Rumors regarding the show’s director began to crop up not long after the initial
announcement, settling early on with François Girard who had just come off of a hugely
successful opening of Cirque du Soleil’s ZED in Tokyo. But would he do it?
When we next heard from Cirque (on September 14, 2010) he was confirmed to
direct. On October 26, 2010 Cirque du Soleil trademarked the name ZARKANA and by
November 9, 2010, announced it and the show’s theme to the world:
Zarkana would go on to have its official press release on May 24, 2011 with
preview performances beginning June 9th.
At The Kremlin? •
Viva Las Vegas
Revamped... Again
When Cirque announced on December 2, 2008 its intention to expand into the Russian
market, fans wondered what that might mean for the company and its future productions.
The press release regarding the Russian expansion mentioned that Cirque was looking at
developing many forms of entertainment in the Russian Federation, which could include
“big top and arena touring shows, special events, media partnerships and eventually
a permanent show.”
"We are excited about the Russian market." said Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO
of Cirque du Soleil. "Russians are some of the world's most sophisticated cultural
citizens. The opportunities are limitless to create and provide high quality
entertainment throughout Russia. We are seeing a bold cultural renaissance in Russia
and we are committed to helping take this renaissance to the next level. From small
and intimate special events to multi-million dollar permanent shows, we are interested
in finding ways to bring world class entertainment to many Russians."
Cirque du Soleil partnered with George and Craig Cohon to create Cirque du Soleil
Rus., a Russian LLC company having exclusive rights to the Russian territory. George
is the Founder of McDonald's in Canada and Russia and Craig built Coca-Cola's first
operations in Russia in the early 1990s. Cirque du Soleil Rus is a Russian Company
and will be lead by Russians for Russians.
"We see a fantastic opportunity to partner with many organizations throughout
Russia." said George. "Cirque is an international company that just happens to be
headquartered in Canada. The international appeal of this one-of-kind brand is
sensational. It is at the forefront of the entertainment scene and building the
business with Russians in Russia will help take Cirque du Soleil to the next level."
Gilles Ste-Croix, Senior Vice-President of Creative Content at Cirque du Soleil
explained: "We began working with the artistic and circus community of Russia as
early as 1989. At that time we were just a very young company and we had just one
production touring in North America only and we were creating a new production for
1990. We had noticed the great talent of both acrobatic and circus artists from
Russia at a festival in Paris and we wanted to integrate and show case this unique
talent in our upcoming show. That is how it all began. Today, we have 400 artists
from Russia and many others contributing throughout the company.”
The company’s first step was to bring Varekai to Moscow in 2009, which premiered
to great fanfare. Cirque du Soleil followed up Varekai’s visit with Corteo in 2010
and Saltimbanco in 2011. Zarkana, which would play in New York City for only a few
months out of the year, needed other cities to visit, and Moscow in early 2012
seemed the most logical choice.
On February 11, 2011, Cirque du Soleil Rus and Kremlin Palace announced the
arrival of Zarkana for February 2012.
“Creating this brand new show Cirque du Soleil has taken an unprecedented move
to design its full magnitude to suit only two venues in the world – Radio City
Music Hall in New York and Kremlin Palace in Moscow”, – said Craig Cohon,
Vice-Chairman Cirque du Soleil Rus. “The creative thinking of Cirque du Soleil
to embody in the scale of this production together with the significance of the
theater will make this a cultural event for entire Russia and beyond”.
According to Petr Shabolatay, General Director and Art Director, the State
Kremlin Palace, “Kremlin palace always aimed at sustaining the European level
of performance at its stage. Partnership with Cirque du Soleil perfectly fits
into this pattern and makes us impatient for the Zarkana performance”.
Russian officials were originally aghast when Cirque du Soleil dropped the
"Zarkana" bombshell. Cirque's question was: Would Moscow's city fathers consider
Cirque's request to put its new show in the legendary 5,000-seat Kremlin Theater?
The rough translation, in Russian: "You want what!?" "So here I am," said Lamarre,
"meeting the new mayor, tall guy, former KGB, and there are about 60 people in front
of me and the mayor looked at me and said, 'Do you know what you're asking for?' "I
said, 'Sir, I have no idea'." The mayor explained: It would be akin to asking for a
three-month run in the White House theater. "That's what you are asking for," the
mayor said. "I don't know what happened to me but I just said, joking, 'If there
(was) a theater at the White House, we'll be there.'" With that, said Lamarre,
"everybody cracked and from all the protocol and the seriousness of the meeting, it
became more relaxed."
