To create the seventh show in its tribute series, Cirque du Soleil has called on director Fernand Rainville, who will be supported in the musical direction by Philippe Brault, playwright Vincent Côté and set designer and lighting designer, Yves Aucoin.
The details of this first Cirque show dedicated to a public figure – not from the musical world – were unveiled in Trois-Rivières on Tuesday by creative director Daniel Ross, who oversees this 7th opus in the series.
This announcement marks an important shift for the Cirque, which had entrusted its first five tribute shows to the duo formed by director Jean-Guy Legault and musical director Jean-Phi Goncalves. Vive les divas, presented last summer, was directed by Lydia Bouchard.
After Beau Dommage, Robert Charlebois, Luc Plamondon, Les Colocs, les Cowboys fringants and the Quebec divas, Cirque is thus changing its frame by taking an interest for the first time in the career of an athlete.
Director Fernand Rainville, who notably staged the shows Axel and Amaluna du Cirque, said he wanted to remember “the human” as much as the athlete. “Guy was a national hero, he inspired all of Quebec, everyone has something to say about him,” he said.
The Guy Show! Guy! Guy!, will be structured following the three periods of a hockey game – the first will address his childhood until his arrival with the Canadiens; the second of his journey with the CH until the announcement of his first retirement; finally, the third will evoke his return to the game until his final retirement.
The playwright Vincent Côté clarified that “in each painting, we will find elements of his life”.
The prolific arranger, composer and director Philippe Brault, meanwhile, indicated that he would draw on the music of the 1970s and 1980s in order to recreate the context of the time that the blond demon experienced. “From Gilles Valiquette to André Gagnon, via disco, he said, we’re going to go in lots of directions. »
On the circus side, the Cirque continues its collaboration with Émilie Therrien, who led the acrobatic design of the last three shows. Among other things, she revealed that eight of the 14 paintings in the show will be group acts, a question of showcasing teamwork. In total, 29 artists will share the stage.
We can expect to see all the imagery of an arena, let know Fernand Rainville. From the organist to the coach, via the referee, the players, the nets, the scoreboard, etc. The team took the opportunity to make a call for all to find one of their characters – a boy aged 11 to 15 who plays hockey.