When most people think of the internationally acclaimed performing group Cirque du Soleil, they think of a towering circus, complete with a big-top tent that, in past years, could be seen in Atlantic Station from the highway. This year, however, Atlanta theater-goers got to experience something a little different.
“’Twas the Night Before” was Cirque du Soleil unlike many have seen before: on the comparatively smaller, more intimate stage of the Fox Theatre. The show is also slightly shorter than a typical Cirque du Soleil production, with no intermission in the middle, but is still every bit as lively and awe-inspiring. The cast is jam-packed with only the best talent, and the set, music and costumes exude creativity.
The Technique got the chance to sit down with people from several departments that help to make the magic that is “‘Twas the Night Before” and talk about their experiences with the show and Cirque du Soleil.
James Hadley had an impressive history in the entertainment industry prior to becoming the stage director and writer for “‘Twas the Night Before.” He started as a performer on Broadway for “many, many years” before moving to “dance captaining and assisting” and then to resident director before being contacted by Cirque du Soleil with an offer to become the artistic director of one of their Vegas shows.
Hadley’s passion for live entertainment was clear throughout the interview as he spoke of the initial creation of the show back in 2019. “Our goal was to really open [Cirque] up to maybe an audience that didn’t usually get to see [their usual kind of show] … some cities, they’re just not able to have a big top come through,” he said. “So with the theatrical show, it gives us a lot more opportunities … Here, I wanted to have a more intimate feel … a more theatrical feel and a little bit more of a narrative, more of a storyline.”
The show, inspired by the classic Christmas poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” follows a young girl as she relearns the magic of Christmas and repairs her strained relationship with her father along the way. A mischievous group of dancers leads her along as she meets various quirky and colorful characters who all have something to show her.
This is the company’s first Christmas show, as well as “the first show that they’ve ever recreated,” Hadley shares. “Usually there’s only just one version of all the shows, but because it’s such a limited time, they want to be able to share it with as many people as they could.” This means that, unlike any other Cirque du Soleil, there were four full casts of “‘Twas the Night Before” touring at one time.
While the show has multiple concurrent iterations, there is something unique about each of them. When asked about the differences, Hadley told the Technique, “We have a different artistic director on each show, and they really guide the staging of the show, and they have a huge impact also on the acrobatic acts. Because the acts are the same in the different shows, but people’s skills and tricks that they do are different, what they really focus on is how do we highlight some of the great tricks that they can do that will be different from show to show, as opposed to trying to make everyone do the exact same thing.”
Hadley assured that even though the show was themed around a Christmas story for children, “‘Twas the Night Before” was still a show for all demographics. “[When] we first created this show, the goal was to create a family show. It was a show that was really going to be for families to come with their kids. And in my mind, I thought, yes, that’s important, and that’s got to be part of it, but I wanted to make sure it was a show that anybody would come and enjoy. So even though it’s a Christmas show, and even though it’s a children’s story [or] a poem that people read to their children, I do think that no matter who you are, what your background is, you’re gonna enjoy the show.”
Because of the overall smaller scale of “‘Twas the Night Before,” the show requires significantly fewer people. With a total of forty-three members of the cast and crew, twenty-six of them are performers. Within this cohort is twenty-six-year-old Ron Oppenheimer, who plays the role of the father.
Doing dance and gymnastics growing up before moving to circus arts when he was eight years old, Oppenheimer began his career with Cirque du Soleil when he was just twenty-one. This is his second year in “‘Twas the Night Before,” and he returned to the same role. He told the Technique, “I’d say my favorite part of the role of playing the father and having the act is, [especially] compared to other shows I’ve done, this show is very lively and heartfelt and warm and fun to play. So, for me, that’s really fun to get to have a character that’s a little bit more comedic and gets to just be like a ditzy dad in a way….and then to contrast it, when I get to my actual acrobatic act, it’s a really heartfelt, emotional, sad piece.”
Since he has been part of big-top Cirque du Soleil shows in addition to this one, he spoke on the differences between the two as Hadley did, but from a performer’s perspective, saying, “Whenever we move to a new city, we have to integrate into a new theater and find where everything is. They’re not always the same size, so slight adjustments and finding ourselves in the space, whereas the big top tent is just like you pick up the tent and move.”
Audiences who are familiar with Cirque du Soleil’s big-top shows are also familiar with the colosseum-like seating that is typically characteristic of those tents. However, in the Fox Theatre — and any other theater — the audience is only in front of the stage. This can create a different relationship between the crowd and the artists, who sometimes interact with and acknowledge the crowd as part of their acts. Despite the different atmosphere of the stage, all the performers appeared to adapt to the different setting without a second thought.
When asked about whether he felt any different about the show due to its Christmas-centered themes, Oppenheimer said, “[It’s a really fun Christmas story, but] it’s also just a holiday story. So it’s really for anyone. I didn’t celebrate Christmas growing up, and I have loved being on this show, so it doesn’t feel like you’re being shoved like ‘Christmas!’ but it’s like ‘holidays,’ and it’s just fun to come and just have a great time for everyone.”
And the cast is correct about the show’s quality — the finished production confirms how fantastic it truly is. While the show centers around a Christmas poem and features a soundtrack full of re-invented Christmas songs, it truly feels like a holiday show more than anything else. Underneath all the tinsel and wrapping paper are themes of reconnecting with loved ones and embracing the playfulness of childhood, something that everyone can relate to, regardless of what they celebrate come December.