Amaluna - Cirque du Soleil

Exquisite Creative Interpretation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest"SITREPI got to enjoy the show with my friend Larissa J. - a HUUUGE fan of the "Cirque du Soleil"-brand w- and what we watched, heard and experienced in total, was a very beautiful story of shipwrecked lives, but transformed by love found in an exotic paradise of wonders & whimsy.THE SETUPThis incarnation of "AMALUNA" is part of the touring show that started in San Francisco in late 2013 and has now migrated over the years until now here at Raley's field in West Sacramento (home of our AAA-team the "River Cats"). AMALUNA CREATIONFrom the great minds of Cirque du Soleil, AMALUNA premiered in Montréal, Canada, on April 19, 2012, created by Diane Paulus, one of the few Americans to rise high in the ranks of the Cirque de Soleil production realm. Diane became Artistic Director of Theater & Opera of the American Repertory Theater (ART) at Harvard University in 2009, but she is probably best know recently for her nomination for the Best Director Tony Award for her revival of the musical "Hair".Diane and her hubby Randy Weiner co-founded a small theater troupe in New York City called "Project 400 Theatre Group". Here they created avant-garde musical productions which merged classic theater and modern music, and their FIRST production was a rock version of Shakespeare's, "The Tempest". The scouts of Cirque de Soleil looking for good source material from contemporary theater stumbled upon this gem and - flash forward some years - had her make an entire AMALUNA themed Cirque de Soleil event also loosely based upon this Shakespearean classic!THE AMALUNA STORYThe AMALUNA story takes place on an island governed by moon goddesses ("Ama" = Mothers; "Luna" = Moon). During a storm, there is a shipwreck and several men are washed up to this beautiful Island Paradise. One of the divinity's daughter falls in love with one of the young men, and the trials that their love must endure make for the interesting chapters of contest that this production is all about.FUN AMALUNA FACTS* I loved how the central part of the AMALUNA stage platform was like a giant daisy wheel (lazy Susan) that allowed it to revolve like a suspended carousel. It is 25-feet diameter and weighs 6,000 pounds.* Other than the AMALUNA carousel, the set design has very few moving parts allowing for focus to be on the performers.* There are 174 branches in 534 sections (90 in the canopy and 84 upstage) making a total of 1.1 mile of branches.* The upper tent-top grid - that suspended all of the AMALUNA aerial artists and from whence wonders of light and shimmering beauty were dropped upon the staged - weighs 8,600 pounds and includes three acrobatic winches, each able to lift loads up to 400 pounds at 10 feet per second. And in fact, I WAS amazed at how fast those 3 beautiful AMALUNA Moon goddesses shot up so fast to the center of upward top! (There was also a cynical part of me that kept imagining, "Christ. What if that beast of a mechanism accidentally gets "unbolted" and crashes down to center stage?!? But luckily THAT never happened)* The center AMALUNA acrobatic winch in the middle of the carousel can lift up to 1,000 pounds at 10 feet per second, and this certainly was tested when the Queen Lunar goddess invited the vocalist-cellist to sit amidst with her in her"Sliver of Moon" and play for the Island denizons.* And how about that giant AMALUNA Fishbowl? The bowl part alone is 5 feet 5 inches tall, 7 feet 3 inches in diameter, and weighs 5,500 pounds when filled with water. But that was a beautiful scene when the moon daughter and the shipwrecked sailor acrobatically seduce each other atop, aside and INSIDE the fishbowl. I LOVE it all.LE COMEDYI almost feel guilty calling these talented individuals "clowns", but the talented duet - one a denizon female of the Island, the other the shipwrecked captain - find their OWN passion amidst very humorous scenarios that act as timed pieces to allow the aerial and acrobatic performers to rest up, grab a water, change costume, and than "have at it" again on the stage.REFRESHMENTS!You expect drinks and munchies to be a BIT more expensive when at special events, like games, shows and *pop-up* tents like this, right? But even with each of our $14 beers https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=wAuHQGXB5Wfyu05B6xxWbQ&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w..and our $6 gummy bears, https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=iyCFy90JlxVVbsxnnIaAUA&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w..we were still caught up in the magic and whimsy of the moment and it was worth it.THE LOWDOWNAMALUNA is a beautiful, majestic, and exquisitely exotic themed event that will dazzle you with it's beauty and love of aerial performances, exciting dances & lively music!