Assisted by his icebreaker, that's how "Zarkana," the acrobatic rock opera ended
up setting records in Russia's hallowed theater. It didn't hurt, he said, that the
Russian audiences felt a connection to Cirque founder Guy Laliberte, who rode aboard
a Soyuz spacecraft for a stay at the International Space Station in 2009. They
admired Laliberte, said Lamarre, because he went to the space station "with their
technology. Guy is part of them, and he's a celebrity in Russia. He cannot walk
on the street because of that adventure. Therefore, it is almost like he had
endorsed them, and now they are endorsing him by endorsing Cirque du Soleil."
Zarkana would also visit Spain (November 12 to December 31, 2011) before its
Moscow engagement (February 4 to April 8, 2012); however, following its return
to New York City (June 6 to September 2, 2012), Zarkana would chart a new path...
On November 24, 2011, shocking news from the Las Vegas Sun reverberated throughout
the Cirque du Soleil community: Citing poor ticket sales, MGM Resorts International
was exercising its three-year contract clause and asked Cirque to replace Viva Elvis
at CityCenter by the end of 2012. “As attendance levels have not been meeting
expectations, we have asked our partners at Cirque du Soleil to replace the show,”
a company statement said. “We will work closely with Cirque as we explore future
entertainment options.” This was the first time that Cirque, which has come to
dominate the big-production showrooms on the Strip, had been asked to close a show
since arriving in Las Vegas in 1993 with “Mystere”, but it would not be the only
show the company had been asked to close.
Four months later, on March 7, 2012, Cirque du Soleil and MGM Resorts International
announced - citing that with more than 1.2 million guests being awed by the show and it
being touted by the press as “Aah-Inspiring” (The New York Times) and “Truly spectacular,
awe-inspiring, gorgeous and stunning” (New York Post) - they had found their replacement
for Viva Elvis: ZARKANA.
On a practical level, "Zarkana" is a marriage of convenience. Lamarre says the
fate of "Elvis" was accelerated - shelving plans to make the show more acrobatic and
less biographical - the day Cirque's founder, Guy Laliberte, turned to him during a
performance of "Zarkana" in New York and said, 'This would work in that (Aria) theater.'
"We looked at each other and burst out laughing, and the rest is history." They
invited CityCenter president Bobby Baldwin, who concurred. "It was so, so clear that
the show would fit here."
“Zarkana is a production of the perfect size and scope for the beautiful theater
at ARIA. With a high level of acrobatic performance, the show has garnered public
appeal around the world. We are pleased that visitors to Las Vegas will be able to
experience the show and feel that Zarkana is a perfect complement to the portfolio
of Cirque du Soleil shows on The Strip,” says Cirque du Soleil President and CEO
Daniel Lamarre.
Bill McBeath, ARIA’s President and COO, said, “We look forward to welcoming the
cast and crew of Zarkana later this year. We’re certain they will love their new
home and we’re equally certain that audiences from around the world will be wowed
by this incredible production.”
But why Zarkana? Mike Weatherford of the Las Vegas Review-Journal found out:
“We have the luxury today with ‘Zarkana’ to bring a sure bet,” said Daniel Lamarre.
“We know this show is working, we know this show is successful and we owe it to our
partner to bring a sure bet. People are not going to compare it to (the other
[Las Vegas] shows),” Lamarre added. “I guess that was the first criteria.”
“Zarkana” was chosen over “Zed,” which Cirque had to close in Tokyo because of the
ravaged tourist economy, or the third option of creating a new show from scratch.
“Zed” was deemed “a little bit too traditional and not distinctive enough for this
market,” Lamarre said. “Zarkana” uses video more prominently than most Cirque
productions and is a love story framed around English-language songs by Nick Littlemore.
Beyond that, when CityCenter CEO Bobby Baldwin saw it in New York, “he was
probably ready to start talking contract by intermission,” MGM Mirage spokesman Alan
Feldman said Wednesday, the day after the board of directors signed off on the deal.
