Zarkana is a touring arena show produced by Cirque du Soleil which played in Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, as well as the Madrid Arena in Madrid.^[1][2][3] The show began previews on June 9, 2011, at Radio City Music Hall and premiered on June 29, 2011.^[4][5] The show will be a reinvention of the variety show, with a story about a magician in an abandoned theatre who has lost his love and with her, his magic has disappeared. As he cries and begs the Gods for her return he is plunged into a world inhabited by surreal creatures.

Zarkana is a fusion of the words "bizarre" and "arcana". The name refers to the strange aura and atmosphere of this place and its inhabitants.^[4]

Following the success of Zarkana playing in Moscow, it was announced that the show would start residency at the Aria Resort & Casino located in Las Vegas. The show will replace the current Cirque du Soleil resident production, Viva Elvis, which is currently slated to end in August, 2012.^[6]

History [link]

To fully rehearse for Zarkana, Cirque du Soleil needed to find a facility large enough to accommodate a space similar in size to that of Radio City Music Hall. Unfortunately not having enough space at the Montréal headquarters, Cirque looked around North America until they found a suitable place. The final decision was the Amway Arena, located in Orlando, Florida. The crew moved into the facility on February 28, 2010, and plans on staying for a couple of months. Due to Cirque's presence and usage of the building, Orlando saw a "great economic boost" according to the Orlando venues executive. Such income is seen in Cirque paying US$2,500 ($2,583 in 2012) a day to rent the arena (plus expenses), around 200 Cirque employees are eating in Orlando and staying in hotels, and around 100 Floridians have worked on the project part-time.^[7]

Set and technical information [link]

The set consists of three, hand-sculpted arches which represent three of the four mutant characters. The first arch, which is also the largest, represents Kundalini- a snake woman whose world is populated by dozens of slithering snakes. It is decorated with more than 150 feet (46 m) of hand-painted resin “snakes” which started out as styrofoam sculptures that were used to create molds for the liquid resin. The second arch, representing Mandragora- a plant creature whose vines that have overtaken the abandoned theater- is utilized as a video screen. It also has plant-like "arms" which extend to nearly 100 feet (30 m) in length. The third and final arch- decorated with technological gears and pulleys- represents both the Pickled Lady and the Mad Scientist whose experiments unwittingly created her.^[8]

Stéphane Roy drew inspiration from the Art Nouveau movement, Antoni Gaudí, Gustav Klimt, and René Lalique. Lalique's inspiration can be closely seen at the extremities of the acrobatic equipment. "Keen observers will also note that the shape of the hole through which Zark makes his first entrance reproduces the outline of Manhattan, while the moon above the stage marks the exact position of Radio City Music Hall."^[8]

The LEDs on the light wall, which measures 90 by 40 feet (27 × 12 m) contains more than three million pixels. The second arch contains an LED screen comprising 118 separate panels. The stage itself consists of a sliding platform which allows for fast equipment and prop changes.^[8]

Worth noting, Radio City Music Hall is a national landmark, and therefore cannot be altered in any way. Therefore the set and props all had to be created in such a way that no anchors are used for any of the equipment. Everything brought in must be self-supporting since nothing could be bolted in. This in and of itself made it more difficult for the safety and security designs of the acrobatic equipment.^[8]

Below are a few additional highlights from the set design.^[8]

• The cradle stations used in the flying trapeze rely entirely on "hanger tubes" for their rigidity. The structure of the high wire number installed on the floor of the theatre’s orchestra pit is freestanding.
• The walls on either side of the stage are covered with a representation of a patchwork of 1 foot (0.30 m) ceramic tiles, each one different and hand-painted with gold leaf on a fabric that allows for transparency and onto which images can be projected.
• The video projection in the arch utilizes infrared cameras so that the projections can interact directly with the performers movement. This is also utilized for interaction of the fire used throughout the show, adding additional special effects in the projects.
• The Kabuki style rope curtain is 60 by 33 feet (18 × 10 m).
• The two Eagle’s-head bandstands are 28 feet (8.5 m) tall and weigh more than 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) each.

