Whenever I attend a really good show at one of our great performing arts centers, I always think, “Hot damn, we’re lucky to live here.”
Cirque Dreams' “Pop Goes the Rock” at St. Petersburg's lovely Mahaffey Theater was no exception. I did, however, start out with serious reservations. Shows designed to entertain “family audiences of all ages” or run on “mash-ups of celebrated pop and rock tunes” usually don’t make my radar. But I like bright colors and I like to see what people can do with a few basic props and a lot of time on their hands.
When the laser lights began their jerky, linear spasms, when the curtain rose on the stylized neon funhouse set, when the bedazzled cast of characters made their first appearance jiving to “I Love the Nightlife,” I thought: “I did not have near enough cocktails at dinner to get me through this.”
Then out came the tantric trapeze.
This article appears in Apr 5-11, 2012.