"Zarkana" had wowed New York City to the tune of a half-million ticket sales and
added 300,000 more in Madrid and 300,000-plus in Moscow. "If you succeed in New York
City and Moscow, there's no way it's not going to work in this city," Lamarre said.
'Mystere' was obviously the first breakthrough of Cirque in Vegas, and 'Zarkana' is
probably a new breakthrough of Cirque in the new Vegas. Because Vegas has changed a lot
in the last few years, and I think Zarkana is a way for us to go in that new Las Vegas
direction, which is much more modern, much younger."
"It also is very interesting for us because it is the first time in Las Vegas that
we opened an existing show, but all the excitement of a brand new show is here," added
Lamarre. "The sound is a huge change from New York. It is much bolder here. The one
thing that we had underestimated is how well the music, the set, fits in the Aria
theater. This is pure luck because it was not planned that way. When I walked in the
theater with Guy 10 days ago, he was overwhelmed. That is rare because Guy is very,
very severe about the content of our shows, but when he felt, heard and saw the
ultra-sound and everything else, he was really, really pleased."
Elvis sang his rock-and-roll farewell on August 18, 2012. The first preview performances of ZARKANA
began November 1, 2012 with a gala premiere on November 15, 2012, but what we’d see in Vegas would be a
slightly different show. Sachi Fujimori from NewJersey.com described the changes:
The revamped version of the high-flying rock opera is sung entirely in "Cirquish,"
the imaginary language of Cirque du Soleil. After the show debuted in English last year, producers
realized that their tale of a magician searching for his lost love was better told in their peculiar
patois. "There's a freedom in an invented language," said art director Ann-Marie Corbeil. "It lightens
the show so much. It brought it much better life and optimism." The second change is in timing. The new
version is an uninterrupted 90-minute thrill ride, as if a circus from Mars and Tim Burton's dreams were
shaken together in a snow globe. Removing the intermission, said Corbeil, allows audiences to get lost
in the story more easily. "You can go into that adventure non-stop, and when it's done you can say,
'I was really brought somewhere else,' " she said.
“No intermission is mostly driven by business,” said Francois Girard, the show’s director, in an
interview with the Wall Street Journal. “I like the no intermission version. It’s high energy theater,
you don’t want your audience to stop and eat popcorn because the energy gets lost. Some artists have
been replaced and there’s normal, natural improvement. You’ll see a tighter show, a better show.”
Would Zarkana be successful at ARIA?
Yes and no.
Early on Zarkana at ARIA was indeed doing great box office. Both Cirque and MGM Resorts executives
were thrilled with ticket-sale numbers that were ahead of projections. The show was tighter, and better
than its previous performances. But after the honeymoon period wore off, the show’s attendance numbers
began to wane. Just how much Cirque du Soleil hasn’t made public; however, the slide was enough for the
company to announce the show would temporarily close in January 2013 for a minor revamp.
“Cirque du Soleil recently celebrated the first anniversary of ‘Zarkana’s’ residency in Las Vegas. A
historic aspect of the Cirque artistic philosophy is to constantly renew and refresh productions. For
‘Zarkana,’ we will combine this with routine maintenance, which will result in the show remaining dark
for the month of January. On its return in February, guests will find an invigorated ‘Zarkana’ with many
of the same features that have made it so popular, along with new enhancements, making it even more
exciting and vibrant.”
What changed? Plenty…
First, the character of Zark was no longer, and without him, a new storyline had been developed.
Secondly, the characters were revamped. And third, a new addition in the Atherton Twins (Aerial
Straps) was made.
* * *
Unfortunately, while the changes mellowed out and brought a sense of class to the
show, they were not successful enough in helping ZARKANA find an audience. And quite
by surprise, the ARIA announced on December 15, 2015 it would close the show in favor
of expanding its convention space. As reported on Cirque du Soleil's Facebook page:
We have been informed of the new plans for the theater space at ARIA. We have
informed our Artists and Staff (today) that Zarkana will end its fantastic journey
on the 30th of April (2016). We will of course use our best efforts to redeploy as
many employees as possible. As MGM Resorts International’s preferred creative
content provider we remain in discussions with them for any future possibilities
on property. More than 3 million people have enjoyed Zarkana in nearly 5 years
since its début at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Since its opening at
ARIA on November 9th, 2012, Zarkana has played over 1,400 times.
It doesn't appear that ZARKANA will be resurrected again... but you never know!
