ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and for many families, that includes taking in a special show or two, which the American Theatre Guild will soon be providing.
Cirque Dreams Holidaze will be performing at Century II in Wichita Tuesday, Nov. 26 and Wednesday, Nov. 27, and both performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Cirque Dreams Holidaze Artistic Director Rebecca Shubart said the cast and crew are excited to take the show to Wichita.
“Cirque Dreams Holidaze will be making its way into 60 cities in just six weeks, and we're in our 15th season of performing a whimsical holiday spectacular,” Shubart said. “We love bringing our show across the country to audiences everywhere. This show is for everyone – children, parents, grandparents, etc. We've got so many spectacular aerialists, jugglers, acrobats, skippers, and so much more, making the show truly special for everyone.”
And as Shubart tells it, preparing for the show has been going on for the better part of 2024.
“We started preparing for the show all the way back in February, that's when we started casting and hiring everyone who would be performing in the show,” Shubart said. “We've got performers from New York, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Wales, and even Ethiopia, so there's a lot of international representation and talent involved in this show. That hiring process was quite extensive, and it takes a lot of time and work bringing in all of these artists to the U.S. for this tour. One of the best things about bringing all of these people together is how much we all become a family. There are so many different personalities and talents, and we're able to bring them all together to create this fabulous holiday show for our audiences throughout the U.S. Everyone is excited and ready to perform and be on the road.”
Shubart said the show is truly one for the whole family.
“We've got dazzling costumes, a lot of traditional holiday music and some original music, and the artists themselves are amazing. They're all so amazingly talented and truly bring something for everyone – we've got jugglers, aerialists, skippers, a woman who hangs from the ceiling by just her hair at one point,” Shubart said. “The aerialists soar through the air on some beautiful fabric in a lovely duet, and it's just amazing to watch. There's also some audience interaction during one part of the show and we encourage the audience to play along with what's going on onstage. With this show being during the holiday season, one of the main aspects we wanted to get right was the music – we wanted to make sure we had some great holiday music as part of the show, so we've got some classics as well as some more modern renditions, and it all works well together. We also wanted to be sure our costumes were over the top and spectacular, so there's a wide array of colors and sparkles and other eye-catching aspects to help keep the audience engaged. And we also always manage to attract a lot of great talent from the circus acts to the singers and dancers and everyone else.”
Shubart has been with the group for only a few years, and she said she has enjoyed seeing the show come together each year.
“The people I'm able to work with are absolutely amazing to work with. Everyone's talents are able to come together so, so well, and everyone's willing to come together to put together a great holiday show for families to enjoy,” Shubart said. “It's all about that warm feeling the holidays can bring. A lot of times, people come to the show and tell us this is a big holiday tradition for them and it's a really special time for them, and that's what it's all about, and we love that.”
Overall, Shubart said, she hopes the audience in Wichita and throughout the rest of the U.S. enjoy the show.
“Like I said earlier, we're a family, and every year, our family changes a little bit because we get new artists and new acts, and we love watching everything come together in one cohesive show that'll astound the audience,” Shubart said. “The show is 90 minutes, and there is an intermission, and there are still great seats available, and all people will need to do is visit cirquedreams.com to find them for the show they want to come to.”
