Banner Logo
Home
The Real Kato
About Me
Twitter
Facebook
Frozen Lunches
Links
Kottke
Daring Fireball
Amalah
Secret Agent Josephine
Dooce
Contact



Archives
Most Recent

2024 March
2004 November
2004 October
2004 September
2004 August
2004 July
2004 June
2004 May
2004 April
2004 March
2004 February
2004 January
2003 December


Categories
All Categories 

bloggers 
books 
commentary 
dating 
food 
funnyhaha 
interesting 
life 
movies 
music 
politics 
reviews 
science 
site-business 
sports 
style 
techwatch 
television 
theater 
travel 


Recent Comments
On College Football 2022: Week 6 Recap and Week 7 Pre...
Ken said:
Yeah, we've both had our share of hope and disappointment in this game. Let's just hope for a good b...
On College Football 2022: Week 6 Recap and Week 7 Pre...
Dan* said:
I'm not sure how I feel about this game. On one hand, I feel pretty optimistic that we have the tale...
On College Football 2022: Week 1 Preview
Dan* said:
Glad to see you'll be back writing football again, Ken! Congrats on the easy win today. You didn't ...
On College Football 2021: Week 10 Recap and Week 11 P...
Ken said:
Yeah, sorry one of our teams had to lose. I've come to appreciate Penn State as a classy and sympath...
On College Football 2021: Week 10 Recap and Week 11 P...
Dan* said:
Hey Ken, congratulations on the win yesterday! Some really odd choices by our coaching staff in that...


<< Previous: Movies: Garden State | Next: Books: The Curious I... >>

Performance Art: "La Femme" and "Zumanity"
Monday, 2004 November 8 - 10:20 pm
In my most recent trip to Las Vegas, I saw two shows: "La Femme" at the MGM Grand, and "Zumanity" at the New York New York. They made for an interesting contrast.

Both "La Femme" and "Zumanity" are unabashedly adult-oriented. "La Femme" bills itself as the "art of the nude", while "Zumanity" is the erotic offshoot of Cirque du Soleil. So clearly, anyone squeamish about nudity or sex should probably avoid both of these shows. But both shows are also genuinely artistic, and neither should be considered a mere peep show.

The similarities between the shows pretty much end there, though. "La Femme" seemed like a static picture book of women, lights, and patterns. We had a parade of very attractive, semi-nude women in various costume themes, with colored lights and other effects. But there seemed to be no point to it, and the initial novelty of it wore off quite quickly.

"Zumanity", on the other hand, was frequently captivating. The overt sexuality took a back seat to the amazing displays of acrobatics and gymnastics from the performers; and behind it all was a definite message for each scene. True to its circus roots, we also had clowns, both in the form of a comedy troupe as well as people engaging the audience in participatory routines. The comedy routines were entertaining, but the attempts to embarrass members of the audience were often tasteless and uncomfortable.

Still, "Zumanity" succeeds in showcasing the human form in a dramatic and interesting way. "La Femme", unfortunately, fails.

"La Femme" rating: 2 / 5
"Zumanity" rating: 4 / 5
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: reviewstheater

Comments

There are no comments on this article.

Comments are closed for this post.
Login


Search This Site
Powered by FreeFind