It’s Not Vaudeville, It’s Banana Shpeel!

13 Oct 2009

LargeContentImage I’ve seen the new Cirque du Soleil Banana Shpeel show advertised around the web and must admit, I am intrigued. Just the name made me laugh. Although I’ve never seen a Cirque du Soleil show live, I have seen them on television. Even on TV they are absolutely amazing, so I can only imagine what it would be like to see it in person. According to the website, this show is unlike anything you’ve ever seen:

“Banana Shpeel is a roller-coaster mix of styles that blends comedy with tap, hip hop, eccentric dance and slapstick, all linked by a hilarious narrative that ignites a succession of wacky adventures. This is not circus, or a musical or a variety show, or even vaudeville. It is Banana Shpeel!

Propelled by crazy humor and intense choreography, Banana Shpeel plunges us into the world of Shmelky, a cruel and irritable producer who dangles fame and fortune in front of Emmett, an innocent and romantic actor who has come to audition for him. Emmett soon finds himself trapped in a flamboyant, anarchic world where Shmelky sows terror and reigns supreme. Emmett falls in love with the beautiful Katie and meets a bunch of absurd characters, including the strange Banana Man. But who is this mysterious Banana Man and how can Emmett escape the clutches of Shmelky and his henchmen?”

With a name like Shmelky, that character MUST be interesting! And I wonder what’s up with Banana Man? No matter what happens, I bet it will be quite entertaining. Even the video below about the making of the show’s poster is exhilariating!

Banana Shpeel is opening in Chicago on November 19,2009 (in time for a great Holiday gift for those in Chicago) and in New York February 4, 2010. It’s not often that I see a “show” (other than a DMB concert), but this is one I would love to see (hint hint to whoever wants to take me!) Make sure to visit Banana Shpeel to learn more about the Cirque du Soleil Banana Shpeel show!

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Tags: Banana Shpeel, banana shpeel review, broadway, Cirque du soleil, Review, Reviews

15 Responses to It’s Not Vaudeville, It’s Banana Shpeel!

Paul

October 29th, 2009 at 7:47 pm

Wow! I had no idea cirque was coming to Chicago! I would certainly get tickets but they are usually so expensive.

John

October 29th, 2009 at 8:03 pm

Not to worry. I heard they are offering a contest you can enter to win free tickets. Check it out. Just enter your tweet on their site, and your entered. That’s it! Here it is: http://www.dailyshpeel.com/enter-to-win

Kathleen

November 20th, 2009 at 3:45 pm

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cirque but this show was absolutely AWFUL. I was bored from the time it started and dragged on and on.

I have seen nearly every show Cirque has put on and tell EVERYONE I know to see every single show…more than once if you can….

but this stage show lacks any of the magic of Cirque. The tap routines are waaaaay long and how many times can you see two guys run around a stage pretending to hit eachother and fall?

HORRIBLE! Do not see this Cirque show and please don’t judge this show and how the BIG TOP shows are because there is really NO COMPARISON. What were they thinking?

manish

November 20th, 2009 at 4:43 pm

This is the most awful show I have ever seen… complete waste of time and money.
There were three acrobat shows of which two were nice, but the rest of the show was a complete disaster.
There were three dances that were not even close to impressive. The dancers were talanted but the choreographer ruined it all
The comedy…. jokes are good for the first time, but not the millionth time…. the same two guys, same jokes, same hitting and falling… after a while no one was even laughing

PaulW

November 21st, 2009 at 12:41 am

I completely agree with the two reviews above. I had very much been looking forward to attending this show with my wife AND IT WAS HORRIBLE !! I can honestly say it was the worst show I have seen in my entire life. I guess Cirque du Soleil can finally say they have produced a flop. I hope no one will make the mistake of spending money on a theatrical blunder. I wouldn’t attend this again if it were free…..What a sad day in Chicago !!!!

RebeccaW

November 22nd, 2009 at 11:48 am

Absolutely ditto all of the above negative reviews. I saw it last night and I wish I hadn’t wasted my money. I do not want to see poop or sex jokes, or hitting and falling jokes. I want to see beautiful sets and gymnastic magic! This was gross. I would pay money NOT to see it. Ugh.

missbeckala

November 22nd, 2009 at 6:47 pm

WOW!!!!! I’m so sorry no one liked the show. When I wrote the post all I had to go off of was the video I posted. Thanks for all the comments!

