January 25, 2007

'Cabaret U-Mano' a sextravaganza

By JOHN COULBOURN -- Toronto Sun


TORONTO - Consider it yet another blow for gender equality.

In a world that still occasionally revels in the belief that every great man is backed by an equally great woman, Cabaret U-Mano's topsy-turvy take on things -- a world where every great woman is backed by a few good men -- is certain to delight.

Mind you, the women -- or at least those of them cast in starring roles -- are all puppets, while the living, breathing and hard-working men are every bit as manipulative as the most rabid feminist might attest.

But in a good way.

The show itself, which opened a limited run at the Diesel Playhouse Tuesday (where it will run through Feb. 18) is the latest spin-off from Quebec's burgeoning circus industry.

Fostered by Roger Parent, a one-time executive with Cirque du Soleil, and his realisations.net corporation, Cabaret U-Mano is the second puppet extravaganza to be produced by SOMA International.

Actually, make that puppet sextravaganza. As envisioned and brought to life by creators Serge Deslauriers, Raynald Michaud and Enock Turcotte, this is Bert and Ernie all growed-up and trying their hand at drag, Lambchop getting hot and heavy with the big bad wolf.

It's a puppet world of bare boobs, bondage and the blues, interwoven with a troupe of 10 attractive young performers who'll put you in mind of the local cheerleading squad when they're pressed into service as backup dancers.

The show unfolds on a template polished by years of service to the world of drag, with outrageously costumed performers lip-synching canned tunes in a highly salacious manner.

The difference here, of course, is that these performers -- from the haughty drag diva who serves as mistress of ceremonies through to a strange little creature who appears to be the musical love child of Ed The Sock and Carol Channing -- are nothing more than foam and they are sharing the stage quite comfortably with the guys who animate them.

Now normally, in the world o' puppets, much is made of obscuring the connection between animator and animated, a concern that often ends rendering the animator all but invisible.

But in the world of Cabaret U-Mano, however, the animators not only share the stage with their puppets, they intermingle their body parts with them so that it is sometimes difficult to figure out where puppeteer ends and puppet begins.

In Baby, It's Cold, for instance. a flirtation between a sexy sheep and a predatory wolf threatens to turn into a foursome as two of the number's four animators strip down and get involved in the action, while Chicago's I Can't Do It Alone turns into a barely manageable menage for a puppet and two hugely talented puppeteers.

It is not, however, 90 minutes of solid raunch -- not with delightful twists and turns that embrace everything from singing mermaids to provocative homages to performers like Eartha Kitt and Josephine Baker to a sendup of The Supremes that could put some much-needed dream in Dreamgirls and a new wrinkle in Gordon Lightfoot's impressive career.

In the end, however, like a steak crafted from foam rubber, it looks decadent and delicious but the taste is a little off, because finally it ain't really cabaret, at least not in any traditional "take a walk on the wild side" sense of the word.

By injecting a libido into these puppets, the creators have somehow neutered the genre those puppets inhabit, bringing what would be adult fare in a world of flesh and bones into a puppet world that renders it all precariously close to family fare.

And no, I'm not for a minute suggesting there's anything wrong with that. If you've ever hungered for a burlesque show you could enjoy with your grandma, chances are, this is just the ticket.

I saw them on morning tv a week or so ago - it was hilarious...they did their set to the disco version of IYCRMM...I wonder if Gord was up that early to see it too???
oh my!

http://www.cabaretu-mano.com/ check out the MEET THE STARS section.

from the Toronto STAR:Jan.17-07
click on link for picture:
http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/171747

THEATRE

Making a play for seduction

Frenchfraü takes her share of the spotlight, with help from the human cast of 10, in Cabaret U-Mano.

Cabaret U-Mano's nicely naughty puppets melt the line between reality and fantasy

January 18, 2007
Richard Ouzounian
Theatre Critic

If the Muppets dropped acid and then paid a visit to sex therapist Dr. Sue Johanson, maybe they'd start to resemble the wonderfully nubile creations of Cabaret U-Mano.

First comes the heavy-lidded starlet, Mauve, with her fish-net stockings, poutingly sensuously lips and bling for days.

And Kiko, the Latin Lover, with a bulge in his trousers which may – or may not – be due to his microphone.

Then there's the mega-tart, Chica, the transvestite Conrad, super-diva Lorraine and ... well, 29 of them in all and not a single one that you would want to bring home to mother.

These puppets sing, they dance, they astonish, they outrage, but most of all, they entertain.

This flamboyantly witty show was a sell-out hit in Montreal earlier this year and its recent Ottawa run earned it reviews which featured raves like "cheeky, clever ... splashy, trashy."

Well, now it has come to Toronto, where it's in previews prior to an opening on Jan. 23 and – from all reports – the Diesel Playhouse will never be the same.

Cabaret U-Mano is the super-sized creation of SOMA International, the Montreal-based group which banded together in 1999 for the purpose of creating new and imaginative styles of entertainment utilizing the classic arts of puppetry.

"After years of working for other people, we decided to work for ourselves, for our own pleasure," is how stage director Raynald Michaud describes the creation of the group.

