{"id":5,"date":"2010-10-25T18:43:55","date_gmt":"2010-10-25T18:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=5"},"modified":"2010-10-25T20:14:27","modified_gmt":"2010-10-25T20:14:27","slug":"cirque-comes-to-new-orleans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/cirque-comes-to-new-orleans\/","title":{"rendered":"Cirque comes to New Orleans"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Over 15 million patrons have attended Cirque Dreams shows since then and hundreds of talented performers from around the globe owe their success to Goldberg, whose \u201cCirque Dreams Illuminations\u201d opens September 28 at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts and is the opener for Broadway Across America\u2019s new season in New Orleans.<\/p>\n

Goldberg admits he is amazed at the level of his success. \u201cMy life has been a roller coaster,\u201d he boasts. \u201cCirque Dreams Illuminations\u201d is his 14th<\/sup> production to carry the trademarked \u201cCirque Dreams\u201d brand and follows the success of his \u201cCirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy,\u201d the first cirque show to ever play on Broadway (nominated for a Tony for best costume design) and \u201cCirque Dreams and Dinner,\u201d the first such production of its kind staged at sea (aboard the Norwegian Epic cruise liner).<\/p>\n

No matter the theme, the cornerstone of every Cirque Dreams show is an international cast of talented aerialists, contortionists, jugglers and musicians whom Goldberg has discovered and showcased. Television shows like \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d and \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d reflect much of what Goldberg has done in securing his casts of previous unknowns over much of the last two decades, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really what I started out to do – just package it and format it differently – by taking ralent from all over the world and integrating it with Broadway talent across the stage,\u201d he continues. \u201cThere\u2019s a tremendous appreciation for our talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the years his shows have also played at special event shows, casinos, theme parks and theatres of every size.<\/p>\n

Goldberg traces his roots back to Long Island and to Oceanside, New York in Nassau County, a small township located between J.F.K. Airport and Jones Beach. Born the second child of four to an observant Jewish family, he claims he got the acting bug when his mother brought him to see a production of \u201cThe Miracle Worker\u201d when he was six.<\/p>\n

Through the next several years he immersed himself in his studies at yeshiva, but his outside interests also pushed him to study music and become a budding costume designer, taking advantage of his work at his father\u2019s Manhattan retail fabrics store Mendel Goldberg, founded in 1892 and\u00a0 named for his paternal great-great grandfather.<\/p>\n

He convinced his parents to allow him to enroll at Oceanside High School in ninth grade and begin to pursue outside work planning parties and working on his designs. \u201cIt was traumatic,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n

He volunteered to act, choreograph and direct synagogue productions near Long Island until it became apparent he was not interested in pursuing further Jewish studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very proud of the fact I was raised an Orthodox Jew,\u201d he exclaims. \u201cIt gave me a great foundation as a human being and for ethics in business and how to deal with people. It\u2019s not just people in America, but people all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

His focus in high school became more fixed on theatre and planning parties. After graduating from nearby C. W. Post College, he was hired as a textile designer in the Garment District of New York, but continued his party planning sideline business.<\/p>\n

When he moved to Florida as part of his new position, he had every intention of staying within the textile industry, but his various party planning businesses had taken up so much of his energies that he quit his job and got into theatrical party planning on a full time basis.<\/p>\n

Through the next few years Goldberg produced several spectacular private events like those at Superbowls and included several Fortune 500 companies as clients such as American Express and IBM.<\/p>\n

In 1991 IBM contracted with Goldberg\u2019s company to book an international cavalcade of stars to bow at an worldwide conference they were hosting. This led to his renewed interest in creating a cirque show.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was in the late 1980s that I first went to Europe and did a lot of research, particularly on this cirque genre,\u201d he recalls. \u201cMy inspiration goes back to Jules Verne and Cirque Municipal. He built this 1892 version of \u2018America\u2019s Got Talent\u2019 and really that\u2019s how it all got started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today over 250 artists are employed by Cirque Dreams productions. Some are self-trained, while others have pursued more traditional theatrical experiences. All of them are looking for a break in show business, some the products of state-sponsored schools in Russia and gymnastics programs from Mongolia.<\/p>\n

Goldberg auditions them and, if he feels they have what it takes, he sends them to train in his private studios with a team of designers as they hone their acts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019so much talent out there today as is evidenced by these reality shows today,\u201d Goldberg acknowledges. \u201cThe genre is not just about a circus. It\u2019s about unusual talent and interesting artistry and really blending them with Broadway theatrics. We engage people in our presentations in a way that they don\u2019t feel there\u2019s a ceiling or a floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cirque Dreams Illuminations began its first tour last year, took a break over the summer and will begin its second tour in New Orleans. \u201cWe\u2019re going to do the tech for the entire season run with this show, which starts September and goes through May,\u201d he explains. \u201cNew Orleans has always been the city where we always do well and been extremely well for the guests and the patrons. It\u2019s very family friendly and affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cirque Dreams runs at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts with evening performances at 8:00 p.m from September 28 through October 2. Matinees on October 2 and 3 are at 2:00 p.m. with the final performance on October 3 at 7:30 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n

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