Anything Cirque Du Soleil does is worth attending. I've been to multiple Cirque shows in Las Vegas, though this was the first mobile/tent type show I've been too. Truly unbelievably talented performers. All the different acts/music/props were really neat and definitely worth going to see. Parking/food/drinks come at a premium price (as to be expected).

One of the best cirque du Soleil I have watched outside of Vegas...Extremely easy parking and staff is extremely curious and efficient...Seats are a bit tight but all seat in the house have a great view.Show is very well out together and extremely entertaining.Highly recommended...

Where do I begin?! I first wanna touch on the seats. I am assuming that they were only expecting Smurfs to attend because that's the only species that could comfortably fit in those chairs. Their main clown lady could not have fit in these chairs without sitting on the laps of the people next to her. And essentially that's what almost every person under this not so big top had to experience. Either someone was half on your lap or you were so close to them and touching them that you could smell their shampoo! It was a disgrace and negligent on the part of this huge business. I did not stay for the second half because I was tired of being intimate with my fellow guests for the previous hour. So I can only comment on the first half, which was lack luster. I've never been to a Cirque show so I was excited. It had all the hype and hoopla so I couldn't wait. Sadly I would have rather spent my night watching a better act on America's Got Talent. The Lady clown and her sailor were funny and I enjoyed that all though I think they use them a bit to long considering what we paid for an actual Cirque show. It was WAY to loud and there was WAY to much gibberish singing. This was probably the worst experience the 4 of us have ever had. We paid $321 for 4 tickets. $6 bottled water $9 tiny bags of stale popcorn, and $15 to park. It was a complete waste of almost $400. Do yourself a favor, if you don't way 125lbs or less don't go!

Mesmerizing show under the big tent packed with live music, acrobats, gymnasts, intricate costumes and designs and more! Parking ($15) was smooth and quick. There are fancy porta potties outdoors and regular ones. Water bottles are $6 each. Show is 2 hours or so long with a 25 minutes intermission. Seats are a bit snug, however I didn't mind. Most seats have a great view. There are some podiums blocking your views at certain angles so be sure to double check. Overall amazing show for all ages 10/10! Would love to go again. The live band were on fire!

Best show I've ever seen! Bring a sweater, it's not super cold but could be a little chilly without a sweater. The seats are comfortable but they are small. I've got hips so luckily there wasn't anyone sitting next to me. We went on a Sunday and paid for parking, $15, they except cash & card. We were in section 206 row P, that's off to the side. It was still a great show but would have been better if we were in the center. Those are the more expensive seats. We're a family of 4 so where we sat was just as good. I would definitely see this show again!

Easy parking and not a far walk at all! Beautiful tent and not cold inside. The seating is tight but not a bad seat in the house. Beautiful costumes, music and amazing acts! Great show!

The best advice I could've given anyone is to show up a little early and find parking in the outlying areas, come to the venue have a drink and really enjoy the area, it's not just the big top, it's the surrounding area as well. Amaluna is as spectacular the last night as it when I saw the act also in SF many years ago. The Show was extremely delightful every aspect was superbly coordinated , they did an amazing job and I am so proud to see they chose Sacramento as the place to end the very successful run. Like Zarkana, I will miss this show greatly. You All Did Spectacular!!

First the pluses...parking was easy in and close to the venue. Staff working the show, very friendly. First half of the show was great! It was high energy & moved at a brisk pace. Not as good as Mystere, but decent. Now for the negatives...The seats are extremely small. Imagine middle seat on a Southwest Airlines flight, only smaller. Imagine the little blue plastic chairs in your childs kindergarten class. Yes, almost that small. Now imagine having to sit next to a woman who was at least 300lbs. I was halfway into my 11 year old daughter's seat & uncomfortable as hell! 2nd half of show lacked the energy and direction of the first half. Secondly, it was marred by the people behind us giggling and talking about every act. It was rude, inconsiderate & annoying as hell. But then again, that appears to be a large percentage of the American population these days.Final close on the night was when some drunk woman carelessly hit my car door with hers and didn't even apologise and got rude with me when I got out of my car to check it. I fricking hate dealing with large crowds of people, especially drunk ones.

Horrible seating!!! Made a good show intolerable! Don't go unless you buy super expensive VIP seats. ALL other seats are small child size. Really! They are the size of kindergarten seats. Popcorn and drinks are also ridiculously priced! $9 for a tiny bag of popcorn. Spare yourself the agony of being squeezed from both sides!