His company almost totally latent as it hopes for a return to the stage by this fall, Daniel Lamarre marked his 20th anniversary Friday as Cirque du Soleil.
In a favorable climate, Lamarre would have celebrated at a Cirque show. Instead, his theater was Facebook. Allowing for challenges in “unprecedented times,” Lamarre posted a message on Facebook on Friday, offering optimism to sidelined employees and the company’s worldwide following.
“Now, you might wonder what makes me get up in the morning, after 20 years in the same company, especially during these most uncertain times,” Lamarre wrote. “My secret is that I am just as passionate today as I was on my first day in 2001.” He cited Cirque’s expansion over the years and its success in Las Vegas, where the company has transformed the scope of live entertainment on the Strip.
“As a risk-taking creative company, we did make mistakes over the years, and we learned from them,” Lamarre said. “But we owe it to our audiences, and to ourselves, to always push the boundaries of live entertainment and to always produce highly creative, daring and surprising content.”
In November, Lamarre answered, “Yeah, oh yes,” when asked if Cirque would be back onstage by this November. “Mystere” at Treasure Island and “O” at Bellagio would lead Cirque’s still-unscheduled restart. “Zumanity” has been closed permanently, but Lamarre said Cirque plans to reopen all of its remaining Strip shows beginning this fall and into 2021.
“Love” at Mirage, “MJ One” at Mandalay Bay and “Ka” at MGM Grand are the temporarily closed shows.
Cirque holding Blue Man Group at Luxor is also being planned for return.
Internationally, the company continues to run “Joya” in Cancun and “X: The Land of Fantasy” in Hangzhou, the capital city of east China’s Zhejiang province. Such touring shows as “Totem” (selling tickets for March 17 in Rome) and the ice-skating production “Crystal” (opening in Germany in September) are on the books, but Cirque’s return remains fluid.
“As an eternal optimist, I sleep at night knowing that I work with an incredible team of strong-minded creative people who, together, will relaunch Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group into the brand we all know and love, and even bring it to new heights,” Lamarre said. But he was realistic in facing the company’s challenges this year and beyond.
“I can say, without a doubt, that last year has been the most difficult of my life. It’s like the world stopped turning,” Lamarre wrote. “The months ahead will certainly not be smooth sailing. However, these challenges build us into who we are and bring us closer.”
But when it happens, and exactly where, is a challenge topping Lamarre’s list as he enters year 21 in ’21.
{ SOURCE: Las Vegas Review-Journal }