He got together with Serge Deslauriers ("He's from fashion; he designed the puppets") and Enock Turcotte ("He's from the dance world and he made them move").

Add stage veteran Michaud with his acute sense of theatricality and you had the ingredients for something special.

The original show in 1999 only featured three puppets and it was called Cabaret Decadanse. It won the Public Award at Just For Laughs and then set out for eight years where they toured the world to universal acclaim.

Enter Quebec impresario Roger Parent, who thought that these artists could take their vision even further.

"He invited us to build something bigger," says Michaud "and so we came up with Cabaret U-Mano ... 29 different characters performing a unique combination of music, dance and puppetry.

"We stir everything up," laughs Michaud. "We combine all the arts, we mix all the genders, we use the bodies of our dancers to be part of the puppets ... "While Michaud proudly embraces the show's "naughty" aesthetic, he wants to make it clear that "sensuality is the right word to describe what we do, not eroticism. There's nothing in the show that's XXX-rated. Oh yes, there is the suggestion that we might go there, but we never actually complete the journey."

His voice begins to purr: "It's all in your mind. If your imagination wants to take things further then we suggest, well, yes, you could find it very, very sexy. We suggest a path to you, but we don't necessarily go down it ourselves."

Ask him for an example, and he's got one ready.

"There is a number we do with a sheep and a wolf. It seems so nice and cute at the beginning. But then the sheep and the wolf try to undress their puppeteers. You know that fantasy about having sex on a sheepskin rug in front of a fireplace? Well, mon ami, wait 'til you see what we do with that one."

An absolutely satanic chuckle ripples from his throat, but then he resumes his proper pose. "We won't do anything truly vulgar, though. Our puppets are very refined."

Another distinguishing feature of the show is its wildly eclectic soundtrack, which Michaud takes great delight in discussing.

"We have everything from Amber doing her disco version of `If You Could Read My Mind' to Angélique Kidjo singing `Summertime' in African dialect. It's all there."

But in the end, to Michaud, it all comes down to how the various larger-than-life personalities portrayed by the puppets connect with the audience.

"When you go to see the show," he says, "I believe that everyone will relate to at least one of the figures they meet on the stage. That is where the real connection happens."

But he doesn't want to make it sound too heavy.

"Cabaret U-Mano is, after all, a surreal party. We invite you to a cabaret where you can have a glass of wine, look at the show and just turn yourself over to the pleasure of the moment.

"You can forget your unpaid bills, the war in Iraq, the weather, everything. It will be a good night. And when you leave the room, I promise, you will be dancing."

and Jan.25-07 Toronto Star

January 25, 2007
richard ouzounian
theatre critic

Cabaret U-Mano

By Serge Deslauriers, Enock Turcotte and Raynard Michaud. Directed by Michaud. Until Feb. 18 at Diesel Playhouse, 56 Blue Jays Way. 416-971-5656


Forget Bert and Ernie, Casey and Finnigan, Kermit and Fozzie. You've never seen puppets in your life like the ones on display at Cabaret U-Mano, which opened Tuesday night at the Diesel Playhouse.

Okay, Ed the Sock comes close for raunchiness, but even he might drop his cigar in amazement at these goings-on.

A Quebec import, Cabaret U-Mano follows a template that drag shows have used for many years: select a recording and have a flamboyantly costumed artist lip-synch to it while going through some suggestive and/or humourous movements.

The only difference here is that the stars of this show are all puppets, controlled by rods manipulated by some talented and dexterous men. Both the puppets and their handlers stretch, swivel, bump and grind with an ease that any Pilates instructor or burlesque queen would envy.

It's initially very amusing, but before too long a certain sameness sets in. If you've seen one grotesque lump of foam thrash around in heat, quite frankly, you've seen them all.

But there are some delightful exceptions.

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" is one of the wittiest numbers, with a lamb and a wolf doing extremely naughty things to each other and their manipulators, all with hilarious effect.

And Catherine Zeta-Jones's recording of "I Can't Do it Alone" becomes a real showstopper when united with the gymnastic antics of a geriatric puppet that looks not unlike Hazel McCallion.

:) Finally, Amber's disco version of "If You Could Read My Mind" turns into a loopy visual fantasy of three black divas that might answer any nagging questions you might have about what it would be like to see Dreamgirls on mescaline. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

But there are also a few grave miscalculations, such as asking us to take some numbers seriously, most particularly Angélique Kidjo's African-dialect rendition of "Summertime." The sudden change of mood is too much to accept.

The live cast of 10 are cheerful, energetic and likeable, but they can't hide the ultimately repetitious nature of the material.

Still, director Raynard Michaud, choreographer Enock Turcotte and designer Serge Deslauriers have definitely evolved a new style here, an even split of low spectacle and high camp.

Maybe they should call it Cirque de So Gay.

[ January 25, 2007, 13:23: Message edited by: charlene ]

Just as long as they don't do a disco version of "Seven Island Suite" ! :eek: [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Then I'll have to take evasive action!! :D