I thoroughly enjoyed Cirque du Soleil’s "Love." But after seeing the latest “Banana Shpeel,” I have found that you must look at each as its own entity. "Banana Shpeel," is a clowning frenzy of slapstick humor. I attended the premiere on Thursday night at the Chicago Theatre. Though excited I was to see a show that is part of a world-renowned company, and for free, it was a letdown.
The gist: two clowns yell and fake punch each other in between circus acts. The actual acts were pretty good—like the double-jointed man who held himself up on a light post and spun around and flipped himself backwards on the tip of the light, or the butterfly woman who stood on her head and spun squares of fabric around on her arms and legs, all at once.
The dance numbers were entertaining, despite some of the men being out of step. However, the clowns made me nervous and bored, which is an odd combination. And yet the jokes were meant for adult audiences, the comedy was so out-of-date that it felt childish.
I cannot cover the show, in good conscious, without mentioning the short, skinny creepy guy who had a mustache, long hair, high voice and was balding. Oh yeah, and just wore tight undies. In the most memorable (for the wrong reasons) scene, he—dressed as a she—gave birth to himself while the clowns broke plates over the he-she's head.
But I have to admit that the set design was pretty cool—in one act a gigantic lit heart appeared, with a door for a woman to pop her head out, a modern twist to the classic "Romeo & Juliet" scene set in Verona.
Though, I have to admit that the cleverest aspect of the performance was its title.
*Note: I work for a PR firm that represents this show.
*Note: I work for a PR firm that represents this show.
