February, March, and April 2012: St. Louis!

Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour

By no surpise, the music is the real star of this Cirque du Soleil arena show. It's the only thing that stands out in this otherwise mundane production, which features few stunts and the ugliest set design (which appears somewhat altered compared to program pictures) of any Cirque du Soleil show that I've seen. The staging unfortunately doesn't elevate the slow parts (and there are many) nor push the envelope beyond what energy and artistry the music already supplies. Disappointing, but how can a Michael Jackson fan stay away?!?

Cavalia

I was completely unaware of this show until billboards went up around town advertising it. It turns out that Cavalia is a Cirque du Soleil-style touring tent show featuring horses (49 of them!) in addition to a full cast of riders and acrobats. The stage setup is amazing in itself and I regretted not paying/making time for a full tour of the behind the scenes action. The show, though long, is beautiful to watch (as long as you think of horses as being beautiful) and most successful during moments that blended aerial work with the horses (they remained on the ground of course). Trick riding was another highlight and the only act with much comedy. The show does tend to get repetitive since for the most part the horses only go around and around or across the stage and back. A must for the horse lover, but recommended for all.

Bring It On The Musical

This touring production is put together by some talented people, including Tom Kitt (music for Next To Normal and High Fidelity), Amanda Green (lyrics for High Fidelity), Jeff Whitty (book for Avenue Q), and Lin Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics for In the Heights), but what an utter disappointment! There is nothing memorable about this show as written with its only saving grace being a few gymnastic routines performed by the young cast, including some real life cheerleaders. It amazes that this show is named after a movie with a similar subject, but otherwise bears little resemblance to it. The movie's plot has been thrown out and completely replaced by a much lamer, totally unrealistic one. Snooze.