Luzia, Cirque du Soleil, Suffolk Downs, Boston, through August 12. 877-924-7783 or cirquedusoleil.com/usa/boston/luzia/buytickets
Cirque du Soleil continues to amaze with each of its distinct incarnations. "Luzia," a Mexico-inspired production now touring under the company's grand chapiteau at Suffolk Downs, is a unique evocation that takes the Montreal-based Cirque to rich new terrain.
"Luzia"-with a title deriving from the Spanish words for light ('luz') and rain ('lluvia")-invites the big tent audience, young and old Cirque 'passengers' alike, to share its visually stunning and culturally rich 'flight' to a surreal Mexico that blends dreams and reality.
As always, the big top cast-here under the expert direction of Daniele Finzi Pasca-includes first class talent from around the world. That talent attends this always colorful and singularly poetic show.
There is the early stunning grace and visual beauty of the sequence known as Running Woman, with Shelli Epstein luminous with monarch butterfly-evoking wings-kudos to gifted costume designer Giovanna Buzzi. Running Woman takes its inspiration from a Mexican tradition of barefoot women running 50-100 miles through the mountains.
A metallic horse (evoked by Cirque performers) that follows Epstein derives from Spanish influence. (Elsewhere expect to see performers' attire conjuring the heads of armadillos and crocodiles.) Epstein also performs as one of the female flyers in the penultimate eye-catching Swing to Swing-which reaches uncommon height as pushers send her and fellow flyers to catchers. Bringing together a highly athletic ensemble from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, Swing to Swing reaches remarkable height.
Eric Fool Koller has Everyman eloquence as the clown who 'lands' at the start-along with the audience--in the show's singular representation of Mexico. This gifted Netherlands performer also displays great comic skill interacting with audience members at various points throughout "Luzia" and especially during Clown-Beach-in which a kind of beach ball volley ball stretch ensues-and Clown-Rain.
Clown-Rain, a visual standout, conjures up such images as fish and birds. Here Koller turns Keatonesque as his vulnerable Clown struggles to fill his clearly empty flask with the pillar-like rain that moves beyond him as he pursues it. Also light-hearted is a sharply timed trampoline-set Hoop Diving with performers from the United States, Canada and Australia.
Mexican vocalist Majo Cornejo delivers the songs in composer Simon Carpenter's evocative score-complete with opera-like strains and blends of modern and traditional rhythms-with rich tone and strong phrasing.
Hand Balancing on Canes, one of several standout acts, features gravity-defying French performer Ugo Laffolay increasing his feat's degree of difficulty repeatedly as he adds canes and height to his act. French juggler Cylios Pytlak seamlessly handles seven-pins not only in front of the Cirque du Soleil audience but also as he performs with world-class confidence during his time in various aisles.
Russian contortionist Aleksei Goloborodko arguably delivers the most arresting showstopper in "Luzia" amid stage-adorned candles. Goloborodko's magical work with head and pelvis-could he be quadruple-jointed?-makes him the best contortionist this critic has seen during decades of covering Cirque du Soleil and even such theatrical counterparts as the Big Apple Circus.
This visit to Mexican custom and Spanish music proves as imaginative in its own distinctive way as the company's recent invention-praising "Kurios" and as uplifting as its stirring earlier ''Alegria." Take flight with Cirque du Soleil's soaring "Luzia."