of cashing in on the town’s gold rush frenzy. The circus that ensues when they begin to feud for the townsfolk patronage, leads to a series of explosive events, exciting brawls, an unexpected romance and a lucrative discovery.

As with their previous production Birdhouse Factory, Cirque Mechanics explores the relationship between man and machine. Inspired by early mining equipment and the spirit of adventure that brought prospectors and entrepreneurs alike out west searching for gold, Boom Town, features innovative and one of a kind mechanical apparatus that serve both as scenery and performance prop. You will find performers climbing up swaying telegraph poles, dancing on a swinging chandelier, flying high and fast on a revolving crane, flipping and jumping on moving ore carts or balancing on whiskey jugs.

The creative team for Boom Town includes: director, Chris Lashua; assistant director/choreographer, Aloysia Gavre, and writer/performer, Steven Ragatz, all of whom are Cirque du Soleil veterans.  The performers, plucked from Cirque du Soleil, the Pickle Family Circus and Moscow Circus, include Clint Bobzien, Elena Day, Hannah French, Charlotte Greenblatt, Wes Hatfield, Kerren McKeeman, Andre Nurse, Steven Ragatz and Michael “Tex” Redinger.

The show is at the New Victory Theater in New York from April 8-24, which finishes up a 2011 East Coast tour.
Click here to find out more and purchase tickets.

To find out more about Cirque Mechanics, visit their website, http://www.birdhousefactoryshow.com/

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