Cast [link]

The cast of Zarkana includes many artists, singers, and acrobats from around the world.^[9][10]

• Zark: He is the principal character and was played by the Canadian singer Garou.^[11] but is now played by Paul Bisson from Montreal
• Lia: Zark's former assistant and dream girl. She is played by Canadian singer Cassiopée.
• Mutant Ladies: They are four different women who try to seduce Zark.
  • Pickled Lady: She is the result of one of the Mad Scientist's experiments.
  • Mandragora: She is an incarnation of the ivy that has grown in the theatre.
  • Kundalini: She is a snake woman.
  • Tarantula: She is a spider woman.
• White clowns: Kite, Ti-Boss, Rag Doll, Mardi Gras, Porter, Cameleon Convict, The Ballerina, Chinese Cook
  • The primary clowns include Hocus and Pocus
• Mad Scientist: He is dedicated to performing strange experiments.
• Jovians: Extraterrestrial creatures from the planet Jovia.
• Oracle: Communicates with the past and future. The Oracle performs the sand painting act.

Acts [link]

A talented group of artists and acrobats perform the acts which comprise Zarkana.^[9]

• Juggling: A performer juggles balls in the air on against varying surfaces to create sounds and also tap dances.
• Ladder trio: A trio performs balancing maneuvers on ladders.
• Rope duet: A duet performs aerial ropes.
• Flags: A group of performers juggle and toss around flags.
• Russian bar
• Highwire
• Cyr wheels and Cerceaux: Seven artists perform in cyr wheels while more perform tricks in aerial hoops.
• Sand painting
• Flying triple trapeze: Twelve acrobats perform trapeze, in what is a Cirque first of using three trapezes side-by-side.
• Wheel of death
• Handbalancing: An artist performs handbalancing skills on a slippery surface.
• Banquine: Fifteen artists perform banquine which involves human pyramids and aerial crossovers.

Costumes [link]

Croatian designer, Alan Hranitelj, created the costumes for "Zarkana".In addition to working closely with the artists to better understand their personalities and design costumes that would work well for them, he found it to be somewhat of a paradox to use so much white in the color palette taking into consideration the darkness of the show.^[12] In order to incorporate the white color of the white clowns with the rest of the show's color spectrum, the team incorporate hints of color in the clown's costumes which are distinctly related to one of the acts. The acts of the show, in fact, have each been assigned their own specific color helping solidify the look throughout the show.^[13]

Hranitelj took inspiration from the 1920s, 1930s, and Art Deco movement to create the 250 costumes in Zarkana. Floral motifs (especially roses, which can be seen on Zark's top hat and cape) are utilized throughout the show to reflect the love and passion of the show's principal characters. The rose is utilized for Lia and Zark and therefore red and pink are heavily used in their costumes. As red is a symbol of Lia and Zark's love, red was also utilized in the costumes for the Banquine act, as this act finally unifies the two lovers. The fabrics chosen for the show included polyester and neoprene. Sublimation was used on the fabrics to create the colors and prints designed for the show.^[13]

Some of the highlights of the costume collection include these below.

• Kundalini's costume is fireproof because she performs close to fire-eaters.
• The Oracle's costume was influenced by Russian/French deisgner, Etré.
• "The Jovians were originally inspired by a fictitious tribe that lived off the bounty of the sea. When they went fishing, they wore costumes that made them look like fish to fool their prey. The Jovians’ costumes are made of double-laminated Lycra and decorated with bubbles that represent the foam excreted by the fish."^[13]
• The lead singer, who plays three of the four mutants, was scanned for precise measurements in order to produce a cast of her body. This was to reduce the time needed to have her in person for costume fittings.

Tour [link]

Zarkana is a seasonal touring show playing at Radio City Music Hall in New York and the Kremlin Palace in Moscow.^[2] The show began previews on June 9, 2011, at Radio City Music Hall and premiered on June 29, 2011.^[4][11]

The following colorboxes indicate the region of each performance:
  EU   Europe   NA   North America

References [link]

External links [link]

• Official site
• Radio City Music Hall
• New York Tickets