Cirque Mechanics brings “Boom Town” to the Treasure State
Published: September 26, 2011
Cirque Mechanics visits Butte, Hamilton and Billings in October with “Boom Town,” a production that’s sure to strike a rich vein in the Treasure State.
As with their previous production “Birdhouse Factory,” Cirque Mechanics explores the relationship between man and machine, bringing together veterans of world-renowned companies such as Cirque du Soleil and the Moscow Circus to plumb the possibilities of performers and machines through acrobatics, dance, aerial work, trampolines, and more.
“Boom Town” transports the audience to the small frontier town of Rosebud in the 1860s, where two ambitious saloon owners have set up shop in the hopes of cashing in on the town’s gold-rush frenzy.
The circus that ensues when they begin to feud for the townsfolk’s patronage leads to a series of explosive events, exciting brawls, an unexpected romance and a lucrative discovery.
Inspired by early mining equipment and the spirit of adventure that brought prospectors and entrepreneurs alike out West searching for gold, “Boom Town” features innovative and one-of-a-kind mechanical apparatus that serve both as scenery and performance props.
Performers climb up swaying telegraph poles, dance on a swinging chandelier, fly high and fast on a revolving crane, flip and jump on moving ore carts and balance on whiskey jugs during a performance lauded by The New York Times as “...Exceptional, evocative, eye-catching, ear-catching and engrossingly entertaining...”
Catch the show:
In Butte: 8 p.m. Oct. 7 at the Mother Lode Theatre (406-723-3602 or http://www.buttearts.org)
Hamilton: 3 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Hamilton Performing Arts Center (406-363-7946 or http://www.bartc.org)
Billings: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Alberta Bair Theater (406-256-6052 or http://www.albertabairtheater.org)
