| Zumanity | |
|---|---|
 Logo for Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity | |
| Company | Cirque du Soleil |
| Genre | Contemporary circus |
| Show type | Resident show |
| Date of premiere | 20 September 2003 |
| Final show | 14 March 2020 |
| Location | New York-New York Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas |
| Creative team | |
| Creative Guides | Guy Laliberté (founder), Jean-François Bouchard (CCO of refresh) |
| Writers and Directors | René Richard Cyr and Dominic Champagne |
| Director of Creations | Andrew Watson, Gilles Ste-Croix (new staging) |
| Creator and Costume Designer | Thierry Mugler |
| Set Designer | Stéphane Roy |
| Composer and Musical Director | Simon Carpentier |
| Choreographers | Debra Brown, Marguerite Derricks, Dave St-Pierre (new staging), Yanis Marshall (refresh), Patrick King (2Men/specific acts), Stéphan Choinière & Sara Joel (body2body/body2body 2.0), Dwight Rhoden (specific acts), Philip Sahagun (Knife/2Men with ninjas) |
| Lighting Designer | Luc Lafortune |
| Sound Designer | Jonathan Deans |
| Comedic Directors | Cahal McCrystal, Spymonkey (specific acts), Wayne Hronek (new staging), Shannan Calcutt (Scotch Baggies/specific acts) |
| Make-up Designer | Nathalie Gagné |
| Photographer and Production Image Designers | Natacha Merritt, Keith Sadowski (refresh), Jorde Salomone (refresh), Peter Thompson (refresh) |
| Acrobatic Equipment and Rigging Designer | Jaque Paquin |
| Props Designer | Normand Blais |
| Additional Lyrics and Scripting | Anna Liani, Robbie Dillon, Armand Thomas, Joey Arias, Christopher Kenney, Jamie Morris |
| Other information | |
| Preceded by | Varekai (2002) |
| Succeeded by | Kà (2005) |
| Official website | |
Zumanity (zoo-manity) was a resident cabaret-style show by Cirque du Soleil at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, placed into the theatre previously occupied by Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance (musical). The production was unveiled on September 20, 2003 (previews started on August 14, 2003) and had its last performance on March 14, 2020. It was announced on November 16, 2020 that the show would be closing permanently. It is the first "adult-themed" Cirque du Soleil show, billed as "the sensual side of Cirque du Soleil" or "another side of Cirque du Soleil". Created by René Richard Cyr and Dominic Champagne, Zumanity is a departure from the standard Cirque format. Intended to be for mature adult audiences only, this show is centered on erotic song, dance, acrobatics, and comedy.[1]
The inspiration to create Zumanity came from multiple sources. Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté had been offered the chance to create two new shows in Las Vegas, and wanted something completely new and original rather than multiple similar shows that would cannibalize off of each other's sales and audiences. Another reason was that the New York-New York Hotel and Casino wanted to make their entertainment appear more "trendy." The hotel liked the concept of a more adult Cirque du Soleil performance.[1]
Laliberté admits that the biggest reason to produce this show was the chance to create something with riskier subject matter. He was interested in the idea of creating a show that explored human sexuality, something that was at complete odds with the other, more family-oriented Cirque du Soleil shows. "Our previous shows have all been family-oriented and politically correct, which is great," Laliberté said, "but we're human beings, we won't hide it. We're a bunch of happy campers. We like to live new experiences. Zumanity deals with some of those experiences."[1]
On February 22, 2022, Cirque du Soleil announced that a new show, Mad Apple, would replace the Zumanity show at New York-New York Hotel and Casino, which opened on May 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c Babinski, Tony (2004). Cirque du Soleil: 20 Years under the Sun. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. pp. 324–341. ISBN 0-8109-4636-X.