Cennarium Backstage Issue 3 - Promenade Festival Special Edition | Page 20

Friday. September 22nd - Magic
ROOM 1 ROOM 2 ROOM 1 ROOM 2
The Golden Mandrakes Great Evening of Magic at
Cabaret Le Lido Dangerous Liaisons Bilac Sees Stars
As he lived out his bitter, angry life during
France’s doomed ancien régime, French officer
Pierre-Ambroise-François Choderlos de Laclos
penned his famously frivolous epistolary novel Les
Liaisons Dangereuses. In it, the depravity of the
French élite in 1782 continues to give 21st century
audiences a powerful study in sex as a manipulative
tool in games of power. For years the original
source material has been adapted and interpreted
many times and various ways, but this much is
constant: in the erotic world of Dangerous Liaisons,
seduction and betrayal are commingled forever.
In this deliciously malicious musical version
of the tale, seduction and betrayal are also
forever brutal: watch how truly low the high-
born can sink when faced with their own
insignificance and mortality. What a treat, then,
for the famed German writing duo of Wolfgang
Adenberg and Marc Schubring to set this to
music, having already adapted/translated Moulin
Rouge, Starlight Express, Cyrano de Bergerac
and The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes.
Dangerous Liaisons was commissioned by
Germany’s Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz; you’ll
find yourself absorbed by the rococo setting of the
Cuvilliés Theatre, where the show was mounted
in 2015 by artistic director Josef E. Köpplinger,
supported by star choreographer Adam Cooper
direct from London's West End. You’ll never look
at a dinner party quite the same way again. Set at the pinnacle of the Belle Époque—a
time when the world of science mingled freely
with the world of the arts, and the citizens of Rio
de Janeiro enjoyed a new economic prosperity—
Bilac Sees Stars is a musical comedy that mixes
fictional and historical characters and sports a
rousing score. At first, poet Olavo Bilac (André
Dias) and his real-life friend, journalist José do
Patrocínio (Sergio Menezes), are found reveling
in the new status that cultural innovations have
brought to Rio. But then danger and duty to
country suddenly call: they must rescue the
blueprints for a blimp from the clutches of a
greedy Portuguese spy (Amanda Acosta), who is
in league with Padre Maximiliano (Caike Luna).
Come enjoy this caper, with its bursts of
philosophy and historical fiction, from Brazil’s
renowned Tema Eventos Culturais, which has been
creating top-quality productions since 1984.
Starring Rio native Alice Borges (Amélia,
Xuxa Requebra, Head Over Heels 2), Bilac Sees
Stars features many talents familiar to the
growing audience for Brazilian entertainment,
including Reiner Tenente, Jefferson Almeida,
Saulo Segreto, Gustavo Klein, Andrea Dantas,
Claire Nativel and Augusto Volcato. Bilac is
performed in Portuguese with English subtitles;
this 2015 production runs 100 minutes and is
not recommended for children under 12.
Photo by Thomas Dashuber Photo by Leo Aversa
Here’s a quick trivia question for all of you fans
of magic. Do you remember hearing about the
disappearance of The Eiffel Tower—in front of
millions of TV viewers—back in 1994? While you’re
thinking about that, maybe you also knew the most
watched magic show in the history of European TV,
back in October 2000? If you heard of these
landmark events, then you already know about The
Golden Mandrakes.
It is the annual meeting of the greatest
professionals of the art of magic—an exceptional
opportunity to watch the best magicians spotted
every year around the world by the French
Academy of Illusionists. Created in 1990 by Gilles
Arthur, this presentation is from the 26th
International Festival of Illusion and Magic. If you
think that you’ve probably never heard of the
magic artists who have appeared in this festival, try
again: names like David Copperfield, Siegfried &
Roy, Dani Lary and Eric Antoine come to mind.
Until the creation of The Golden Mandrakes, no
European public demonstration had been devoted
to the art of magic—an art whose mysteries date
back, some say, to the dawn of time.
Directed by Laurent Brun presented under the
artistic leadership of Gilles Arthur, some of the
notable performers in this show include Alexis Arts,
Viktor Vincent, SOS & Victoria Petrosyan, Reginald,
Jaime Figueroa, Jerry Pilar and Olivier Heloir.
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Saturday, September 23rd - Musical
cennarium.com/promenade/
A higher-end program, magic, crazy and sexy!
Some of the world's greatest magicians gather
together at the Lido in Paris for a colorful program,
including Juan Tamariz – Spain, David Williamson
– USA, Carlos Vaquera – Belgium, Jean-Pierre
Vallarino – France, Eleonora – Italy, Boris Wild –
France.
#streamthearts #streamarts
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