Nancy

November 28th, 2009 at 10:22 pm

The ABSOLUTE WORST SHOW I have ever seen. Cirque should be embarassed to have put their name on this. What a waste of time and money. We walked out at intermission and so did others. Our usher said the second act got a little better. The majority of the first act was the “bit” acts that usually fill the void when there is changes in scenes, etc. The dialogue was extremely rude and inappropriate.

elliebelle

November 29th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

The 3 acrobats were extremely talented and we enjoyed the tap dancing, but the majority of the “humor” by the stage clowns was boring, and that’s the nicest word I can attach to it. Not sure why Cirque would stage a show around a woman pulled out of the audience at random. I cannot believe she a professional, but based on everything else I saw, I guess it’s possible.

Patricia Robles

November 29th, 2009 at 10:55 pm

Omg god! What were they thinking? I was so embarrassed, I brought my father and mother in law for their anniversary thinking it was going to blow their minds considering it’s a cirque du soleil show. It was awfully boring and just plain dumb! I did enjoy the dancers and 2 acts but the entire show was a complete mess. Shame on them for charging so much money to put together such a disaster. I will think twice about every paying to go see any new Cirque shows.

Brandy

November 29th, 2009 at 11:48 pm

i too saw this show with greater expectations than were met, but i wouldnt be THAT brutal. Apparently it was the fault of the director who scrapped the 2 main characters and plot of the thing. for those of you who read the description and were curious why that was nothing like the show you saw..thats why…bad decision…and their run wont be long. everything is too reptitive and i would not suggest this for anyone who needs something with substance or who has an attention span of lopnger than a minute, but i blame the men behind the curtains, because the cast was as good as they could be.

Frances D

November 30th, 2009 at 5:49 pm

I have to say I’m more than a little surprised at the other reviews on here. I took my wife on Friday night (the 27th) and we both thoroughly enjoyed the show. It appeared that we were not alone as there was a STANDING OVATION at the end! This was not just a few friends and family that stood up but about 90% of the people in the orchestra level and the show appeared to be sold out.

I personally found Banana Shpeel, while slow in some places, overall very entertaining. The music was fun, the dancers were great and the clowns were funny in a slapstick sort of way… think Three Stooges meets Warner Brothers. Maybe the jokes have changed since it opened but I didn’t find anything terribly vulgar about this show as was indicated in previous reviews. There are certainly a few off-color jokes but nothing your kids will understand.

On top of everything I’ve already mentioned, the more traditional circus acts were absolutely amazing and practically stole the show.

My wife and I are very happy we went!

Barb Frazee

December 4th, 2009 at 3:07 am

I couldn’t stop laughing, “WOW!ing”, dancing in my seat, and generally having a great time! Very different from other Cirque shows, but I was expecting it to be different. I had a super fun experience!

Anthony

December 7th, 2009 at 4:00 pm

This is the third Cirque show I’ve seen (Zumanity in Vegas and Kooza here in Chicago) and I was thoroughly disappointed. The 3 acrobatic sections were very good, the dancing was okay, and everything else was absolutely horrible. The sat there the entire time and did not laugh once. The jokes and slapstick would easily amuse a 4th grader, but as an adult, it wasn’t even remotely funny. I’m not sure what wowed the previous comment author (Barb), but I totally missed that. I was at the Dec 4th show and there were very small standing ovation sporatically throughout the theater; I guess the audience Frances was a part of was more impressed than we were. In closing, please don’t waste your money for this show and by all means do not let this be the first Cirque du Soleil show you see…it will paint a totally inaccurate picture of how truly entertaining Cirque shows typically are. Thanks!

John Brown

December 27th, 2009 at 8:24 pm

WORST SHOW I HAVE EVER SEEN. Unfunny jokes + terrible choreography make for an awful experience. People were walking out in droves at intermission. The acrobatic acts cannot redeem this joke of a show. Also, take any positive reviews with a grain of salt as other sites have noted that Cirque hired shill online commenters to de-fuse the flood of negative comments. Seriously, the only way to make this show worse is to raise ticket prices.