Neil Goldberg: A Broadway Fantasy Comes True

About the author:
From Super Bowl halftime shows to the Miss Universe Pageant to theatrical productions at hotels, theme parks and performing arts centers around the world, Neil Goldberg has proved his mettle as a versatile producer and director. Fifteen years ago, he founded Cirque Productions and, after winning a battle with Cirque du Soleil for the right to use the French word for "circus," he created and directed a series of highly successful shows combining theater and circus artistry. In 2007 alone, more than 1.5 million Americans attended a Cirque Dreams show, and now Goldberg has achieved one of his lifelong goals: the Broadway debut of Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy. This family-friendly spectacle has arrived for a summer run at the Broadway Theatre, bringing an eye-popping array of acrobats, contortionists, trapeze artists and jugglers to the Great White Way. The creative force behind the Cirque phenomenon gave Broadway.com a peek at how his larger-than-life shows come together.

Like all Cirque Dreams shows I've created and directed since 1993, Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy was conceived as a theatrical stage piece. I'm a native New Yorker, and I've wanted to do something on Broadway since I was a kid. With this production, our goal was to create a spectacular setting that would showcase the imaginations of our designers and artists while engaging audiences of all ages. I love seeing young children at the Broadway Theatre often in booster seats with their parents and grandparents, and every generation is entertained.

The jungle setting allows us to show off the skills and artistry of our cast members with a fresh theatrical point of view. It was simple to imagine aerialists climbing and soaring mid-air portraying birds and butterflies, but a bit more challenging to transform contortionists into lizards, frogs into a bungee-hopping chorus of creatures, and flowers and plants and trees into stilt-walking, singing and dancing characters. Collectively, 28 artists from around the world were cast, trained and transformed into more than 150 jungle- and fantasy-inspired creations, beginning in 2005.

We recruit performers from as far away as the State School of Contortion in Mongolia and acrobatic associations and Olympic training centers throughout Russia, Asia, Europe and the United States. Once hired, they work with my full-time team of professional coaches, choreographers, gymnasts, aerialists and production pros at our 20,000-square-foot Dreams Studios in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Visitors are always amazed at this state-of-the-art facility: In addition to aerial rigging and stage spaces comparable to most proscenium theaters, we have a full-service wardrobe design and manufacturing department with thousands of yards of imported fabrics, Swarovski crystals, rhinestones and a vast array of trims, notions, appliques and accessories from around the world. Having every department under one roof allows us to develop wardrobe, music, rigging and choreography for each scene simultaneously, each playing off one another.

With a long-term goal of opening on Broadway, Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy began touring in 2006, eventually making stops in more than 120 cities throughout the United States. As we moved across the country, the show continued to evolve and reinvent itself in front of tens of thousands of audience members who shared their comments, accolades and appreciation. We want every customer to walk out of a Cirque Dreams show with a smile on their faces.

When I told the company we were heading to New York, I challenged them to become better actors and musicians and to kick up their performances several notches from an imaginative and acrobatic standpoint. After every city we played, it became more and more clear that we had created a unique work of performance art satisfying to the senses and truly theatrical in nature.

Our mission has remained the same for the past 15 years: to blend European circus artistry with Broadway theatricality. And now we're here! Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy continues to appeal to audiences of all ages, demographics and cultures who are looking for a memorable theatrical experience.