Amaluna by Cirque du Soleil, at Oaks, Pennsylvania, through August 25.
This Cirque du Soleil production is one of the best ever. It premiered in 2012 but this is its first visit to the Philadelphia area.
The title of Amaluna implies love (ama) and the moon (luna). Some of us remember from Latin 1 that amo, amas, amat are various conjunctions of love, and that meaning carried into Italian and Spanish too. The Merriam-Webster dictionary says that ama is a Japanese underwater diver — but that really doesn’t matter. It’s not necessary to your enjoyment of this show.
The producer’s notes tell us that the story is based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and takes place on an island ruled by a sorcerer named Prospera who has a young daughter named Miranda, just as in Shakespeare. Supposedly, the action is guided by the cycles of the moon.
Put that aside; the production is pure pageantry. The story line is subservient to a series of spectacular performances that stress the Cirque — the circus roots of this entertainment franchise.
The athleticism of the cast wins our applause and respect. As with other Cirque du Soleil shows, the company recruits gymnasts from Olympic and other international and collegiate teams, and they excel with daring, high-risk routines. This particular production features a mostly-female cast and an all-female band. Diane Paulus is the writer and director, and it’s significant that she won a Tony for directing a circus-centered revival of Pippin in 2013.
She provides action on all sides and overhead in the huge tent that Cirque du Soleil has erected in Oaks, a ten-minute drive on Route 422 from the King of Prussia Mall area.
Among the memorable acts are unicyclists, a rope-climbing contortionist, a ballet above and inside a see-through glass bowl, a boisterous teeter-totter exhibition, and — the most spectacular of all — a high-flying adventure on uneven bars.
The most surprising performances are by a lizard-like creature who is Miranda’s suitor, then sheds his tail to do breathtaking juggling stunts; and a woman who picks up long pieces of bone from the floor with her toes and, while balancing on one leg, arranges them into a floating bird over her head.
The weak spots are the lengthy interludes devoted to low-class buffoonery by clowns who had to cope with the corny material they were given.
The set design is by Scott Pask and the choreographer is Karole Armitage. The production continues through August 25.