Kooza Leaving Philadelphia

MERCI PHILADELPHIA!
KOOZA run must end on Sunday, June 15

Cirque du Soleil wishes to thank Philadelphia for the incredible hospitality it has shown in welcoming KOOZA to the city. More than 112,000 people have experienced the excitement and energy of KOOZA in Philadelphia. With less than a week until the Philadelphia run of KOOZA ends, this is your last chance to see this celebrated show before it travels to Chicago.

The Philadelphia Inquirer says “KOOZA is the power of making you gasp in wonder and joy”.

KOOZA performs through Sunday, June 15, under the blue and yellow Grand Chapiteau (big top) On the Avenue of the Arts (entrance on Broad at Washington). Tickets are available online at www.cirquedusoleil.com or by calling 1 800-678-5440.

Performance Schedule through June 15:
Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m.
Thursdays thru Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Cirque du Soleil wishes to thank our media partners, sponsors and especially everyone in the Philadelphia area for their enthusiasm and support in making this a successful and memorable engagement.

Cirque Du Soleil: KOOZA

In the 1980s, Quebec's Cirque du Soleil reinvented the circus form by eliminating animal acts, layering European-style mysticism, mime, and storytelling over its acrobatics, and returning to the big top. The formula proved so winning that Cirque has since become an entertainment staple with permanent Las Vegas attractions, touring companies, even cruise ship shows. Cirque's newest show Kooza, is billed as a return to its circus roots. Indeed, while the show is entertaining, it doesn't offer much that's different from Ringling Bros.



Kooza sticks to the Cirque formula in terms of having an exotic one-word title -- this one is derived from Sanskrit for "box" or "treasure" -- and accompanying descriptive material that makes the world of clowns sound like a class in French existentialism. Yet, there's no real need to have read any of the Cirque's elaborate philosophizing to follow the delicate story that writer/director David Shiner -- a veteran of both Cirque and Broadway shows such as Fool Moon -- has constructed: A childlike figure (The Innocent in Cirquespeak) flying a kite encounters a genie/jester (The Trickster) who leaps out of a magic box, releasing all the wonders of the circus.

Cirque's signature blue and yellow tent (known as Le Grand Chapiteau) houses a one-ring stage. Stéphane Roy's set includes a bandstand tower and fabric sails that can change the configuration of the space. Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt's wonderfully inspired costumes express and deepen the storyline and cast their own spells. Performers become Chinese soldiers, skeletons, demons, and one amazing costume features a cape of skittering rats. Martin Labrecque's lighting heightens the emotions, and Jean-Francois Cote's rock-based music contains intriguing touches of India.


There is a short pre-show as clowns move through the audience doing some classic bits: two cops chase a thief, a tacky tourist snaps photos, a messenger tries to deliver boxes that become ever-larger. Gordon White plays a rather disheveled host as he mimes, in a very amusing and original sequence, the show's sponsoring corporations and instructions to the audience. Throughout the show, White leads a clown trio that's often delightful but whose shtick eventually becomes repetitive.



Acrobatics take up about three quarters of the show and the acts are all top-quality circus performers. Among the standouts who have audience members peering through their fingers are Carlos Enrique Marin Loaiza and Jimmy Ibarra Zapata, leaping and jumping rope on two counterbalanced drums called the Wheel of Death, and two high-wire artists who ride bicycles and carry a yoke that holds a chair and a third acrobat.



Zhang Gongli builds a 25-foot-high tower of chairs, balancing as he goes, and he weaves a mood of pensive wonder about his act and seems almost sorrowful as he descends from his risky perch, taking apart his chair tower as he goes.

Among the other world-class acts on view are Anthony and Danielle Gatto, a compelling juggling team; a unicycle duo who manages some extraordinary tricks at high speed;



a trio of young female contortionists including 11-year-old Natasha Patterson; and a teeterboard team which does an amazing flip using stilts. Rachel Walker is a charming solo trapeze artist but a trapeze act confined to one ring simply can't manage the range of the three-ring version.

In short, Shiner has created an authentic Cirque experience that will enthrall fans of the brand, but may not provide significant enough thrills for others to justify the time and ticket expense.

Shimmy Video Pick: KOOZA Contortionists':

More Cirque Performances Added

Final block of tickets on sale in PHILADELPHIA

19 performances added



KOOZA will perform under the Grand Chapiteau

May 8 - June 15 only!



Philadelphia, March 18, 2008 -- Due to unprecedented demand for tickets, Cirque du Soleil has added the final 19 performances to the Philadelphia engagement of KOOZA before the show premieres on May 8. The final KOOZA performance in Philadelphia will be June 15, 2008.



KOOZA tickets for these final performances (June 3-15) will be available to the general public starting Sunday, March 23, 2008. They are currently available to Cirque Club members only. Membership in the Cirque Club is free and registration is quick and simple at www.cirquedusoleil.com.



KOOZA will premiere in Philadelphia on May 8, 2008 under the blue and yellow Grand Chapiteau on the Avenue of the Arts (at Broad and Washington). Tickets may be purchased online at www.cirquedusoleil.com or by calling 1 800-678-5440.



KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil that combines two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor. Between strength and fragility, laughter and smiles, turmoil and harmony, KOOZA explores themes of identity, recognition and power. The show is set in an electrifying and exotic visual world full of surprises, thrills, chills, audacity and total involvement.



Performance Schedule
· Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m.
· Thursdays thru Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
· Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
· No performances on Mondays.
There will be no 4pm performances on May 8, 9 and 15


Ticket Prices (taxes Included)
· $50–$85 for adults

· $35–$59.50 for children (ages 2-12)

· $45–$76.50 for seniors (65+) and students (13+) - Tuesday to Thursday, and Friday at 4pm.

Additional Performances Added For KOOZA

ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES FOR KOOZA IN PHILADELPHIA

Nine performances added – through June 1, 2008

Philadelphia, January 22, 2008 - Due to overwhelming demand, Cirque du Soleil announced that nine additional performances, from May 28-June 1, 2008, will be added to the KOOZA show schedule in Philadelphia. KOOZA will perform for a limited engagement under the trademark blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) on the Avenue of the Arts (at Broad and Washington).



Tickets for these nine additional performances will be available beginning Sunday, January 27 at 9:00am online at cirquedusoleil.com or by calling 1 800 678-5440.



TICKET PRICES (Taxes Included)
· $50–$85 for adults;

· $35–$59.50 for children aged 2 to12 inclusive;

· $45–$76.50 for students 13 and older (Tuesday to Thursday, and Friday at 4:00 p.m. only)


PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
· Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m.
· Thursdays thru Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
· Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
· No performances on Mondays.
There will be no 4:00 pm performances on May 8, 9 and 15.



A VIP Tapis Rouge™ package includes one of the best seats in the house, as well as access to the VIP suite one hour before the show and during intermission. The adult package is available for $210 and the child package for $147 (aged 2 to 12 years old). Prices include taxes.



KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil that combines two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor.

For more info visit Cirque du Soleil online.