Auburn Annie
01-25-2007, 09:02 AM
January 25, 2007
'Cabaret U-Mano' a sextravaganza
By JOHN COULBOURN -- Toronto Sun
TORONTO - Consider it yet another blow for gender equality.
In a world that still occasionally revels in the belief that every great man is backed by an equally great woman, Cabaret U-Mano's topsy-turvy take on things -- a world where every great woman is backed by a few good men -- is certain to delight.
Mind you, the women -- or at least those of them cast in starring roles -- are all puppets, while the living, breathing and hard-working men are every bit as manipulative as the most rabid feminist might attest.
But in a good way.
The show itself, which opened a limited run at the Diesel Playhouse Tuesday (where it will run through Feb. 18) is the latest spin-off from Quebec's burgeoning circus industry.
Fostered by Roger Parent, a one-time executive with Cirque du Soleil, and his realisations.net corporation, Cabaret U-Mano is the second puppet extravaganza to be produced by SOMA International.
Actually, make that puppet sextravaganza. As envisioned and brought to life by creators Serge Deslauriers, Raynald Michaud and Enock Turcotte, this is Bert and Ernie all growed-up and trying their hand at drag, Lambchop getting hot and heavy with the big bad wolf.
It's a puppet world of bare boobs, bondage and the blues, interwoven with a troupe of 10 attractive young performers who'll put you in mind of the local cheerleading squad when they're pressed into service as backup dancers.
The show unfolds on a template polished by years of service to the world of drag, with outrageously costumed performers lip-synching canned tunes in a highly salacious manner.
The difference here, of course, is that these performers -- from the haughty drag diva who serves as mistress of ceremonies through to a strange little creature who appears to be the musical love child of Ed The Sock and Carol Channing -- are nothing more than foam and they are sharing the stage quite comfortably with the guys who animate them.
Now normally, in the world o' puppets, much is made of obscuring the connection between animator and animated, a concern that often ends rendering the animator all but invisible.
But in the world of Cabaret U-Mano, however, the animators not only share the stage with their puppets, they intermingle their body parts with them so that it is sometimes difficult to figure out where puppeteer ends and puppet begins.
In Baby, It's Cold, for instance. a flirtation between a sexy sheep and a predatory wolf threatens to turn into a foursome as two of the number's four animators strip down and get involved in the action, while Chicago's I Can't Do It Alone turns into a barely manageable menage for a puppet and two hugely talented puppeteers.
It is not, however, 90 minutes of solid raunch -- not with delightful twists and turns that embrace everything from singing mermaids to provocative homages to performers like Eartha Kitt and Josephine Baker to a sendup of The Supremes that could put some much-needed dream in Dreamgirls and a new wrinkle in Gordon Lightfoot's impressive career.
In the end, however, like a steak crafted from foam rubber, it looks decadent and delicious but the taste is a little off, because finally it ain't really cabaret, at least not in any traditional "take a walk on the wild side" sense of the word.
By injecting a libido into these puppets, the creators have somehow neutered the genre those puppets inhabit, bringing what would be adult fare in a world of flesh and bones into a puppet world that renders it all precariously close to family fare.
And no, I'm not for a minute suggesting there's anything wrong with that. If you've ever hungered for a burlesque show you could enjoy with your grandma, chances are, this is just the ticket.
'Cabaret U-Mano' a sextravaganza
By JOHN COULBOURN -- Toronto Sun
TORONTO - Consider it yet another blow for gender equality.
In a world that still occasionally revels in the belief that every great man is backed by an equally great woman, Cabaret U-Mano's topsy-turvy take on things -- a world where every great woman is backed by a few good men -- is certain to delight.
Mind you, the women -- or at least those of them cast in starring roles -- are all puppets, while the living, breathing and hard-working men are every bit as manipulative as the most rabid feminist might attest.
But in a good way.
The show itself, which opened a limited run at the Diesel Playhouse Tuesday (where it will run through Feb. 18) is the latest spin-off from Quebec's burgeoning circus industry.
Fostered by Roger Parent, a one-time executive with Cirque du Soleil, and his realisations.net corporation, Cabaret U-Mano is the second puppet extravaganza to be produced by SOMA International.
Actually, make that puppet sextravaganza. As envisioned and brought to life by creators Serge Deslauriers, Raynald Michaud and Enock Turcotte, this is Bert and Ernie all growed-up and trying their hand at drag, Lambchop getting hot and heavy with the big bad wolf.
It's a puppet world of bare boobs, bondage and the blues, interwoven with a troupe of 10 attractive young performers who'll put you in mind of the local cheerleading squad when they're pressed into service as backup dancers.
The show unfolds on a template polished by years of service to the world of drag, with outrageously costumed performers lip-synching canned tunes in a highly salacious manner.
The difference here, of course, is that these performers -- from the haughty drag diva who serves as mistress of ceremonies through to a strange little creature who appears to be the musical love child of Ed The Sock and Carol Channing -- are nothing more than foam and they are sharing the stage quite comfortably with the guys who animate them.
Now normally, in the world o' puppets, much is made of obscuring the connection between animator and animated, a concern that often ends rendering the animator all but invisible.
But in the world of Cabaret U-Mano, however, the animators not only share the stage with their puppets, they intermingle their body parts with them so that it is sometimes difficult to figure out where puppeteer ends and puppet begins.
In Baby, It's Cold, for instance. a flirtation between a sexy sheep and a predatory wolf threatens to turn into a foursome as two of the number's four animators strip down and get involved in the action, while Chicago's I Can't Do It Alone turns into a barely manageable menage for a puppet and two hugely talented puppeteers.
It is not, however, 90 minutes of solid raunch -- not with delightful twists and turns that embrace everything from singing mermaids to provocative homages to performers like Eartha Kitt and Josephine Baker to a sendup of The Supremes that could put some much-needed dream in Dreamgirls and a new wrinkle in Gordon Lightfoot's impressive career.
In the end, however, like a steak crafted from foam rubber, it looks decadent and delicious but the taste is a little off, because finally it ain't really cabaret, at least not in any traditional "take a walk on the wild side" sense of the word.
By injecting a libido into these puppets, the creators have somehow neutered the genre those puppets inhabit, bringing what would be adult fare in a world of flesh and bones into a puppet world that renders it all precariously close to family fare.
And no, I'm not for a minute suggesting there's anything wrong with that. If you've ever hungered for a burlesque show you could enjoy with your grandma, chances are, this is just the ticket.