Tuesday, January 29, 2013

38 x 38 - A Date with Nate

We have a fantastic theater here in Klamath - the Ross Ragland Theater. The theater is a "year-round, multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary arts center and provide a venue for a wide array of touring performing artists as well as local productions." Basically, it means we're treated to everything from a local holiday production of Miracle on 34th Street to Charlie Daniels Band to Esquire Jazz to Clint Black.

At the theater, I've introduced Marcus to live theater. We've been to Oklahoma! We saw Beauty and the Beast. We've seen Los Lonely Boys there. But I haven't taken Nate.

So when I saw that Cirque Zuma Zuma was coming to town, I thought this might be a great way to introduce Nate to this wonderful gem! Cirque Zuma Zuma was featured on America's Got Talent in 2011, a show that Nate and I enjoy together.

I called to order tickets and was reminded of another reason I love our theater...the box office is friendly and helps you pick the seats right for you. Now personally, I prefer to sit back a ways so I can take in the whole stage but I decided that for Nate, up front would really make an impression. So I chose seats four rows back and right in the middle!

We arrived and took our seats. Nate was so excited, he was bubbling with anticipation. He wanted to know if I remembered seeing them on the TV show. Knowing this was a "circus" - he asked me a million times if there'd be lions, tigers, and clowns. I explained I didn't think it was that kind of circus and he looked mildly disappointed.

Nate waits for the show!
At 7:30, we heard the sounds of drums. Slow, methodical, it was clear the show was about to begin. Nate was grinning ear to ear, watching the curtain in anticipation.

The crowd began to murmur and fidget when we realized that coming behind us was a man in african-style dress. He made his way through the crowd, got up on stage, and then began talking in what I'm assuming was his native tongue. It was fluid and pretty sounding, but also odd as some of the words seemed to have a weird "clicking" sound at the end. I couldn't decide if it was part of the music or his speech but after watching him (and googling it when I got back), it is part of their speech. Very cool!

The show then started with lots of drums and lots of dancing. It was exciting and filled with energy as they balanced, jumped, flipped, cart-wheeled, and basically lit up the stage with their stunts. It was exciting to watch them create towers of bodies 4 people high. They juggled, they leaped, and I really can't describe all the cool things they did.

Nate's favorite part was after intermission. We came back and there was a very very tall pole in the middle of the stage. The performers all took turns climbing the pole in different ways. One guy climbed completely with his arms however his legs moved like he was climbing stairs (that probably made no sense but it was amazing).

My favorite part was the contortionists. It was gnarly and sort of gruesome the way their bodies twisted and turned and bent but it was awesome too! And being up close you realized just how freaky it is! I looked at Nate at one point and he had his hand over his mouth and his eyes were like saucers. I asked him what he thought and he said, "EEEEWWW, but I just can't look away." That was pretty funny.

Unfortunately, lighting isn't all that great so I don't have a lot of photos. And our two favorite parts were so good I didn't think of taking a photo until it was over! Here are a couple of photos I did manage to grab:

Double dutch jump rope with flips, twists, jumps, and turns!

Not your average hula hoop. By the end of her performance she was
hula-hooping over 100 hoops!

The show finished and the crowd gave the performers a standing ovation - well deserving. If you have a chance to see this show, go! You will not be disappointed!






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