Cirque du Soleil's "Alegría" Opens Tonight

"Alegría" is one of the longest-running, signature productions by Cirque du Soleil, and tonight the traveling show kicks off a two-week run at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to stop by yesterday to see some of the final rehearsals and preparations for the show, and to talk to assistant production manager Mike Newnum about some of the logistics behind such a large production. He notes that the setup at the Blaisdell is different from any other arena they've used before.

Check out my video of our interview above (or on YouTube, Vimeo, or Blip.tv), which includes several clips of the performers practicing some of their spectacular routines. And here are some photos from a brief backstage tour:

And if you missed it, I posted a video clip of performer Denys Tolstov offering a taste of his hand balancing act at a media preview event two weeks ago:

Another Cirque du Soleil show, "Saltimbanco," came to Honolulu in 2008, and my family and I loved it. It was a very successful run, ensuring a return to the islands.

When things were just getting underway for "Alegría," artistic director Michael Smith joined us back in June on Bytemarks Cafe at Hawaii Public Radio. We discussed the history of "Alegría," and some of the ways the technology has evolved over the years. You can listen to that interview, and see a few additional promotional clips from the show here:

Mahalo to Cirque du Soleil and the crew at Anthology Marketing Group for the opportunity to visit with the production!