Arts & Entertainment
Moonlit magic
Female-dominated Cirque show a wonder
Andreanne Nadeau, the Moon Goddess riding a cerceau. (Photo courtesy Cirque du Soleil)
‘Cirque du Soleil Amaluna’
Through Sept. 21
At National Harbor
300 Waterfront Street
Oxon Hill, MD
$45-270
800-450-1480,
You can spot Cirque du Soleil’s trademark blue and yellow striped tent from miles away. Sitting on a bluff above the National Harbor complex on the banks of the Potomac in Maryland, the big top conjures the kind of circus excitement you knew as kid. But forget the whip-toting tamer putting defanged lions through the paces. Cirque is about what people can do.
With its latest installation “Amaluna,” the Quebec-based franchise pays tribute to the power and allure of women. From its young woman coming-of-age storyline to its core female performers to its all-girl band, “Amaluna” offers a less-testosterone-fueled experience than Cirque’s other shows. But don’t fear, along with the daring, body-bending ladies, there’s plenty nimble beefcake on hand to keep everyone happy.
“Amaluna” (an etymological mash of “mother” and “moon”) refers to a mysterious, lunar-lit island inhabited by women and watched over by goddesses. Staged by Broadway’s Diane Paulus (best known for her celebrated revivals of musicals “Pippin” and “Porgy and Bess”), this dazzling amalgam of street theater and Vegas follows a narrative loosely based on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” only in this telling it’s singing sorceress Prospera (Julie McInnes) not Prospero whose magic sets the action in motion.
Prospera’s daughter Miranda needs a mate. The only male on hand is her half human, lizard-tailed pal Cali (Viktor Kee). Despite his enviable abs, he doesn’t make the grade, so mother summons a storm landing a crew of displaced young men on Amaluna’s shores. Miranda falls for Romeo (Evgeny Kurkin), the cutest of the bunch. But nothing comes easy. The pair’s fledgling infatuation must face many tests of the uniquely Cirque variety: for bikini-clad Miranda (the comely and cut Iuliia Mykhailova), it’s a series of contortionist moves on the slippery lip of a huge glass bowl. As Romeo, buff Kurkin demonstrates his outrageous upper body strength with a super tall, death-defying Chinese pole. It’s amazing stuff.
The climate-controlled venue is cavernous allowing the cast to soar through the night sky on aerial straps. And while the moody lighting creates a world of sea, stars and moon, it’s the performers’ athleticism and superbly executed physical feats that make the show.
The acts are varied ranging from highflying acrobatics to Cali’s immensely enjoyable juggling act which combines the tradition of circus and the flash that is Cirque. The tricks are incredible. Not at all the usual circus filler fare that you might expect. The all-male teeterboard act features a crew of well-built shirtless guys attempting to escape from a makeshift prison. It’s an exciting demonstration of strength and tumbling.
Not to say, the show is without flaws. Ever wonder where Olympic wannabes go? It appears the female gymnasts end up doing the uneven bar en masse with a traveling circus. It’s not easy. But when you come to Cirque, you expect to be blown away. This act was underwhelming. And what would a circus be without clowns? In this case, better. Sadly, the comic relief is tiresome.
The show’s highlight is titled Manipulation, an exotic balancing act performed by dancer Lili Chao Rigolo. Bit by bit, she deliberately picks up palm leaf ribs with her toes, slowly but surely assembling a piece of movable art that resembles a huge avian skeleton. The implication of her breath heightens the drama. Hers is intriguing and masterful artistry.
Overall, “Amaluna” is wondrous, transporting summer magic.
Evgeny Kurkin as Romeo in ‘Amaluna.’ (Photo courtesy Cirque du Soleil)
Photos
PHOTOS: Capital Pride Festival and Concert
Annual LGBTQ celebration held on Pennsylvania Ave.
The 2026 Capital Pride Festival was held on Pennsylvania Ave. on Sunday, June 21.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Landon Shackelford)
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(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key, Robert Rapanut and Landon Shackelford)
Theater
‘Feeling Afraid’ explores life of a neurotic stand-up comic
Navigating sex, work, and possibly love in London
‘Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going to Happen’
Through July 12
Studio Theatre
1501 14th St., N.W.
$55-$102
Studiotheatre.org
Wordily yet rightly titled, solo show “Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen” dives deeply into the world of a neurotic stand-up comic as he navigates sex, work, and possibly love in London.
Busy arranging hookups and dates on “The App,” the 36-year-old gay funnyman juggles a full dance card; still he’s never been in a romantic relationship. While he’s willing to give love a shot, he’s not pressed about it. As he says, he harbors no fear of dying alone.
Currently making its American premiere at Studio Theatre, this darkly humorous Edinburgh Fringe import features terrific out English actor Steven Webb as The Comedian who’s about to explore what it means to spend all his time with one man.
At Studio’s intimate Mead Theatre, Kat Heath’s minimal set says standard comedy club (fluorescent tube lighting, the mic with a long cord, a single stool backed by a rose-colored curtain), but gay playwright Marcelo Dos Santos has conjured something much more than a live comedy set.
Yes, The Comedian bounces onstage in his red Converse high tops, jeans, and pink shirt with a huge mouth emblazoned on the back, but he delivers more than jokes. At times hilariously self-deprecating, then dark, and occasionally a lesson on what makes standup work, this is a layered, well-acted piece.
With Webb (a keen caricaturist of types and voices) playing all the parts while conducting The Comedian’s hilariously frenetic interior monologue, “Feeling Afraid” takes us through a summer of love. It seems after six chaste dates with The American, our nervous hero has found Mr. Right. The American is earnest, smart, hesitant to initiate sex. He’s also well built with a beautiful smile. And strangely, he’s been medically advised not to laugh aloud.
The Comedian delights in the joys of new love: dates, first kisses, sex, and then suddenly spending all of his time with the adored. Visits to art galleries become fun. Eating home cooked meals followed by grim documentaries is a thing. The Comedian is beguiled as his own boyish figure fills out, but something isn’t right. He can’t entirely relax.
Along the way we meet the Aussie doctor, our protagonist’s longtime hookup; a young runner with some exceptional body parts; the random third in a failed threesome; grumpy working comics, male and female; and an ineffectual counselor.
Webb gives a lightning-fast performance that boggles the mind (in terms velocity and virtuosity). He can be impish, very impish. He’s nervous energy incarnate, flashing jazz hands, grimacing but handsome when still. He’s likeable, a necessity when delivering a hilariously rude joke just feet away from two stone-faced audience members. (Perhaps they were laughing on the inside? At any rate, they stayed through the end the show.)
Produced by the team behind Fringe hits “Fleabag” and “Baby Reindeer,” small stage works that were developed into major TV screen successes, “Feeling Afraid” is funny for sure, and it’s also highly confessional, sexually explicit, and raw.
Written by Dos Santos during COVID lockdown, the piece was a smash hit in the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe before finding further success in London. Its depiction of a youngish queer guy navigating the big city rings entirely true. Like so much Fringe stuff, the one-man show is delightfully lewd and standup inspired.
One little moan: the show closes cleverly but too abruptly with its star dashing offstage without sufficiently basking in the admiration and applause of his thoroughly chuffed audience.
They say third time’s a charm, and regarding “Feeling Afraid,” I’d agree. After two performance cancellations (first for laryngitis and the second involving faulty air conditioning on an especially muggy June evening), I made my third trek to Studio where I found both the actor and AC in very fine fettle. And truly, Webb’s work was more than worth the wait.
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